Registering for the Welsh Masters

My running is going so well, including being selected to run for North Wales, I was starting to dream of running for Wales as a whole. That both times I ran for North Wales I was the slowest of the team didn’t deter me. And Louise has started to ask me about it. I started looking it information about it, but only found anything about 2026. Too late for that. 

During the Own the Night run, Emma also started talking about it. She explicitly named the Welsh Masters, and said the info about 2027 had just been published. So I looked again! And found what I needed.

From the WA website 

The Welsh Masters are for runners over 35. Each year they pick one event to represent the distances they cover: 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon. (And then a trail and cross-country event, but I am ignoring these.) And they published the qualifying times. I looked; I haven’t run a marathon in 11 years so I am out for that, but I qualified for all three other distances. For the 10k, that wasn’t totally relevant as the chosen race was on the same day as the Snowdonia Half Marathon, which I really like. The 5k would be in June in Shrewsbury. I decided to think about that. I don’t have to decide until May. And the half marathon was the Caernarfon one. I absolutely would want to do that! So I officially registered my interest. I hope I will get selected! It will be summer 2027 by the time I will find out. 

I think my chances are good. They have teams of up to six runners in each age category. I obviously have no idea how many amazing F50 women there are in the south, but how many would be willing to come all the way to Caernarfon? And in the north there are only few in that category who can beat me. Jen can; she recently ran a sub-3 hr marathon and that's amazing, but I doubt she wants to compete here. Bad news for the other countries if she does! Jane from Buckley Runners sometimes can. That’s sort of it! In the last 13 races I ran, I had 12 category wins. And in the one race where I didn’t, the lady who managed to stay ahead of me was running for Cheshire, so wouldn’t qualify to run for Wales. She might be there for England though! She is quite the opponent… 

Nothing will happen for months now. But I am already excited!