BenThe SHIs this year were held in South Wales, beginning with the individual on Merthyr Common. It was a surprisingly hot September day, and probably hotter than every day in August this year! So it made for a very tough long distance for those taking part, especially as the courses were extra long and the terrain was tougher than expected. The Men's M21 race was won in 100 minutes and the Women's W21 race in 92minutes! Thankfully everyone made it back safely. Some of our top results included Ben Mitchell who finished 5th on M21, and Freddie Lake in7th on M20 with brother Will just 2minutes behind. Wales finished 4th overall on points, just behind Ireland overnight.
After a social evening meal at the Rifleman's Arms in Blaenavon on the Saturday night, the Relay was being held at Clydach Terrace on the Sunday. Teams making mistakes in the intricate contours made for an exciting relay, with teams losing and gaining places all the time. In the Women's race, our best Welsh team finished 6th and in the Men's we were 8th - just enough to score points and overtake Ireland to finish 3rd place overall, and retain the Celtic Cup for another year! It was incredibly tight between England and Scotland this year, with a tie break going several countbacks before Scotland were decided as the overall winner.
