Following the very successful junior fun run at Amman Valley Leisure Centre this month, Ammanford hosted a second running event in the space of 4 days. This time, down the road at the Recreation Ground, it was the turn of the seniors as they took part in the annual 10K organised by Amman Valley Harriers. The club were delighted to have Ammanford Lions Club on board again this year as their sponsor, who provided the medals and trophies. After some morning rain, the conditions were rather warm throughout and continued that way despite limited sunshine.

The ever popular race was on open roads and took runners on a scenic route from Iscennen Road to Llandybie and Blaenau before returning via Aberlash. It was undulating but suited novice and club runners alike.

In 2017, the prize money was kindly sponsored by Llys Cennen Solicitors with age group trophies up for grabs in several categories from open male and female to V65. All finishers received a medal along with a bottle of water from Brecon Carreg.

Continuing the theme on records, the 10K again attracted many people locally and afar with several athletes competing for the first time. In particular, there was a large turnout from Swansea Harriers, 3m’s Gorseinon, Llanelli AC, Port Talbot Harriers, TROTS, Run4All Neath and the local club Amman Valley Harriers, including a former member who travelled down from Birmingham. A total of 149 runners took to the streets of the Amman Valley on a Sunday morning, making it the largest turnout ever since it was first organized over 20 years ago. Runners who come back year after year still describe the Ammanford 10K as one of the best road races around at this present time.

The 2017 race was won by Marc Hobbs from Swansea Harriers in a quick time of 34 minutes 40 seconds, just outside the course record time set by Christian Lovatt. David Keenam (Llanelli AC 35:54) and Gareth Ayres (Port Talbot Harriers 36:56) filled second and third positions in the open male category while Stephen Bartlett (Pontypridd Roadents AC 37:31) was the winner of the M40, followed by Eamonn Kirk (Swansea Harriers 37:38) and Nick Griffiths (Amman Valley Harriers 37:49). Alan Davies (Llanelli AC 37:49) continued his fine success in this event as he picked up the M60 award for another year. Along with Keenam and Davies, Martin Flear with a time of 39:15 confirmed the team winners went to Llanelli.

On the female side, there was a clean sweep for the Amman Valley Harriers host club training partners who all finished just over a minute from each other. They were Rachael Davies (40:32) Luticia Thomas (41:24) and Llinos Jones (41:59) Also in the mix at the top end of the field were their teammates Clara Davies (42:33) and Rachel Alcock (44:16). It was no surprise to see them take the overall team title too.

The rugby club was open following the conclusion of the race for runners and spectators to join together where presentations were also made. A good crowd stayed on to applaud those who won in the trophy categories.

Helen Janney, the 10K organiser and the Amman Valley Harriers club would like to congratulate all the runners who turned out for the road race and thank all the volunteers who made it possible, including all marshals, sponsors and St John Ambulance/Dyfed Powys Police.