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2022 Race Report

Happy Birthday, Slateman!

Two years later than planned The Slateman finally got to celebrate their birthday – and what a birthday it was.

SATURDAY

The event kicked off on Saturday morning with the Sprint Triathlon and Duathlon. In the Sprint it was Peter Rought who was out of the water first clocking in at 11.23. He was closely followed by our first two female athletes Sarah Roberts and Rebecca Wetten finishing the swim in 11.26 and 11.46 respectively.

A difficult bike route, made even more challenging by the windy conditions saw competitors head out and over the famous Llanberis Pass, turning round after the descent to climb up and over in the opposite direction back towards transition. Consistently showing his strength on the bike this season, Scott Hill was the first back finishing his ride in 37.46 and heading out on the run just ahead of Mark Rabaiotti.

In the bike, Jessica Denman completed the course in the fastest time of 47.10 but the shining star is young Anwen Nesham who led the pack back into T2.

Out on the run Andrew Scott pulled off a superb time of 25.21 but it wasn’t enough to catch the leading pair with Hill taking the tape and Rabaiotti finishing two minutes behind.

In the ladies, Catherine Marks pulled out an incredible run and was the only female to break the 30-minute barrier but it was Lucy Burn who proved consistency was the key and took the tape seconds ahead of Melissa Denman. Jessica Denman took third behind her twin sister. With just over a minute separating the three ladies and all returning on Sunday to complete the Standard as part of the Savage race it was an exciting end to the day.

The Sprint Duathlon was a fiercely fought race with 14-year-old Isaac Oliver, leading after run 1 and chasing hard in the bike and run 2 to take 2^nd exactly a minute behind winner Adrian Mcilroy. I’m sure we will be seeing Oliver on a lot more podiums in the future and it can’t be long before he takes the top spot. Jonathon Read was third.

The day didn’t end there, with some additional events taking place to keep the party atmosphere going. 65 children from local schools came together for the Junior Fun Run and powered their way around the field to cross the line with lots of huge smiles and red cheeks. All the money raised from this race went to local children’s charity Gafael Llaw.

Not to be out done by the youngsters another 40 runners stepped on to the line to take part in the Quarryman run. Following in the footsteps of the quarry workers with the route taking them through the quarries and Padarn Country Park this was a great end to the day. The race was won by Lloyd Williams who had an incredible run completing with Deborah Rowley finishing top in the womens.

SUNDAY

Sunday saw a drop in the wind and bright but still breezy conditions.

It was a 7.30 start for the Legend athletes. Lewis Cherry had an incredible swim and led the way into transition. Lynsey Henderson was next out, showing once again the strength of our female athletes in the water. On to the bikes for a 92.km ride taking in the best road biking in Snowdonia with steep climbs and fast descents u and down the mountain passes.

In the Men's race, Thomas Campbell had a superb ride, giving him the best time across the bike course and taking him into T2 in the lead followed by Sam Littlewood and Luke Goldsworthy.

In the ladies, it was Emma Frost who took the best time in the bike course but it wasn’t enough to catch the leading two; Lynsey Henderson and Nerys Jones.

On to the run which was two laps of the Standard distance and two ascents of the infamous ‘zig-zags’ up and through the quarry and steep descents into the forests of Parc Padarn. Luke Goldsworthy put in his best performance across the course to take him ahead and across the tape to claim first. Campbell held on to second and Littlewood made up the podium.

Nerys Jones showed her strength in the run with a fantastic time of 2.06.08 taking her across the line nearly 6 minutes ahead of Rosie Davies who moved up in to second passing Henderson who came in third.

The men’s Standard was dominated by Ryan Jones, Matthew Cox, Scott Hill and Ross Hosking with Hosking leading after T2 following a strong swim and bike but Jones and Cox putting in the top performances in the run to take them over the line in 1^st and second with only 15 seconds separating. Hill was 3^rd to finish the line up.

In the ladies Standard Sarah Roberts was first out of the water and on the bike but it was Dotty Bouck-Standen who dominated once again along with Saturday's 3^rd place Jessica Denman.

Jessica was first out on the run with Dotty chasing. Then, from behind Sarah Harrison put in a mind-blowing run of 57.42 to cross the line with nearly 4 minutes to spare. Jessica Denman took third putting her on the podium again with yesterday’s winner Lucy Burn in 4^th and 2^nd placed Melissa Denman in 5^th making for an anxious wait for the Savage results to be calculated.

In The Men’s Duathlon Sam Fairhurst took the win leading after run 1, slipping behind Steve Abbott in the bike then coming back to take the tape with Abbott in 2^nd. Dan Main was third.

The ladies' Duathlon positions were held throughout with solid performances from all three ladies with Charlotte Hunter taking the win in an impressive 3.13.17 more than 16 minutes ahead of second place Sarah Murray with Kimberley Slater in third.

Company Director Tim Lloyd said: "When we dreamed up Slateman, we dreamed big but who could have imagined we’d be standing here at our 10^th Slateman event with multiple races happening and it having become one of the most respected events on the calendar.

So many people have approached our team today to tell them just how great Slateman is and how it has impacted them over the years. It’s a challenging race and the Snowdonia weather can make it even more so, but that’s why people come – because they want to do an epic race in a spectacular environment. Slateman may now be in double figures but it will continue to mature with age and we will continue to work to deliver the same incredible event for many years to come.

It’s been a joy to welcome so many people and see new faces, returning faces and of course those from the local community and the children who enjoyed our fun run. We’ve enjoyed some inspiring racing this weekend and some closely fought battles, you just can’t predict results at an event like Slateman!

We couldn’t do any of this for one year let alone 10 without the unwavering support of our sponsors and spectators and the dedication of our Marshals and core team who work long hours with smiles on their faces because they love seeing events like Slateman take place just as much as we do – thank you to you all and here’s to another 10 years"