Swansea welcomes the return of the Admiral Swansea Bay 1K, 3K & 10K Races sponsored by Admiral

Nearly 4,000 runners of all ages and abilities took to the start line of the Admiral Swansea Bay 1K, 3K & 10K races yesterday (Sunday 22nd September)

Richie Powell, Kieran Clements and Natasha Cockram enjoyed fine wins in this year’s main Admiral Swansea Bay 10K Road Race at a rain-soaked and damp Swansea Bay which also made up round four of the Welsh 10K series.

Listening to athlete feedback from previous years, 2019 saw earlier race starts with the programme beginning at 09:15 and the 10K setting off shortly after 11:00.

A windy Swansea Bay seafront, near St Helens Rugby Ground played host to a festival day of running as Admiral sponsored the Swansea Bay Races for the fourteenth consecutive year, back in its mid-September slot and staged by Swansea County Council.

Just over 3,500 10K runners and a few hundred juniors took to the start line of their respective distances in the race that won at the UK Running Awards for being voted Best 10K in Wales in 2018 and 2019.

With plenty of interest as ever from locals and afar, there was plenty to enjoy as a fun day out for the whole family, even if the weather conditions weren’t on their side.

The 10K as well as all other activities took place along the beautiful and iconic sweep of Swansea Bay. The course has continued to be a firm favourite with both experienced and first-time runners attending year on year as thousands took to the roads of the Bay.

New personal bests were the aim for some whilst for others, it was all about running in fancy dress to raise money for their chosen charities.

All finishers on the day collected their medal and goody bag.

Starting alongside St Helen’s Rugby Ground, the first half of the course followed the road down to the picturesque Mumbles, before returning along the stunning Swansea promenade taking in its fast, flat surface and gorgeous scenery. The route finished through the iconic Slip Bridge towards the Cenotaph.

Race commentators Ian Griffiths and John Griffiths did another great job, keeping athletes and spectators up-to-date and calling out participants’ names as they passed the commentary box.

Once again in 2019, places in the races sold out weeks in advance and has continued to go from strength to strength since the first event over 30 years ago.

As all runners made their way down to the Mumbles, the mascot race featured local mascots running a 100m dash for fun on the main road and again provided great entertainment as spectators waited for the leading runners in the 10K up on the bridge. The winner, which was Ozzie the Osprey, was awarded prize money to give to its chosen charity.

As well as the main 10K, also returning were the popular junior races which started everything off earlier in the morning as the seniors started to arrive for their pre-race warm ups.

The 1K & 3K was a great introduction to running on the road and sold out weeks in advance. The first race of the day started shortly after 9:00am with the two 1K races. The 7 years and under got their chance to run first alongside their parents before the older 8-11 year olds children took part with over 500 youngsters getting their opportunity to experience the race day atmosphere and collect their finishers’ medal and goody bag.

An hour later, the start point moved up beyond Blackpill, where 3K runners in the 9 to 14 age category headed towards the finish line.

1K (7yrs & under) 252 finishers; 1K (8-11yrs) 124 finishers; 3K – 186 finishers

To find all the Admiral Swansea Bay 1K, 3K & 10K finishing times, go to the Results Page athttp://www.swanseabay10k.com/results