Wow what a spectacular photo of Tenby Aces member Richard Gardiner crossing the red carpet as winner of the Wales Marathon 2017.

Richard was crowned marathon champion in a time of 2.45 and finished in silver medal position, coming in second behind defending champion Sweden’s Marcus Hultgren in 9:34 for the overall Long Course Weekend event.

“After 35 years of racing and winning, now aged 44 to still have days like this weekend are very special and I feel very fortunate to have had such a long career in athletics and triathlon, a career that can only thrive with a huge amount of external support,” said Richard.

He continued: “The event itself, whilst bigger and better than ever, was challenging and frustrating; the first two days I struggled to get a foothold in the overall event, which meant on the Sunday I was solely focused on the marathon, thinking if I could win that, then it would be some consolidation to say the least! But, of course, I have learnt in this event that one big performance can lead to a change in the weekend, so to have won the marathon on a tough course in hot conditions and come second overall was just a great way to complete what was a great weekend, great for myself, but also Team Cranc, the organisers who supported me and, of course, my club Tenby Aces.

“The local support I had all weekend was incredible, coming down the red carpet Sunday was a very special moment and is right up there in my experiences, whilst the awards ceremony is the best I have ever been a part of, ensuring that every Long Course athlete has their moment to enjoy what is a very special achievement!”