Awards Night
Sunday 15 March 2026
Bethesda Cricket and Bowls Club
The annual awards evening is always a reminder that while the club celebrates many impressive performances, the real strength of Eryri Harriers lies in its community, volunteers and shared passion for running in all its forms.
It was a fantastic evening as members, friends and family gathered to celebrate another successful year for Eryri Harriers. The room was full of conversation and laughter as runners from across all disciplines came together to reflect on achievements, recognise dedication, and celebrate the strength of our club community.
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Members enjoyed a generous spread of food provided by the cricket club staff, and the evening also offered the opportunity to pick up new club kit before the awards presentations began.
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We were entertained by a powerful and entertaining guest Speaker - David "Jacko" Jackson. His coaching methodology spreads the message that developing how you breathe to increase efficiency, perception of effort, your nervous system and more.
See more abour Jacko's session here
The Awards
Outstanding Athlete Award
Tinka Vinks
The Outstanding Athlete Award was presented to Tinka Vinks, whose results over the past year have placed her among the UK’s leading trail runners.
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Her recent achievements include:
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1st Female – Drielandenpunt Trail (UTMB World Series, 23 km)
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5th Female – XTERRA Snowdonia Trail Marathon (50 km)
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6th Female – Ultra-Trail Snowdonia 50K in a highly competitive international field
She also won the Winter Trail race at Coed y Brenin and has been ranked highly within the ITRA UK National League rankings.
Alongside her racing success, Tinka is well known locally for supporting other runners, pacing races and encouraging those around her to reach their potential. She is an inspiring role model both within the club and the wider running community.
Junior Awards
The future of the club continues to look incredibly bright thanks to the enthusiasm and commitment of our junior runners.
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The Dewi Tomos Older Children Awards were presented to Josh Watt and Martha Davies.
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Josh has shown outstanding dedication by turning up week after week with a brilliant attitude and determination to improve. His running continues to go from strength to strength, but just as importantly he has begun stepping up as a young leader within the junior group, encouraging others and even helping out when volunteers are short. He is already becoming a role model for younger runners.
Martha has enjoyed a superb year representing both the club and her school in numerous races, often finishing at the top of her category. Her adventurous spirit, strong work ethic and positive attitude make her a pleasure to coach and train alongside.
The Mike Blake Young Junior Awards were presented to Moli Roberts and Seb Perrin-Roberts.
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Moli is full of energy and enthusiasm, always giving her best and showing great determination to keep improving. She proudly represents the club in other sporting events and is a wonderful ambassador for Eryri.
Seb continues to impress with his natural ability and commitment. Despite being one of the younger runners, he regularly trains with the older group, knows the routes inside out and turns up every week ready to run with a smile.
Road Running Championships
The club’s road running championships once again showcased the strength and depth of Eryri’s road runners.
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This year’s champions were
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Ian Edwards
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Sam Drinkwater
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Gruff Anderson
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Anna Drinkwater
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Margot Saher
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Nia Meleri
all of whom delivered consistently strong performances throughout the season across a range of road races.
The evening also recognised Arwel Lewis, who recently received the Welsh Athletics Services to Athletics Award. Arwel continues to compete regularly across road, cross country, trail and mountain races while also dedicating an enormous amount of time as a volunteer. His work as a race organiser, official, committee member and representative within Welsh Athletics has made a huge contribution to the sport in North Wales and beyond
Cross Country Success
Eryri runners had an exceptional season in the North Wales Cross Country League and the North Wales Championships, bringing home an impressive collection of medals.
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Leading performances came from:
Women
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1st – Gemma Moore
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2nd – Andrea Rowlands
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3rd – Bryony Shircore
Men
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1st – Anthony Davies
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2nd – Mike Whyatt
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3rd – Don Williams
Special recognition also went to Maggie Oliver, who dominated the Women’s 75+ category while attending the majority of races and continuing to play an important role within the team.
Fell Running Awards
Fell running remains one of the defining strengths of the club, and this year once again saw strong competition across both long and short distance championships.
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Long Distance Fell Champions
Men
1st – Sion Edwards
2nd – Adam Harper
3rd – William Greenwood
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Women
1st – Sarah Barnwell
2nd – Louise Beetlestone
3rd – Louise Emery
Short Distance Fell Champions
Men
1st – Tony Hall
2nd – Michael Coyne
3rd – James Harwood
Women
1st – Kasia Osipowicz
2nd – Hazel Robbin
Angela Barker Brand Award
Catrin Donnelly
The Angela Barker Award was created in honour of Angela Barker, a club member and passionate fell runner who wanted to encourage more girls to discover the confidence, strength and adventure that fell running can offer.
This year’s winner, Catrin Donnelly, has enjoyed an outstanding season. She represented North Wales at the British Inter-Counties Championships at Pen-y-Ghent, finishing 2nd for North Wales, and competed in the Welsh Inter-Regional Championships at Cilcain, finishing 4th overall.
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She also finished 2nd female overall in the Tuesday Evening Series and claimed 1st place at the XTERRA Snowdonia Trail Half Marathon, highlighting her impressive strength across a variety of races.
Rory O’Donnell Award
Tony Davies
The Rory O’Donnell Award honours the memory of a much-loved club member whose determination, resilience and passion for fell running left a lasting impact on many within the club.
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This year the award was presented to Tony Davies, whose achievements over the past year perfectly reflect the spirit of the award.
After overcoming significant health challenges in recent years, Tony has returned to competition with incredible determination. He now represents the club across almost every discipline — road running, cross country, fell running and ultra events.
Tony has delivered numerous podium finishes and age-category victories, including 1st place in his age category at the Arthur Bebbington 10K, where he also helped secure the team win. He is a consistent and reliable member of both the Cross Country League and Borders League teams and has even volunteered as the club’s flag bearer.
Tony has also taken on some of the toughest endurance challenges, including events such as the Ring of Fire and Backyard Ultra. What makes his achievements even more remarkable is that he competes at this level while running with a stoma bag, demonstrating extraordinary resilience and determination.
His achievements, attitude and positivity make him a truly inspiring member of the club
Outstanding Contribution Award
Helen Blair
The Overall Contribution Award, was presented to Helen Blair in recognition of her decades of dedication to the club and the sport.
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Helen has been an Eryri member since the late 1980s, representing the club in countless Borders League and cross country races. Alongside her own running, she has made an enormous contribution behind the scenes.
She has served as Cross Country Secretary, organised North Wales Cross Country League races at Treborth, and independently reviewed accounts for both the North Wales Cross Country League and the Welsh Athletics North Wales Region.
Helen has also helped organise the Tal y Fan Fell Race for more than 20 years, marshalled at numerous events including the Pen Fell Race, and played a key role in coordinating access to the Dinorwig quarries for the Pedol Peris race.
Her dedication and commitment have helped keep many events running smoothly over the years. She has even been recognised further in the running community by winning the Arthur Bebbington Award this year
Guest Speaker
JACKO
Breathworks
In a highly engaging and educational session, David “Jacko” Jackson successfully simplified the science of breathing and provided practical tools to improve efficiency and enhance running performance.
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With his special guest – Dave the skeleton – he guided us through the limitations of our current breathing patterns and demonstrated how we can train the respiratory system for more efficient running.
Through breathing exercises integrated into our training – including how to release the ribs and develop the diaphragm – we learned the fundamentals of breathing more efficiently, like elite runners.
Many of our members took the opportunity to purchase his new book and have further conversations at the end of the evening.
Looking Ahead
The club will be hosting a number of specialist sessions with Jacko over the coming months, which will be available free of charge to members.
Keep an eye out for more information via email and social media soon!
DIOLCH
We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped organise this special evening. From the volunteers and organisers to those working behind the scenes, your time, energy and dedication make events like this possible. Thank you for your valued contribution to the club and our community.