Cardiff Half Marathon

:00:28. > :00:35.It has been a busy few months on the streets of Cardiff, starting back in

:00:36. > :00:40.March when we witnessed one of the all-time great World Half Marathon

:00:41. > :00:46.Championships. And the Cardiff crown is returned en masse when Wales

:00:47. > :00:52.returned home after defeat by Portugal in the Euro 2016 semifinal.

:00:53. > :00:57.And then the world's most popular story teller, celebrating the

:00:58. > :01:02.birthday of Roald Dahl the two days in September. And finally the return

:01:03. > :01:05.of Wales' Rio Olympics and Paralympic stars following success

:01:06. > :01:10.in Brazil. Hello, good morning to you, welcome

:01:11. > :01:15.to the Cardiff Half Marathon. What did year it has been for Welsh

:01:16. > :01:19.sport, what a year for the capital city of Wales, and today a

:01:20. > :01:30.record-breaking 22,000 runners are about to take part once again in the

:01:31. > :01:35.Cardiff Half Marathon. Today's 13.1 mile run sets off here in the shadow

:01:36. > :01:39.of the castle and finishes in the glorious Civic Centre, and when the

:01:40. > :01:43.final runner crosses the line close to 30,000 will have taken part in

:01:44. > :01:48.the weekend's activities, including Alfie's Angels who won the took up

:01:49. > :01:54.the half marathon challenge and, like everyone here today, have a

:01:55. > :01:59.story to tell. I think doing the run will help more children be able to

:02:00. > :02:04.have wishes when they go through life threatening illnesses. We are

:02:05. > :02:08.aiming to break the world record for the half marathon dressed as

:02:09. > :02:13.superheroes. It is 75 minutes at the moment, we want to break that and

:02:14. > :02:18.get as close to 70 as we can. I will be running barefoot. I did not start

:02:19. > :02:23.running at all, I never even ran for a bus, before I was I think 52. I

:02:24. > :02:31.suppose what I am saying is it is never too late. As always, the elite

:02:32. > :02:36.runners get things under way. Look for the Commonwealth Games marathon

:02:37. > :02:40.champion of 2014, Flomena Daniel. In the men's race, last year's Cardiff

:02:41. > :02:46.Half Marathon winner, Ugandan Ben Siwa.

:02:47. > :02:49.That elite race was really special last year and the wonderful thing

:02:50. > :03:01.about the Cardiff Half Marathon is you get all shapes and sizes running

:03:02. > :03:06.in the main race, especially people like Sir Runalot, who is with Jodie.

:03:07. > :03:10.Sir Runalot is not your average marathon runner. What is your quest

:03:11. > :03:15.today? Not to die is probably the main thing on the agenda! We are

:03:16. > :03:21.trying to do it in under 3.5 hours to set a world record and raise some

:03:22. > :03:29.money. Can I ask why the suit? I had the suit, thought I would take up

:03:30. > :03:34.running, I had some free time! What is the biggest challenge? You are

:03:35. > :03:37.carrying 30 kilos? Close, I have trained in a suit weighing up to 30

:03:38. > :03:43.kilos but this one is a little lighter to shake a few then it's

:03:44. > :03:46.off, this is 26. It is not so much the weight but the padding, you have

:03:47. > :03:51.some pretty thick padding underneath and I will be sweating not! I will

:03:52. > :03:58.probably bring about four or five times as much water as the others.

:03:59. > :04:01.No dehydration on this course? Mass dehydration but I will try to stave

:04:02. > :04:08.it off as long as possible! What time are you aiming for? Just under

:04:09. > :04:12.3.5 hours, we are trying to get a new Guinness World Record but a few

:04:13. > :04:16.of the parts we needed only arrived a few days ago. This will be my

:04:17. > :04:20.first half marathon, if we can set the time today it means I can set it

:04:21. > :04:27.against and take the world record next time. Raising money for?

:04:28. > :04:35.Mencap, please check us out on Facebook or YouTube. Best of luck.

:04:36. > :04:38.It is a gorgeous morning here in the capital city of Wales, Sir Runalot

:04:39. > :04:42.is going to be very, very hot this morning! The other great thing about

:04:43. > :04:46.the Cardiff Half Marathon is people travel from all over the United

:04:47. > :04:50.Kingdom to run in this marathon, raising money for good causes right

:04:51. > :04:54.across the country. Last year one of the highlights of our coverage of

:04:55. > :04:57.the Cardiff Half Marathon was seeing Christian Malcolm get his trainers

:04:58. > :05:01.on running alongside some of those runners and getting some wonderful

:05:02. > :05:29.stories. We are delighted to say Christian is back

:05:30. > :05:33.with us. Yes, I am back again this year. It

:05:34. > :05:36.is all quiet here at the moment but later on I will grab as many of the

:05:37. > :05:39.runners as possible as they run by. I will not be speaking to the elite

:05:40. > :05:42.athletes because they will be far too quick for me but after that I

:05:43. > :05:45.will be speaking with plenty of the masses. The other great thing about

:05:46. > :05:47.the Cardiff Half Marathon is you get to see celebrities as well #FULLST

:05:48. > :05:50.OP Gethin Jones joins me, bore da. Are you running here in an official

:05:51. > :05:53.capacitymuch grief on the start line that I decided to run it this year I

:05:54. > :05:56.am running today, I was here in an official capacity last year and had

:05:57. > :05:59.so much grief on the start line that I decided to run it this yeardo it

:06:00. > :06:02.together, getting through to the end line, raise a lot of money. But you

:06:03. > :06:04.walk around Cardiff I am running with my best friend Sean, we have

:06:05. > :06:07.set up a charity, both of our nephews are autistic, this is the

:06:08. > :06:10.furthest he has ever run, so we will do it together, getting through to

:06:11. > :06:14.the end line, raise a lot of money. But you walk you see all your

:06:15. > :06:17.friends from school all raising money for brilliant charities, so I

:06:18. > :06:25.wish everyone the best this morning. I know how proud you are being a

:06:26. > :06:28.Welshman, but how proud many reasons to love it, but mainly on half

:06:29. > :06:33.marathon day. I love Cardiff for many reasons but the biggest today

:06:34. > :06:37.is that it is flat! 13.1 miles with no hills being from Cardiff? This

:06:38. > :06:39.city looks magnificent this morning, doesn't it? It does, the weather is

:06:40. > :06:42.perfect, Chile with a bit of fun, but you are right, so many reasons

:06:43. > :06:45.to love it, but mainly on half marathon day. I love Cardiff for

:06:46. > :06:56.many reasons but the biggest today is that it is flat! 13.1 miles with

:06:57. > :06:59.no hillsten Cate, but this is a bit further, a tough challenge, we will

:07:00. > :07:03.do it together and look forward to a nice Sunday lunch what about the

:07:04. > :07:05.fitness? De Gea do much runner in Copacabana when you were in Brazil?

:07:06. > :07:08.I did more than you! Enjoying yourself in a nice warm studio in

:07:09. > :07:11.your shirt and tie! It was great being out there, I love to keep fit.

:07:12. > :07:14.This is a challenge, lots of people go out and do a ten Cate, but this

:07:15. > :07:22.is a bit further, a tough challenge, we will do it together and look

:07:23. > :07:24.forward to a nice Sunday lunch if I can ask about work as well, I see

:07:25. > :07:27.you on the television screens, radio, social media, it is all going

:07:28. > :07:30.well for you? I am trying to keep up with you! I am doing Strictly Come

:07:31. > :07:33.Dancing at the moment, and it is always weird going back there after

:07:34. > :07:36.appearing on the show, everything is the same, they use the so that is

:07:37. > :07:38.one way of keeping fit, but today it is about the the side football

:07:39. > :07:41.player. When they said he was turning up for our match I thought,

:07:42. > :07:44.OK, I fancy a crunching tackle early on, but I could not get near him!

:07:45. > :07:49.You faked injury at the last minute! Got a bit scared, this one! Good

:07:50. > :07:52.luck today, good man the other things you don't know about Gethin

:07:53. > :07:54.Jones, he is a great buy the side football player.

:07:55. > :07:56.When they said he was turning up for our match I thought, OK, I fancy a

:07:57. > :07:59.crunching tackle early on, but I could not get near him! You faked

:08:00. > :08:05.injury at the last minute! Got a bit scared, this one! Good luck today,

:08:06. > :08:07.good this is a remarkable story, Rory Coleman, ultramarathon runner,

:08:08. > :08:09.just a few months ago could not even walk after being struck down by a

:08:10. > :08:15.really serious illness. Today, incredibly, he is on the

:08:16. > :08:17.start yes, I am with Rory Coleman, ultramarathon runner who has had an

:08:18. > :08:24.incredible journey to even get here today. Tell us all about itI was

:08:25. > :08:31.well on my way to doing my 1000th marathon but back in April I came

:08:32. > :08:37.back from a marathon and neck down. Your body's Stephen Parry syndrome,

:08:38. > :08:40.which is a really rare disease that affects about 600 people a year and

:08:41. > :08:47.I was paralysed from the neck down. Your body's immune system, nobody

:08:48. > :08:50.knows why, and it has been a frightening journey. Even to be

:08:51. > :08:52.walking again is remarkable. To be running two months on from there is

:08:53. > :08:59.incredible, really it must have been an incredibly emotional time for it

:09:00. > :09:03.must have been an incredibly emotional time for youit has been an

:09:04. > :09:08.interesting journey my wife has been a rock through the whole thing. It

:09:09. > :09:18.has been an interesting journey, psychologically, it is called it is

:09:19. > :09:23.better slowly. I have seen life GBS, getting better slowly. I have seen

:09:24. > :09:30.life from you must be very perspective. Inspirational for you

:09:31. > :09:33.to even be here today, you must be very very proud, it is my hometown,

:09:34. > :09:41.it looks fantastic. I am a coach, if I a spoonful of my own medicine...

:09:42. > :09:44.Good luck today, will be slower than my marathon personal best today, but

:09:45. > :09:47.it is a day out! Go for it I will be slower than my

:09:48. > :09:53.marathon personal best today, but it is a day out! Go for itwe wish him

:09:54. > :09:57.and his family the legend Gareth Thomas got involved with 16 women,

:09:58. > :10:00.trying to get them you will remember last year Welsh rugby legend Gareth

:10:01. > :10:08.Thomas got involved with 16 women, trying to get, and got them ready

:10:09. > :10:15.for the Cardiff Half Marathon. They loved it so much, he is back

:10:16. > :10:17.for ball months ago, Welsh sporting legend Gareth Thomas took on his

:10:18. > :10:22.biggest challenge training 100 on the Cardiff Half Marathon to take on

:10:23. > :10:28.the Cardiff Half after a long hot summer of blisters blood, and blood,

:10:29. > :10:35.and are, we are about to find out how many, if any, of this year's

:10:36. > :10:41.Alfie 's Angels will cross the finish line. Alfie's Angels!

:10:42. > :10:44.If you were watching BBC One Wales earlier, you would have seen some of

:10:45. > :10:50.the angels and the main man himself, Gareth Thomas. Bore da, how are you?

:10:51. > :10:54.Can I just say, I love this. I was born with my hard on my sleeve, a

:10:55. > :11:00.fire in my soul, and a map I can't control! Brilliant! Very proud to be

:11:01. > :11:07.Welsh! How proud of you of the angels? Unbelievably proud. This

:11:08. > :11:11.year we tried to match what we did last year and somehow managed to

:11:12. > :11:16.excel at, we have got 100 women who have come from some difficult lives,

:11:17. > :11:20.difficult professions, and they have managed to cram in training in 16

:11:21. > :11:25.weeks to run the half marathon and that, in my eyes, is legendary. I

:11:26. > :11:28.remember talking to you last year and you saying how tough it was

:11:29. > :11:34.because some of these women were really unzipped. Is it the same this

:11:35. > :11:38.year? Do you know what, the whole process is that they have to do

:11:39. > :11:41.inspire other people who watch things like the half marathon and

:11:42. > :11:58.think, I could never do that, but I would

:11:59. > :12:03.love to one is pushing them do it. All of these women watched the girls

:12:04. > :12:06.last year and thought, I would love to try that, so they applied for it,

:12:07. > :12:09.this time last year all these women did not think they could do it and I

:12:10. > :12:12.am sure there are people now thinking, I could never do that, but

:12:13. > :12:14.this time next year they could be on the start line. Do you advise them

:12:15. > :12:16.on everything from technique to nutrition to just general

:12:17. > :12:18.well-being? It is all about well-being, having a healthy

:12:19. > :12:21.lifestyle. The half marathon is like a carrot to dangle in front of them

:12:22. > :12:24.but the reality is today is like the beginning so it is all their own

:12:25. > :12:26.works, we give them a guideline, but these are the people who have the

:12:27. > :12:29.determination to get up every morning, go to work, run a house,

:12:30. > :12:32.look after their children and also fit in the training for the half

:12:33. > :12:36.marathon. These are the people who have done it, we have just guided

:12:37. > :12:40.them. A remarkable achievement. Luckily they have got their names on

:12:41. > :12:47.their best here so I can remember them! JoAnn, good morning to you,

:12:48. > :12:52.are you nervous? I am petrified if, -- if I am honest. I have got a bit

:12:53. > :12:57.of an injury, so I am nervous about that. I have been advised to take it

:12:58. > :13:02.easy and not do anything stupid, but I am going to try my best. As long

:13:03. > :13:08.as I make it to the end, it is an achievement. What is the injury? As

:13:09. > :13:13.stress fracture to mighty big about two months ago, let it heal, started

:13:14. > :13:17.running again and developed ligament damage which was more painful than

:13:18. > :13:22.the fracture. It is getting better but still quite painful. I saw the

:13:23. > :13:28.physio and she's brilliant, strapped it up, painkillers, I am ready to

:13:29. > :13:34.go. That is the spirit! She is a nurse, 12 hour shifts on her feet

:13:35. > :13:39.constantly, so come on! How has the training worked for you? It has been

:13:40. > :13:43.amazing, the best 16 weeks of my life, I will grieve when it ends, it

:13:44. > :13:48.has been amazing, loved it. Wonderful spirit, you have an injury

:13:49. > :13:53.but you are still here. We have some of the others here, Betts, how are

:13:54. > :13:57.you feeling about the Cardiff Half Marathon, any nerves? Raring to go,

:13:58. > :14:09.I just want to get it done, get it started, let loose! Really? Yes, let

:14:10. > :14:13.me free! Fighting talk! I have done a lot of training, listened to

:14:14. > :14:20.James, listened to Alfie, great advice, and I think I am ready. What

:14:21. > :14:24.distances have you been running? Up to 11 miles so far in Pembrokeshire,

:14:25. > :14:32.which is hilly, lots of sheep and cows! They get in the way, don't

:14:33. > :14:36.they?! I have to jump over them and everything, obstacles in

:14:37. > :14:44.Pembrokeshire! No injuries? No, I am fine. Wonderful. Nicola, nice to see

:14:45. > :14:50.you, where are you from? I am from Cardiff. Were you fit before you

:14:51. > :15:00.started with Alfie? Not at all, very own fit. Going from nothing to this

:15:01. > :15:05.now, yes. How inspirational, I know what he is like as a rugby player,

:15:06. > :15:09.what has he been like for you? Really good, very motivational, a

:15:10. > :15:14.great sport, and more importantly really down-to-earth and lovely with

:15:15. > :15:22.it. He has really got us going. Is he a tough coach, though? Yes, at

:15:23. > :15:28.times! I get here, yes, I am, in the background! You need to be strict!

:15:29. > :15:32.If running was easy, everyone would be doing it. Something that is hard,

:15:33. > :15:36.you need somebody to push you sometimes. What these women didn't

:15:37. > :15:40.realise is in their everyday lives they have more detained minute --

:15:41. > :15:44.more determination than I ever had, so I just had to channel that into

:15:45. > :15:48.something they didn't like, running. Once they were determined to run,

:15:49. > :15:59.these women can take on the world. Absolutely brilliant, Alfie, thank

:16:00. > :16:01.you very much indeed. I wish you all the very best. Of course, this

:16:02. > :16:03.course has already been used earlier in March this year when the World

:16:04. > :16:08.Half Marathon Championship came to Cardiff.

:16:09. > :16:15.The elite women under way, these are a fast women. The world Cross

:16:16. > :16:22.country champion will test Mo Farah completely and utterly today. Fall

:16:23. > :16:29.at the start, I think it was one of the favourites, horrible way for him

:16:30. > :16:37.to start the defence of his title. Down to just Kenyans and Ethiopians

:16:38. > :16:45.at the front. This exciting new talent from Kenya. Back to the men's

:16:46. > :16:51.race, taking on the job of trying to work together at the front, and

:16:52. > :16:59.straightaway Mo Farah has reacted. This will come down to a sprint

:17:00. > :17:03.finish and look at her go. She wins the world half marathon. There is Mo

:17:04. > :17:08.Farah and there you can see the leaders, I would estimate about 100

:17:09. > :17:13.metres ahead of him at this point. Do not underestimate Mo Farah and

:17:14. > :17:17.how well he can stay focused. This may well be one of his best

:17:18. > :17:25.performances ever, to win the world half Marathon title. Mo Farah takes

:17:26. > :17:28.one more look behind and checks, he gets the bronze medal for Great

:17:29. > :17:33.Britain. Well done to him, that was hard.

:17:34. > :17:39.It was a very wet day in the capital city but we have very fond memories

:17:40. > :17:44.of the world half Marathon championship coming to the capital

:17:45. > :17:49.city of Wales, so does this man, marathon legend Steve Jones. We have

:17:50. > :17:54.spoken so much about the build-up to the world half Marathon championship

:17:55. > :17:58.and it was a massive success. It was fantastic, the only bad thing was

:17:59. > :18:02.the weather and we can do anything about that. But to see the Kenyans

:18:03. > :18:09.going as fast as they did, close to a world record, under an hour, and

:18:10. > :18:13.Mo coming back from being dropped early in the race to finish third

:18:14. > :18:17.was fantastic. What did it do for Cardiff, having that event in the

:18:18. > :18:24.city but also Welsh athletics? I think it did a lot, it elevated the

:18:25. > :18:28.race to a world-class level, not that it wasn't before but we took

:18:29. > :18:31.another step forward. We have an opportunity to apply for the World

:18:32. > :18:36.Championships again, I think it's done great. We had good British

:18:37. > :18:40.performances as well, so hopefully we can feed off that and move to the

:18:41. > :18:46.next level again and become one of the best in the world. You have also

:18:47. > :18:49.been part of the Organisation for the Cardiff half marathon, have you

:18:50. > :18:55.been surprised at the speed in which this event has grown? It's like a

:18:56. > :19:00.Rolling Stone, it's like a snowball rolling down a hill, getting bigger

:19:01. > :19:06.and bigger. This race and the World Championships, almost 50,000, 45,000

:19:07. > :19:11.people running and we have had three races in a calendar year, over

:19:12. > :19:18.60,000 people running, it is getting better and better. Do you have your

:19:19. > :19:24.trainers? I do not! On purpose! Thank you. The elite race was

:19:25. > :19:29.special last year, Ben Siwa was the winner and he expects another fast

:19:30. > :19:39.race this year. It will be faster than last year, because last year

:19:40. > :19:42.after 12 kilometres, I think this year is more faster. I've done quite

:19:43. > :19:47.a few races now, and I think every race which hasn't been a major

:19:48. > :19:51.championship I have won so far, hopefully keep that going but I

:19:52. > :19:56.think it will be tough. I am looking forward to running a good time in

:19:57. > :20:01.Cardiff, or is not running making someone run a good time because I

:20:02. > :20:08.need to make Cardiff a big race, that is my ambition. I ran a quick

:20:09. > :20:14.kinky here a couple of weeks ago won that, I was only a few seconds off

:20:15. > :20:20.my PB. My training has been good, when I was preparing so I have to

:20:21. > :20:26.try tomorrow. From a UK point of view I would be disappointed to be

:20:27. > :20:29.out of the top three. I am a proud Welshman, I want to win a Welsh

:20:30. > :20:36.title and win as many as I can whilst I can. Two more sportsmen

:20:37. > :20:43.from Wales who enjoy winning, early start lads, are you running? Yeah,

:20:44. > :20:50.clearly, 18 stone marathon runner, that is me! But no, we are pleased

:20:51. > :20:55.to be invited down. People travelling from all over the UK to

:20:56. > :21:00.be here. Its outstanding, it's touch a prestigious event now, amazing to

:21:01. > :21:06.see how much it's grown, it's great for the capital. Have you ever taken

:21:07. > :21:10.part? No, unfortunately not, I cannot imagine myself running in

:21:11. > :21:17.general. It's just lovely to be part of the event to be honest. A really

:21:18. > :21:20.nice atmosphere isn't it? Yes, and a nice day fortunately. Someone said

:21:21. > :21:27.earlier it feels like an international rugby match. It's

:21:28. > :21:33.nice. What about you, do you ever run half marathon or marathon, do

:21:34. > :21:40.you like a long-running? No! I am good at one thing and I have that

:21:41. > :21:44.thing. My family are taking part will and they are better runners

:21:45. > :21:49.than me. Lots of people raising money for wonderful causes across

:21:50. > :21:52.the UK. That's what it's all about. A lot of people out here having fun

:21:53. > :21:58.and pushing themselves and doing it for a good cause. Look at that, I

:21:59. > :22:02.know you are a proud Welsh man, we have just been talking to Gethin

:22:03. > :22:07.Jones who is a proud Cardiff boy as well, look how beautiful it is.

:22:08. > :22:12.Incredible scenes, so many people on the streets, like we were saying, it

:22:13. > :22:17.is like a match day. Great to see. You can see the masses they are to

:22:18. > :22:21.the left of your picture looking absolutely wonderful, Cardiff Castle

:22:22. > :22:27.resplendent this morning in the autumn sunshine. How did you enjoy

:22:28. > :22:33.the homecoming, Paralympic and Rio homecoming on Thursday evening, nice

:22:34. > :22:36.to be welcomed home? Definitely, with all Success Wales has had its

:22:37. > :22:44.nice to see people coming out and celebrating with us. Another amazing

:22:45. > :22:50.year for Wales sport. Yes, we are punching above our weight. It's been

:22:51. > :22:54.some year with incredible Welsh success and we have excelled. It's

:22:55. > :23:00.an honour to be part of that. What is next for you? I am racing with

:23:01. > :23:06.sky now, my first race with them a week today, I will be getting on the

:23:07. > :23:19.bike for a few hours, back to work. Here we go, time for the anthem.

:23:20. > :24:36.Thousands of people not just taking part in today's Cardiff half

:24:37. > :24:40.marathon but thousands of spectators lining the streets of the capital

:24:41. > :24:44.city of Wales, the principality stadium will be full as well in

:24:45. > :24:47.November for the autumn internationals. And for the six

:24:48. > :24:50.Nations which gets underway in February and March but today is very

:24:51. > :24:56.much all about the Cardiff half marathon. The first race of the day

:24:57. > :25:00.about to get underway as we see the wheelchair athletes getting ready

:25:01. > :25:03.for the starters gun. Names to watch out for in this include the

:25:04. > :25:11.favourite Richie Powell, three-time winner of the Dublin Marathon. Also

:25:12. > :25:16.with the half marathon personal best of 49 17. Also watch out for Gary

:25:17. > :25:41.Cooper. Also represented Wales in coarse

:25:42. > :26:10.fishing, but today it is about the Cardiff half marathon.

:26:11. > :26:19.Let's say good morning to Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson who is part of the

:26:20. > :26:24.commentary here. Good morning, a wonderful day. It's fantastic,

:26:25. > :26:29.perfect conditions for running and for the wheelchair race but I think

:26:30. > :26:34.her Cardiff it's huge. This is the second-largest half marathon in the

:26:35. > :26:37.UK, two and a half million pounds raised for charity, 22,000 runners

:26:38. > :26:46.and it helps put Cardiff Wales on the map of athletics. We were

:26:47. > :26:50.hearing from Ben Siwa who won last year and is expecting another quick

:26:51. > :26:54.race largely because of the course being so flat. It's a beautiful

:26:55. > :26:59.course, for most of my career I trained on about everything apart

:27:00. > :27:03.from the barrage. The road quality is good, it's protected for a lot of

:27:04. > :27:08.it and there are only a few ups and downs. It's quite a fast finish into

:27:09. > :27:19.the last half a mile but I think the support of the crowd also helps, and

:27:20. > :27:23.the support around Roath Park. Do you get the feeling one of the

:27:24. > :27:27.reasons that people are so excited not only watching at home but also

:27:28. > :27:32.coming here today is simply because they have loved this summer of sport

:27:33. > :27:37.with the Paralympics and Olympic Games? It's been amazing, if you

:27:38. > :27:39.asked the four months out of the Olympic and Palin pick teams would

:27:40. > :27:46.do so well I would not have thought so but it inspires people to get up

:27:47. > :27:50.off the couch. You look at Alfie's Angels. It's important to have

:27:51. > :27:55.events on the back of these major sporting events to give something

:27:56. > :27:58.for people to aim for. It's great Cardiff have done it, especially on

:27:59. > :28:04.the back of the World Championships as well. Plenty more to come from

:28:05. > :28:08.having events like this. Chatting to Steve Jones about the rapid growth

:28:09. > :28:14.of this event, has that surprised you? It has, you look at other half

:28:15. > :28:17.marathons and it's slower growth. I think there was a time people

:28:18. > :28:22.thought maybe marathons were dying off, people did not want to run half

:28:23. > :28:29.marathons, but anybody can do it ten K, a lot of people want the next

:28:30. > :28:32.step up, I think when you see the quality of the course it is one that

:28:33. > :28:36.anybody can do on a few months training and you can be OK on the

:28:37. > :28:42.back of it. I think the quality of the course makes a huge difference.

:28:43. > :28:47.The mass race is huge, I never would have expected to have 22,000 people

:28:48. > :28:52.coming to Cardiff to do that. Thank you very much indeed for the moment,

:28:53. > :28:56.part of our commentary team and she is absolutely right, if you want to

:28:57. > :29:07.get involved go to the BBC Sport website to get inspired. We are

:29:08. > :29:09.almost ready, 22,000 runners getting ready for the Cardiff University

:29:10. > :29:13.Cardiff Half Marathon, let's hand you over to our commentary team,

:29:14. > :29:18.Tanni Grey-Thompson and Stewart story.

:29:19. > :29:24.Good morning everyone, a talented field and a quality course. And the

:29:25. > :29:30.elite will now be introduced, some of them. It really is a good field

:29:31. > :29:47.and they could challenge the race record. Griffiths of Great Britain

:29:48. > :29:51.and Wales. The defending champion, Ben Siwa of tenure, he will probably

:29:52. > :29:52.need a little more than his best today as the opposition is buried

:29:53. > :30:05.tough today. Went to Rio and represented Kenya.

:30:06. > :30:15.And this man is a winner of the Paris Marathon, he will be a real

:30:16. > :30:18.threat, Kotut. And of course Rachel Felton, it's a mixed race, for times

:30:19. > :30:32.winner of the Cardiff ten K, won that race recently. The Cardiff Half

:30:33. > :30:40.Marathon defending champion, both defenders are here. Flomena Daniel,

:30:41. > :30:44.the reigning champion is here. And here you have talent emerging

:30:45. > :30:54.rapidly, so close to the world record this year, one. Sixth fastest

:30:55. > :31:07.marathon runner of all time. The race record held by a Kenyan, 61.5

:31:08. > :31:11.one. And Susan Partridge 71.10. We are not using the World Championship

:31:12. > :31:14.times because the course is slightly different, there was a slight

:31:15. > :31:21.deviation on that course so they have opted for the race record set

:31:22. > :31:28.on the normal Cardiff Half Marathon. 13.1 kilometres ahead of them. And

:31:29. > :31:34.the race will be a challenge for all.

:31:35. > :31:44.The race will be tough for all of them. It will be. They like to set

:31:45. > :31:48.their own watch as they go across the finish line and what is great

:31:49. > :31:52.about this race is having the elite men and women in together, I think

:31:53. > :32:01.it will produce some very fast Times for the women. Loyola, who we are

:32:02. > :32:05.expecting to go off early fast, she could get a nice protected run, it

:32:06. > :32:10.will be interesting to see how close she can get to that world record

:32:11. > :32:16.pace. The conditions are fine, the sun is shining, there is a slight

:32:17. > :32:21.breeze at the finish, where we are, but I must say that the talent up

:32:22. > :32:28.front is quite considerable, and they will spread quickly on this

:32:29. > :32:33.course, and the Millennium Stadium, the wonderful array of facilities,

:32:34. > :32:42.there it is, bottom right, all of those wonderful moments in there. As

:32:43. > :32:47.a Welsh rugby supporter, many memories there. It is important for

:32:48. > :32:51.the runners, you want a fast course, decent road quality, but having nice

:32:52. > :32:54.things to see along the way, not for the elite Runners, but those a

:32:55. > :33:00.little further back who are maybe taking two or three hours, who start

:33:01. > :33:07.to war, it it does help to have those I can make -- iconic things to

:33:08. > :33:14.see. I saw a few people heading to the start line today, it is good.

:33:15. > :33:19.Look at this, already the elite athletes are out Allah, as one would

:33:20. > :33:26.expect. We mentioned Kotut, what a season he has had so far. World Half

:33:27. > :33:30.Marathon Championship 2003 was his brother, a former winner of the

:33:31. > :33:36.London Marathon, twice the great North champion, so he has a real

:33:37. > :33:43.pedigree and he has taken the early lead here. Dewi Griffiths is right

:33:44. > :33:58.on the back of that group of Africans there, along with Taguchi.

:33:59. > :34:02.But the elite field, as we expected, already making their way forward,

:34:03. > :34:08.and I would expect, we are looking around about the hour, possibly 61

:34:09. > :34:11.minutes for this race, and it would mean they're running well worth an

:34:12. > :34:19.average of four minutes and 39, said that is a tough ask. But it

:34:20. > :34:26.certainly is possible here today. I think the race best performance will

:34:27. > :34:30.certainly go. I think Dewi Griffiths is our best hope from a British

:34:31. > :34:34.point of view. But he needs to run his own race, he needs to pace

:34:35. > :34:39.himself. We saw at the World Championships when Mo Farah

:34:40. > :34:43.struggled with some of the early pace and came back strong, but he

:34:44. > :34:47.wants to hang onto the back as much as he possibly can. I'd tell you

:34:48. > :34:50.what, Jepchumba is already flying and some of the men already finding

:34:51. > :34:58.it difficult to stay with her. When you look at this woman, the sixth

:34:59. > :35:04.fastest of all time, absolutely magnificent. As a competitor, second

:35:05. > :35:08.on the all-time over ten kilometres, incidentally. She did not realise

:35:09. > :35:12.she was doing that, 30 minutes 24, and they wondered why she was not

:35:13. > :35:16.trying the 10,000 metres in Rio, she did not try for that. Meanwhile, the

:35:17. > :35:20.second phase will be getting underway and of course these phases

:35:21. > :35:24.are determined by the times they have performed in the past or are

:35:25. > :35:29.likely to perform, so that it becomes a nice flowing race, and

:35:30. > :35:36.there will be point at which the five kilometre, ten kilometre, 15

:35:37. > :35:41.kilometre, 20 kilometre time is come up, but in all it is a 13.1 mile

:35:42. > :35:44.race and we hope to DVD pace as the elite go on but all of these people

:35:45. > :35:48.will have their own stories, they will report back to their offices

:35:49. > :35:52.the following day, tomorrow morning, either boasting about a personal

:35:53. > :35:57.best or how much money they have raised for the numerous charities

:35:58. > :36:05.that are being serviced here on this very fine day in Cardiff. I think

:36:06. > :36:09.800 charities are represented here, hoping to raise ?2.5 million. That

:36:10. > :36:11.is the other great thing about running, which you have in this

:36:12. > :36:17.country more than others around the world, is that people dress up and

:36:18. > :36:21.try to raise money, it is not purely about covering the distance, and

:36:22. > :36:26.with 22,000 people running on the streets, it can be quite hard to run

:36:27. > :36:30.your own race, to have the pace that you want. I was chatting to some

:36:31. > :36:34.people this morning, this was their first half marathon, they were so

:36:35. > :36:37.excited about being here, and my advice was, don't go off too hard,

:36:38. > :36:46.don't get caught up in the atmosphere because you want to be

:36:47. > :36:48.finishing in good shape as well. I tell you what, many friendships

:36:49. > :36:52.emerge from events like this, don't they? They do, athletics is a great

:36:53. > :36:56.sport for pulling people together. When you look at the course, it is a

:36:57. > :37:00.beautiful course to be going through, past Cardiff City Stadium,

:37:01. > :37:06.onto Penarth Road, absolutely perfect runners. It is, down the

:37:07. > :37:12.marina, the barrage coming up there and then around Cardiff Bay, up

:37:13. > :37:15.through the heart of the bay, the Norwegian Church, the Wales

:37:16. > :37:21.millennium Centre, and then of course heading right up north to the

:37:22. > :37:27.beautiful Roath Park, coming around that park and back again, there it

:37:28. > :37:33.is, then they will turn back towards the finish at 13.1 miles. It is a

:37:34. > :37:41.marvellous course, you are quite right, Tanni, and it takes in the

:37:42. > :37:45.very best that Cardiff can offer. It does, and for the athletes who are

:37:46. > :37:49.running, it is beautiful to know there are things along the way that

:37:50. > :37:52.you can take off. If you look at Roath Park, that is the point where

:37:53. > :37:56.the brothers will be able to mark where they are, and for the back

:37:57. > :38:01.runners it will be inspirational. This is the leading gates now, Dewi

:38:02. > :38:07.Griffiths on the back, as you can see, along with the Japanese

:38:08. > :38:20.absolute right in the middle in the blue strip, but certainly the main

:38:21. > :38:28.part of this race, they are looking very comfortable indeed. Dewi

:38:29. > :38:35.Griffiths is still in the pack, getting protected. There can be a

:38:36. > :38:39.little bit of wind around here and it is more likely to be in their

:38:40. > :38:48.face at this point so he is running smart, he is making sure he gets as

:38:49. > :38:59.much protection as he can. We would expect to see him there for a long

:39:00. > :39:06.time. The leader at the moment was 11th in the Paris half marathon this

:39:07. > :39:14.year, and we saw him this year, he paced the race this year. He has got

:39:15. > :39:21.a 28: 48 14 barometers on the road as well. We will give you some

:39:22. > :39:25.update on the pace once we get the miners coming through, but they are

:39:26. > :39:29.heading towards the second mile now, beyond my old one, heading to mile

:39:30. > :39:32.two. It is interesting they have chosen not to have pace runners in

:39:33. > :39:37.this race, because we are used to seeing it in the big-city marathons,

:39:38. > :39:40.London, Berlin. It is quite different from the athletes running

:39:41. > :39:44.where they have to set their own market when they are just running

:39:45. > :39:48.behind somebody, following the back of someone's shirt. It will be

:39:49. > :39:51.interesting to see how the athletes who are used to having the pace

:39:52. > :39:56.runners look at this in a different way. You have to make so many more

:39:57. > :40:00.choices as an athlete if you are not just following someone. They are

:40:01. > :40:05.just going around the corner there. And another start, which is fabulous

:40:06. > :40:11.to see. So many stopwatches clicked as they go beyond the start line and

:40:12. > :40:15.head out. Your advice earlier on, start off slowly and go slower,

:40:16. > :40:21.always the best policy for those that are not used to running a race

:40:22. > :40:28.of this kind. But there will be club athletes who will have gone behind

:40:29. > :40:31.the elites, they will be looking for personal bests. You can see there

:40:32. > :40:36.are so many people here that some of them are having to walk, they will

:40:37. > :40:42.take time to get over the line. 22,000 trying to get over the line,

:40:43. > :40:45.look at that, mobile phones being clicked, not much breath left to

:40:46. > :40:49.talk on the phone by the time they get into this race. The advantage

:40:50. > :40:53.these days is they all have chips in their shoes which gives everyone

:40:54. > :40:58.their mile times, which they need. Violah Jepchumba is still reading,

:40:59. > :41:08.looking very, very comfortable at the moment. She is a class act. I

:41:09. > :41:12.tell you what, six over all time is just unbelievable. Towards the end

:41:13. > :41:19.of this race, they are in Penarth Road in Cardiff at the moment, two

:41:20. > :41:25.miles, around about that mark. She has got no plans for a marathon yet,

:41:26. > :41:29.she might well run the marathon in 2018, 2019, but she looks so free

:41:30. > :41:39.running, doesn't she, this is a real talent. This is Daniel, the second

:41:40. > :41:51.of the athletes in there. Flomena Daniel. Incidentally we saw her in

:41:52. > :41:55.1999 in Dublin running as a junior in the world Cross country

:41:56. > :42:05.Championships, she was tenth, 118 silver in the Olympic 5000 metre and

:42:06. > :42:09.10,000 metre in Rio. In 2009 she won another medal. This young woman is

:42:10. > :42:17.absolutely flying, destroying some of the men in this field. Once you

:42:18. > :42:20.discover she has not run just under 66 minutes, this is world class in

:42:21. > :42:23.every sense, I think we might be seeing something special here. I

:42:24. > :42:27.think we could, and I would have maybe expected a few more of the

:42:28. > :42:31.slower meant to be with her and offer a bit of protection, but you

:42:32. > :42:35.have to admire, she just wants to go out and run her own race, lovely

:42:36. > :42:39.seeing this sea of people, they will be a lot of the charity fundraisers.

:42:40. > :42:45.You will be able to spot within the crowd, there will be people running

:42:46. > :42:49.with flags on their back which are tapping the pace, so the

:42:50. > :42:52.inexperienced runners will have the two-hour, 2.5 hour, three hour mark

:42:53. > :42:57.to know how careful they have to be not to run off to hard because an

:42:58. > :43:01.important part of the Cardiff Half Marathon, and all half marathons, is

:43:02. > :43:05.they want people to come back, they want people to think about joining

:43:06. > :43:08.clubs and participating. What is interesting, there are quite a few

:43:09. > :43:19.athletics clubs shirt here but also lots of people running for the first

:43:20. > :43:22.time. No break in that leading group of men, I must say, but one would

:43:23. > :43:25.not expect that at this stage. I have to say, the pace at which they

:43:26. > :43:27.are running, in marathons now, remember the Berlin Marathon last

:43:28. > :43:35.weekend, they ran the first half in 61 minutes 11, they are getting

:43:36. > :43:39.ridiculously fast. Just outside the world record. This group of

:43:40. > :43:44.athletes, very capable of a rant about the hour, certainly three or

:43:45. > :43:49.four of them are, and I am sure the personal-best will be broken here on

:43:50. > :43:54.this Perfect Day. You can see the trees in the background, very little

:43:55. > :43:58.breeze at all. Here at the finish, there is not a waiver of a leaf on

:43:59. > :44:07.the trees surrounding Tanni and I in the commentary box. Kotut just

:44:08. > :44:17.asserting himself, and I have to say, actually, he began running road

:44:18. > :44:23.races back in 2012. He has tried to develop his marathon running in

:44:24. > :44:30.2013, but he did not quite make it, he failed to finish. This is a nice

:44:31. > :44:36.part of the course, and very gentle climb. When you see people who say

:44:37. > :44:41.it is a flat, fast course, you don't always believe it until you run on

:44:42. > :44:45.something like Cardiff. There are very few undulations, which means

:44:46. > :44:48.you can just keep running at a very nice pace, and now they will be

:44:49. > :44:52.heading towards Penarth, there will be a bit more protection, and this

:44:53. > :44:55.may be where we start to see the crowds coming out as well. Although

:44:56. > :45:05.the athletes know what they are doing, having a little bit of

:45:06. > :45:08.support along the side really spurs them on. It doesn't matter who you

:45:09. > :45:10.are, front or back, you want that support. Well, there is the man

:45:11. > :45:19.himself, along with his flock. Alfie's Angels! 100 Alfie's Angels,

:45:20. > :45:22.moving on from 16 last year. I was listening to the interview earlier,

:45:23. > :45:27.Alfie has put them to the test and it will be great to see them come

:45:28. > :45:32.through. So successful last year, increased it tenfold in every sense.

:45:33. > :45:35.Brilliant to see their enthusiasm, I hope they feel like that at the

:45:36. > :45:41.halfway point and as they come towards the finish line. Having

:45:42. > :45:44.someone like Alfie supporting, encouraging, being a mentor or do

:45:45. > :45:48.these young women, it is great because it does not matter what gets

:45:49. > :45:52.people off the sofa, at the moment we know we need to get more people

:45:53. > :45:56.being fit and healthy and active. I love the fact they are all wearing

:45:57. > :46:00.bright pink so you can spot them. I hope they are able to stay together

:46:01. > :46:05.as well because that camaraderie, when the time is tough, ten miles,

:46:06. > :46:08.11 miles, it starts to hurt and you think you should have bought

:46:09. > :46:11.something else to eat or thinking about your hydration, that is what

:46:12. > :46:17.will keep you going, that people will keep nudging each other on

:46:18. > :46:21.together. I tell you what, the hydration point is very important,

:46:22. > :46:26.you don't necessarily feel you need a drink but you should take on-board

:46:27. > :46:30.fluid, particularly in these longer races. Absolutely. For the elite

:46:31. > :46:34.athletes, they will have been through huge amount of support to

:46:35. > :46:38.know at what point they have to have their special drinks, at what point

:46:39. > :46:42.do have water. The elite athletes won't be eating. For a lot of the

:46:43. > :46:48.fun runners, my advice to them is, take a snack with you, take some

:46:49. > :46:53.sweets, the advice is strong, don't use the gels if you are not used to

:46:54. > :46:57.them, don't drink the drinks. It is important that you get through to

:46:58. > :47:01.the finish in one piece. It was great to see a lot of people at the

:47:02. > :47:04.start this morning with bananas, making sure they were taking the as

:47:05. > :47:19.-- taking the advice to make sure It is quick, they are running about

:47:20. > :47:23.the hour mark, Kotut beginning to push it. The last time I was talking

:47:24. > :47:32.about him I said he tried to move to the marathon in 2013, he failed to

:47:33. > :47:39.finish, but he ran in September of that year, he was beaten by Stanley

:47:40. > :47:47.Biwott in the half marathon, broke 60 minutes. Dewi Griffiths

:47:48. > :47:54.struggling a little with the pace. When the pace was picked up it got

:47:55. > :47:59.challenging for Dewi but the thing is for him don't panic, run your own

:48:00. > :48:03.race and don't try to close the gap too quickly. When people go from

:48:04. > :48:06.running a half marathon to a full marathon they think it's just twice

:48:07. > :48:10.the distance but it's so much more than that, even in marathon running

:48:11. > :48:14.there is so many tactics involved, how you get the first mile right or

:48:15. > :48:23.wrong. If you start at a point in the middle where you are struggling,

:48:24. > :48:27.you start losing touch, even a small gap can collect a long way. At this

:48:28. > :48:33.point there is maybe 40, 50 metres tops, so for Dewi he just needs to

:48:34. > :48:39.keep thinking about how he can pull it back in. But the guys are looking

:48:40. > :48:46.very strong, this is the bottom half of Penarth, into the newer area of

:48:47. > :48:50.Penarth, there will be flats and other things around which will offer

:48:51. > :48:57.the more protection before they start heading out onto the barrage.

:48:58. > :49:00.In previous races that's been one of the toughest parts of the course

:49:01. > :49:05.especially for some of the small women with the wind coming off the

:49:06. > :49:09.sea but today could not ask for better running conditions. They will

:49:10. > :49:15.be coming up to the mile soon. Be in Penarth Marina and into Cardiff Bay,

:49:16. > :49:31.they go around the skirt of Cardiff Bay as they start to head up north

:49:32. > :49:34.through the city itself. We will try to keep you in touch with where they

:49:35. > :49:39.are on the course as we go along, they are settling in, it would be

:49:40. > :49:44.interesting if the Japanese could link onto Dewi Griffiths because the

:49:45. > :49:49.two of them together would be very much to their advantage, to stick

:49:50. > :49:51.together. The Marina looks beautiful, absolutely beautiful,

:49:52. > :50:03.wonderful scenes. Paralympian, T 36 406I understand --

:50:04. > :50:25.T 406I anyone who is an arm amputee, he has

:50:26. > :50:28.an issue with his right hand, it's easy to make the crossover, so it is

:50:29. > :50:40.good to see there is less separation than there needs to be. He was a

:50:41. > :50:44.Paralympian in London. But these masses, look at this, if you think

:50:45. > :50:50.about running 13.1 miles, wearing that sort of get up... It is

:50:51. > :50:54.incredible. There are some wonderful things, when I was doing interviews

:50:55. > :51:01.for the London Marathon walked up to me and I interviewed it, then a

:51:02. > :51:09.dragon walked up to me the following year and said you don't recognise me

:51:10. > :51:12.do you? I was the parrot last year! I wonder what makes people think I

:51:13. > :51:18.am going to do the Cardiff Half Marathon that dressed up? You think

:51:19. > :51:26.about all the planning and thought that has gone into it, I wonder how

:51:27. > :51:31.you would train dressed up in an amazing costume? I don't imagine you

:51:32. > :51:36.can run around the streets doing that. But we are back to the Marina,

:51:37. > :51:42.lovely shots. It's a lovely part of the course to be running on. This is

:51:43. > :52:01.a nice little break we have got, free breaking away. On the right

:52:02. > :52:08.with the yellow vest, he is a T46. Isn't that fantastic? Having grown

:52:09. > :52:13.up in Cardiff and seen the huge changes over the years within the

:52:14. > :52:17.city, it's absolutely stunning to see this. There were times when

:52:18. > :52:20.people would say that was the area you wanted to be in and it was

:52:21. > :52:25.incredible for the city, this is another thing which puts the city on

:52:26. > :52:29.the map. They have really picked up the pace, deciding they want to

:52:30. > :52:34.start splitting up the pack, an injection of speed which is quite

:52:35. > :52:44.interesting. It certainly is, I think they are about 61 minutes.

:52:45. > :52:48.Halfway between four and five miles around the Marina. They are coming

:52:49. > :52:57.up to the barrage which will be right in the middle is five miles.

:52:58. > :53:03.It was a subtle increase in pace but it was enough to take away, it looks

:53:04. > :53:14.as though four or five got away from the rest now. Familiar side of

:53:15. > :53:19.Africa are leading a major race. Moving very quickly indeed, this is

:53:20. > :53:27.going to be some race at the end. We will bring you date with the

:53:28. > :53:32.fortunes of Jepchumba as soon as we can, she is on a long run on this

:53:33. > :53:39.circuit and running against the clock, totally alone we understand.

:53:40. > :53:43.Really putting down the pedal and looking very quick indeed. Susan

:53:44. > :53:49.Partridge's fastest time for this course will definitely be broken, no

:53:50. > :53:56.question about that. Just outside 71 minutes, that's going to go, no

:53:57. > :54:01.question, 71.10 it is. Looking over at the right shoulder, potentially

:54:02. > :54:05.having a discussion with some of the athletes about what they are doing,

:54:06. > :54:09.that is quite normal, a lot of these athletes train and compete together

:54:10. > :54:14.all the time, it's interesting how much of a conversation can happen in

:54:15. > :54:15.the pack. They have decided they wanted to get rid of a few of the

:54:16. > :54:38.people hanging on the back. At the back in the bright yellow

:54:39. > :54:47.vest, finished third in a half marathon in tenure two weeks ago, it

:54:48. > :54:55.is held at 2500 metres altitude -- in Kenya. All the physiology behind

:54:56. > :54:59.altitude, when you are born and live there of course the advantage is

:55:00. > :55:07.always with you. Here we go with the young women totally on her own. This

:55:08. > :55:22.is Jepchumba. We reckon she is a roundabout four and a half miles

:55:23. > :55:24.out. She is running about 4.40 pace. Good running, she will be looking at

:55:25. > :55:43.her watch and working out the times. It is good running, just a bit of a

:55:44. > :55:49.surprise that some of the other men have not tried to stay with her but

:55:50. > :55:55.that this kind of pace, she is looking comfortable. It's a long,

:55:56. > :55:58.hard slog at this point, not having any protection, not having anyone in

:55:59. > :56:03.front of her to try and chase down. But you have to admire her for not

:56:04. > :56:07.wanting to settle into a women's race, just deciding I am going to

:56:08. > :56:12.get the fastest time. I wonder if she is now thinking maybe she should

:56:13. > :56:20.have tried for Rio, Tokyo, in marathon running? Maybe she wanted

:56:21. > :56:32.to go out and prove a point. I think she must be running between 5.02 and

:56:33. > :56:42.5.07 for each mile. Exactly five miles in 25.10. That's going to give

:56:43. > :56:49.our exactly 66 minute pace, which is very quick, very very quick indeed.

:56:50. > :56:56.The mile marker gave us the absolute, she is actually running at

:56:57. > :57:00.5.02 pace per mile. That's very fast. Certainly going to see

:57:01. > :57:07.something that will stand as a record here for some time. This is a

:57:08. > :57:11.newcomer, but she is something very special, began competing

:57:12. > :57:23.internationally in 2014, won several base races in Germany. Her

:57:24. > :57:31.breakthrough came when she won the half marathon in 69.29 last season.

:57:32. > :57:46.This year she won the discovery Kenya cross-country. She beat the

:57:47. > :57:55.world's steeplechase champion. She beat the Olympic marathon champion

:57:56. > :58:00.from Rio. She has come through, not quite from nowhere but really

:58:01. > :58:06.pushing the boundaries. Back with the men's race, looks like they have

:58:07. > :58:12.settled down a little bit. They are using the road surface, using the

:58:13. > :58:17.terrain, they have obviously decided they will just settle in for a

:58:18. > :58:27.little bit now and not push on too much. Have certainly made the surge.

:58:28. > :58:31.Richie Powell. He was on the 92 Paralympic team, competing for Wales

:58:32. > :58:38.at the Cromwell games as well. This is more of a time trial for him, the

:58:39. > :58:42.other wheelchair athletes are more developmental. He's pushing well,

:58:43. > :58:46.good technique. He's hoping for about 59 minutes, part of it depends

:58:47. > :58:53.on this part of the course, there are a few twists and turns. But at

:58:54. > :59:00.the moment looking strong. Out on his own as well which is difficult.

:59:01. > :59:13.But the men, they are all there. This promised and it is delivering.

:59:14. > :59:37.good crowds on a bright morning like this. Seeing a very classy race. I

:59:38. > :59:38.think having a whole weekend of events has encouraged people to

:59:39. > :59:55.think about I think the two of them running

:59:56. > :59:59.together, I said it would help and so it will. I think psychologically

:00:00. > :00:03.it helps if you have someone running on your shoulder, once you know the

:00:04. > :00:10.gap will be hard to close, having somebody run alongside you will push

:00:11. > :00:12.you on. Halfway is a tough point psychologically for anybody

:00:13. > :00:15.especially if you are between the leading pack and you have people

:00:16. > :00:21.chasing you down, the next group behind will be looking to close some

:00:22. > :00:30.of the gaps. Running between six and seven miles now.

:00:31. > :00:44.10K in a roundabout 29 minutes to give you some sort of clue.

:00:45. > :00:53.At this kind of pace they should be running about 4.4 one. It's

:00:54. > :00:59.interesting pacing they have got at the minute, they have gone through

:01:00. > :01:03.10K in 29 minutes. They are running about 62 minutes at the minute,

:01:04. > :01:08.probably quicker than that. It is tough to tell, you want to try to

:01:09. > :01:15.predict it but they are somewhere between 1.01 and 1.02 but still a

:01:16. > :01:20.lot can happen. If somebody put in a couple more bursts they could get

:01:21. > :01:27.closer to an hour. We might get an negative split on this, often that

:01:28. > :01:36.is the case. There we are, Dewi Griffiths and Matsui. He has a best

:01:37. > :01:37.of 63.1 two. Did that in February this year, 21st in the Yamaguchi

:01:38. > :01:50.have marathon. Taguchi was the other Japanese, but

:01:51. > :02:03.this is Matsui, there are two Japanese in the race -- Takeuchi was

:02:04. > :02:10.the other. This is Jepchumba. Still moving so very, very strongly. About

:02:11. > :02:22.halfway now on this race, this 13.1 mile journey. When Violah Jepchumba

:02:23. > :02:29.came here, well, they were saying that she is the future. Once she

:02:30. > :02:33.turns to marathon running, and I began by saying earlier that she

:02:34. > :02:37.won't run marathons yet, she says not yet, just gradually building and

:02:38. > :02:41.building, and so often the half marathon is used as the pathway to

:02:42. > :02:45.running a marathon, and of course it gives them some sort of clue as to

:02:46. > :02:51.what they can do a top weight before they set off on the second half of a

:02:52. > :02:57.marathon, but it is a new skill when you run that 26 mile race, it really

:02:58. > :03:02.is, it has different demands, but she is gradually, slowly but surely,

:03:03. > :03:07.beginning to develop her talent, and when you consider 65.51, the sixth

:03:08. > :03:20.fastest female of all time at half marathon, not bad at all. A couple

:03:21. > :03:26.of sub 70s. I tell you what, just hesitating for a moment, I think

:03:27. > :03:35.Batman and Robin... Here they are, the superheroes. There is a world

:03:36. > :03:42.superhero record, apparently! There is a world record for just about

:03:43. > :03:49.every kind of cartoon character! Somebody with a pancake, I don't...

:03:50. > :03:52.They are actually running pretty quick! To be running in the costume,

:03:53. > :03:57.it is not one of the biggest we have seen, but that is not bad running at

:03:58. > :04:04.all. I do actually hope they break the world record, especially here in

:04:05. > :04:09.Cardiff. I am wondering whether that was Flomena Daniel we saw in that

:04:10. > :04:14.shot as well. Nevertheless, look at this, this group together, seven

:04:15. > :04:23.miles, 32.49 at seven miles, that will give you... Between 62, just

:04:24. > :04:28.outside 62 minutes. They have slowed down a little bit, they are along

:04:29. > :04:38.Lloyd George Avenue at the moment. Still looking good, though. This

:04:39. > :04:51.race is still to emerge. The tea 46 man is in the lead. P1 pita bread in

:04:52. > :05:01.his personal best in the six. He is a 28.5410 kilometre run as well on

:05:02. > :05:08.the road. A little bit left for him. He is part of an organisation called

:05:09. > :05:11.Project Africa Athletics, a nonprofit organisation based in

:05:12. > :05:18.Northern Ireland which assists young athletes to come and compete out of

:05:19. > :05:22.their country, because remember, this is the first time he has ever

:05:23. > :05:25.run outside of tenure, so it is quite an occasion for him. I big

:05:26. > :05:31.organisations like that are important... -- run outside of

:05:32. > :05:35.Kenya. A lot of the athletes will have had foundation that help and

:05:36. > :05:40.support people, they want young athletes to be coming through and be

:05:41. > :05:43.given an opportunity. If you come from some other developing

:05:44. > :05:47.countries, it can be a challenge to get onto the European circuit, and

:05:48. > :05:51.especially when they have so many good athletes, so it is great to see

:05:52. > :05:54.the more established athletes helping, putting something back and

:05:55. > :06:04.making sure that the legacy of what they have done and achieved keeps

:06:05. > :06:08.going. Whilst we watch the man, I'm quite excited by what Jepchumba

:06:09. > :06:14.might do in the women's race. It is a race against the clock but,

:06:15. > :06:17.goodness me, she has been sub 66 before and she could well do it

:06:18. > :06:23.again here. In Tyndall Street at the moment. They are looking very

:06:24. > :06:26.comfortable, it looks like they have decided to settle down, maybe got

:06:27. > :06:30.rid of a few of the people they wanted to and have carried on.

:06:31. > :06:34.Jepchumba is looking good, she is rolling her shoulders a bit, but she

:06:35. > :06:39.is looking nice and bouncy, she has been running like that the whole

:06:40. > :06:43.way, she is looking comfortable, she is probably wishing that there were

:06:44. > :06:47.a few more around her, she is taking the odd glance behind her. I don't

:06:48. > :06:50.think she needs to worry about the other women catching, but she might

:06:51. > :06:54.like a bit of help and support right now. I think you are right, but she

:06:55. > :07:00.looks determined, deep in concentration. Very good stride

:07:01. > :07:03.length, she has maintained that, just a little dip on the floor, you

:07:04. > :07:08.can see the difference when they run slightly uphill, slightly downhill,

:07:09. > :07:12.it is working well for her at the moment, clearly out for a run

:07:13. > :07:16.against the clock. She is in great form, when you consider that this

:07:17. > :07:26.year she has run so very in strongly, she won Istanbul, she won

:07:27. > :07:31.Gothenberg in May in 68.01 and 65.51 in Prague, that was between the two

:07:32. > :07:35.races that I mentioned. She really has put in some half marathons this

:07:36. > :07:40.year and it is world class in every sense. To be running 66 on your own,

:07:41. > :07:47.she didn't even have anybody with her at the start, it is very

:07:48. > :07:51.determined running. I always admire an athlete who goes out and just

:07:52. > :07:56.wants to be the best they can. There is a good field of women here today,

:07:57. > :08:02.but she has obviously just decided she wants to go out and run fast. It

:08:03. > :08:07.is a bit of a shame there is not a bit more protection for her, but she

:08:08. > :08:10.has got a watch, she knows exactly what she's doing, keeps looking at

:08:11. > :08:15.her watch to see what her mile times are doing and where she is, looking

:08:16. > :08:29.very comfortable within herself. She is between seven and miles, isn't

:08:30. > :08:38.she, at this time. She is up, I would think, just approaching,

:08:39. > :08:44.37.11, I would think that she would be approaching that eight mile mark,

:08:45. > :08:58.really. But anyway, a little glance at her watch. That looks like mini

:08:59. > :09:06.area, doesn't it? It is, he has taken on the lead -- Mneria. The

:09:07. > :09:10.course here is ever so slightly downhill, so it might be their legs

:09:11. > :09:13.are just running a bit quicker, that it is interesting how they are all

:09:14. > :09:18.running alongside each other, just tested each other out and trying to

:09:19. > :09:22.look where their strengths and weaknesses are. At this pace it

:09:23. > :09:25.looks like it could be an interesting sprint finish, which is

:09:26. > :09:33.not always what you want at the end of a half marathon, but they all

:09:34. > :09:39.looked incredibly comfortable. Malaria, he was a big surprise in

:09:40. > :09:43.the Kenyan Olympic trials over 5000 metres, came from nowhere to get his

:09:44. > :09:47.place in the team. Some thought he might do very, very well indeed, he

:09:48. > :09:52.was third in the African Championships cross-country this

:09:53. > :09:56.year over ten Cate, he was fourth in the Kenyan cross-country as well in

:09:57. > :10:03.Nairobi at altitude. He has been around a bit this season. Must have

:10:04. > :10:10.been an experience in Rio in those Olympic Games. Ben Siwa on the left

:10:11. > :10:14.is the defending champion, must not discount the defending champion,

:10:15. > :10:27.best of 62.0 seven. Two big British art are the is in 2016. There is

:10:28. > :10:30.Dewi Griffiths. And Matsui. Joined by Kimosop. It is looking a bit

:10:31. > :10:37.harder at the moment the Dewi Griffiths. He will know this course

:10:38. > :10:41.is so well. But Kimosop was second last year, he is having a poor race

:10:42. > :10:46.today by his own very high standards. He ran in second, set his

:10:47. > :10:52.personal best last year of 63.3 Ron nine but I guess he might not be too

:10:53. > :10:56.much out of that time. -- 63.0 nine. What has happened is the lead group

:10:57. > :11:00.are putting on and they are very much quicker than last year's race.

:11:01. > :11:13.Half marathon running can be pretty cruel. The eight mile mark now, if

:11:14. > :11:16.you don't get your first couple of miles right, you can go from being

:11:17. > :11:19.in great shape and having an amazing day to just being much further down

:11:20. > :11:21.the field. But do we is looking comfortable, just probably would

:11:22. > :11:26.rather be a bit further up the road -- Dewi is looking comfortable. They

:11:27. > :11:39.are running about 65 minute pays if that timing is right. Dewi put in a

:11:40. > :11:44.lot of hard work. For any of the guys that run on the road, it is

:11:45. > :11:48.fairly hard going, not the most exciting training that you can ever

:11:49. > :11:58.do because it is long, hard miles, work in the gym, it can be quite a

:11:59. > :12:02.slog but he is doing a lot of it. The three running together, though,

:12:03. > :12:11.will be helpful. Jepchumba, Violah Jepchumba. Really, when she broke

:12:12. > :12:21.her personal best in 65.51, she went through ten kilometres at 30.24 and

:12:22. > :12:26.said after the race, I didn't realise how fast I was going, I have

:12:27. > :12:31.no idea that my ten kilometres was fast at all! There is an innocence

:12:32. > :12:35.about this young woman, she has a performance and majority beyond had

:12:36. > :12:40.-- beyond her years but there is a naivete in many respects. She isn't

:12:41. > :12:44.new, she has got everything to look forward to this season, but when you

:12:45. > :12:48.can run this quickly this often over a half marathon and look this

:12:49. > :12:53.good... The fact that she still has so much to learn about how she runs.

:12:54. > :13:00.She is a small athlete, only raise 52 kilos, that is not big at all,

:13:01. > :13:06.but her strength and her speed, I love watching some of the new

:13:07. > :13:10.athletes emerge because, how much you can learn about your running,

:13:11. > :13:13.how much you can push yourself, it is only by doing these sorts of

:13:14. > :13:17.races back-to-back that you know if you can push yourself harder. She

:13:18. > :13:21.has glanced at what again to see if she is on pace, and her running

:13:22. > :13:33.style has not altered too much in the 42 minutes that she has been

:13:34. > :13:38.running. Well, the masses, there is more of a concentrated look on their

:13:39. > :13:43.faces as they come through here, as the race begins to emerge. Some

:13:44. > :13:46.contenders on their own, some will be latched on to friends, some will

:13:47. > :13:53.have made new friends and latched onto them. And this is where the

:13:54. > :13:58.crowd support and the music really helps in terms of encouraging people

:13:59. > :14:02.on. What I say to runners, write your name on your shirt, because

:14:03. > :14:06.when times are hard, when you are struggling, the crowd will shout out

:14:07. > :14:11.your name, your running club, they might even just shout your number,

:14:12. > :14:15.but that really helps as well, because some of these men and women

:14:16. > :14:18.running here today, this will be a real challenge for them, this is

:14:19. > :14:25.when it starts to get very hard for them. It is great to see 22,000

:14:26. > :14:28.runners on the streets of Cardiff, lots of them raising money for

:14:29. > :14:32.charity, getting out there and doing it. This will inspire them to do

:14:33. > :14:36.more and more things, and I always think the fact so many run for

:14:37. > :14:40.charity, even when times are hard, when they are struggling, maybe they

:14:41. > :14:50.have some blisters, it gets them through to the finish line and that

:14:51. > :14:57.is really important. Let's have a look and see if we have got a little

:14:58. > :15:02.bit of movement in the men's race. They have been putting the pedal

:15:03. > :15:06.down. This is definitely looking, to me, as though we will have a fastest

:15:07. > :15:14.second half of this half marathon, certainly. Chesham putting the foot

:15:15. > :15:20.down, looking very good, so is Cybrian Kotut. Remember we saw

:15:21. > :15:24.Martin Lal win the London Marathon, he won the great North Run a couple

:15:25. > :15:35.of times, so there is a very strong family connection here. Force on the

:15:36. > :15:39.Portuguese half American in 2012, then it started to move on to the

:15:40. > :15:44.marathon, he failed on that account. Just moving back as we see the

:15:45. > :15:57.trailing group of three, Dewi Griffiths, Matsui, and Kimosop. He

:15:58. > :16:06.has a best of a roundabout 64 .55, his season's best this year. Part of

:16:07. > :16:11.Project Africa Athletics as well. Kotut looks like he is pushing on

:16:12. > :16:15.now. I wonder if they have had a look who is in the pack, looking at

:16:16. > :16:18.the strengths and weaknesses, it does not look like Kotut wants to

:16:19. > :16:22.wait too long for that sprint finish. He is starting, you can

:16:23. > :16:27.tell, they are not running alongside each other any more, they now are

:16:28. > :16:28.just trying to hang onto the back of him, so I think this is where the

:16:29. > :16:41.race will get interesting. They are between, just beyond nine,

:16:42. > :16:52.and the next marker will be ten miles. Kotut begins to move, he is a

:16:53. > :17:01.man who has been a low 60 minutes, his best this season is 61. They are

:17:02. > :17:05.all building up, you can see Chesum dropping off the back, finding it

:17:06. > :17:12.tough going indeed, he tried to read it and influence the race, but she

:17:13. > :17:17.has found it a little bit too much as Kotut takes it on along with

:17:18. > :17:26.Koria. Koria looks very good as well. Even one third of a mile ago,

:17:27. > :17:33.Chesum looked comfortable, he was driving it on. Going through 15 K

:17:34. > :17:39.and the times they are doing, it's good running. It's amazing how

:17:40. > :17:44.quickly you go from feeling very comfortable to just dropping out of

:17:45. > :17:47.the pack and suddenly you are isolated. Looks like they are

:17:48. > :17:53.picking up again, will be interesting to see what this mile

:17:54. > :18:07.time is, this will be one of the fastest ones.

:18:08. > :18:22.I think they are going to be closer to 61 on this day now, ten miles

:18:23. > :18:32.exactly, 46.42. They are just outside 61 minutes. Ten miles at

:18:33. > :18:36.Roath Park, they will turn back down towards the finish, they will go up

:18:37. > :18:50.to the top towards a miles at the highest point and then back down.

:18:51. > :18:57.I have done many brutal miles training around Roath Park in my

:18:58. > :19:02.time living in Cardiff, decide they are going up, it's a very gradual

:19:03. > :19:08.climb they come around the top, that is Roath Park Lake, they come back

:19:09. > :19:12.on the left-hand side and it's ever so gently downhill. Sometimes you

:19:13. > :19:19.can maybe feel you are having a bad run but it's that very slight

:19:20. > :19:22.incline which takes you up. Also for the fun runners, when they start

:19:23. > :19:26.coming to this point that is when they get to see where they are on

:19:27. > :19:30.the course, they can see who is behind them, who is in front of

:19:31. > :19:38.them, and I think those guys it's a really nice part to run around. Well

:19:39. > :19:40.protected. Lovely to see the some of the residents of local Holm out to

:19:41. > :19:55.support. -- a local home. Mneria is the Olympian, went to Rio,

:19:56. > :19:58.he is in the light blue at the back of this group of three. There is

:19:59. > :20:04.going to be a new champion today because Ben Siwa has not been able

:20:05. > :20:11.to stay with this group as they head up towards Roath Park Easter Road,

:20:12. > :20:21.about halfway to the top then they will start turning around on the

:20:22. > :20:27.other side coming back. This is where you can see the road ever so

:20:28. > :20:32.gently climbing. I remember years and years of training sessions on

:20:33. > :20:37.these roads. Lovely surface to be on but also really well protected. It's

:20:38. > :20:41.nice, you don't get a lot of wind. They are running across the road. I

:20:42. > :20:45.just wondered what he was doing, whether he was trying to force

:20:46. > :20:50.somebody through are just trying to break. This is unusual. I am not

:20:51. > :20:56.sure I have ever seen it like this where they are running from one side

:20:57. > :21:03.of the road to the other. He must have been a sailor in the olden

:21:04. > :21:10.days, a bit of tacking! Just running all over the place isn't he? I think

:21:11. > :21:13.it's interesting when you are trying to drop someone, that is more

:21:14. > :21:18.relevant when you see it in a wheelchair racing. The point is that

:21:19. > :21:23.you may will want the other athlete to go ahead and do some of the

:21:24. > :21:34.leading because Kotut has latched onto the back. He does not want him

:21:35. > :21:38.behind him, that is the thing, does not want to help them by allowing

:21:39. > :21:43.him to run close behind him, wants to make his own run. It can also be

:21:44. > :21:49.quite claustrophobic if you have somebody right on your shoulder,

:21:50. > :21:54.running step-by-step behind you. Koria just wants to run his own

:21:55. > :22:13.race. If you are running and trying to

:22:14. > :22:20.shake them by running across the road, I hope it doesn't take away

:22:21. > :22:24.from the concentration of his times. Now they are at the top of Roath

:22:25. > :22:33.Park Lake, they will come round, quite a tight turn as you come round

:22:34. > :22:36.to come down the other side. It's not a difficult corner by any means

:22:37. > :22:40.for the runners to get round but knowing you will be heading back

:22:41. > :22:43.down and this is where you will be able to see Dewi Griffiths and some

:22:44. > :22:48.of the others might be able to see the distance that the lead runners

:22:49. > :22:55.are in front of them, it can be positive motivation. I certainly

:22:56. > :23:04.think that Korir is going to increase his personal best year. It

:23:05. > :23:14.stands at 62.4 zero. Heading back towards the city centre, down Roath

:23:15. > :23:24.Park road west. Let's have a look, ten miles, 51.50. She is now 68

:23:25. > :23:29.minutes. She has dropped off a little bit on that pace, and I'm not

:23:30. > :23:32.surprised. I'm not surprised when you're on your own for the whole of

:23:33. > :23:39.the race. You will start slowing down. It's almost impossible to do

:23:40. > :23:45.any kind of negative split when it doesn't look like there is anyone

:23:46. > :23:49.around her, nobody for her to chase. Her shoulders rolling more, her head

:23:50. > :23:52.moving more from side to side. But that would be expected at this stage

:23:53. > :23:58.in the race when you are on the own and running a time trial. Running

:23:59. > :24:12.around about 68, probably just inside 68. And still no change,

:24:13. > :24:19.Kotut of Kenya hanging on. Two Kenyon is once again, way out in

:24:20. > :24:39.front. Mneria has dropped way off the back. They have mortared along.

:24:40. > :24:45.This might be an opportunity for Dewi Griffiths, who has run his own

:24:46. > :24:47.race all the way through, to start picking through some of those

:24:48. > :24:59.runners who cannot stay with this pace. Between 11 and 12 now, on this

:25:00. > :25:06.13.1 mile course. This is going to be a very strong sprint finish

:25:07. > :25:10.between these two, unless Kotut drops off but when you consider what

:25:11. > :25:15.he has done this year, just won the Paris Marathon, the half marathon

:25:16. > :25:22.this year and the Paris Marathon. Surprise winner of the race. He has

:25:23. > :25:28.real strength endurance and I am sure that speed endurance will come

:25:29. > :25:33.with it. At the moment this looks like more of a psychological battle

:25:34. > :25:37.between the two of them. I cannot remember seeing a race like this

:25:38. > :25:40.where you have a leader moving across the road so much. You

:25:41. > :25:45.sometimes see it happening once or twice but he must be getting very

:25:46. > :25:51.stressed out that he is sticking with him. Moving backward and

:25:52. > :25:54.forward in a strange way, he needs to concentrate on his own race,

:25:55. > :26:03.think about his own thing and not jumping about all over the place.

:26:04. > :26:08.Just moving to one side, doesn't want him to draft, does not want him

:26:09. > :26:14.behind, does not want to help him in anyway. Trying to take the

:26:15. > :26:19.assistance away him. For Kotut, if he knows he has another athletes

:26:20. > :26:24.booked, that he is worrying him, this is playing into his hands. He

:26:25. > :26:29.must know he has a good sprint finish in him and can put pressure

:26:30. > :26:34.on, for Korir, he must know there is a lot of stress in the athlete for

:26:35. > :26:36.him to be doing this. It's an interesting psychological game as

:26:37. > :26:42.well as a physical game going on at the moment between the two of them.

:26:43. > :26:49.They are running between 61 and 62 at the moment. Unless they have

:26:50. > :26:52.moved on a little, we will try to get you more accurate timing that

:26:53. > :27:01.looks as though it is down to these two quite comfortably in the end.

:27:02. > :27:07.Richie Powell having a bit of a coast on this downhill. For the

:27:08. > :27:12.wheelchair athletes, you can use the ups and downs of the course as well

:27:13. > :27:19.to get a break which you can do in running. You spoke to him earlier,

:27:20. > :27:23.and he said he was expecting around about 59. He was hoping for that, if

:27:24. > :27:28.he was able to maintain his technique throughout the race. For

:27:29. > :27:32.the wheelchair athletes it's more like cycling, you're using the

:27:33. > :27:37.corners, the ups and downs and he is now back into a very strong push.

:27:38. > :27:46.Looking very comfortable, nice technique. Going over the bump at

:27:47. > :28:02.the finish line. Looks pleased with that. That's a very good ride for

:28:03. > :28:06.him. He should be pleased with that because he's not a natural half

:28:07. > :28:10.marathon athlete, started as a sprinter, moved up to the distances,

:28:11. > :28:17.he is a strong athlete, doing that time today on his own, he should be

:28:18. > :28:24.pleased. Coming up to 12 and a half and look at this, people Korir

:28:25. > :28:31.looking to get away from Kotut, this is a big attempt. This is total

:28:32. > :28:38.commitment, Kotut cannot latch on to him at the moment, is this the

:28:39. > :28:41.significant break he wanted? This is another gradual climb and it goes on

:28:42. > :28:46.for about 200 metres then you go up and over the bridge, it's almost

:28:47. > :28:51.like a sprint down, quite a nice, fast finish, this is the point to

:28:52. > :28:56.make people hurt, quick look over the left shoulder, wanting to see if

:28:57. > :29:00.the gap has grown anything and it has. This is significant and he is

:29:01. > :29:07.committed now, totally and utterly committed. Between 12 and just

:29:08. > :29:10.before 12 and a half miles, totally and utterly committed now, it looks

:29:11. > :29:17.to me as though he may well have beaten him. Almost all know. I think

:29:18. > :29:21.if this is the point you are going to commit, look at the grimace on

:29:22. > :29:25.his face, he is working really hard. There is no room for mistakes at

:29:26. > :29:28.this point, once you've made the decision you have to go for it and

:29:29. > :29:35.make sure the other athletes behind you is hurting as much as possible.

:29:36. > :29:38.For Kotut, it's looking hard. Korir keeps looking over his shoulder,

:29:39. > :29:44.just wants to make sure the commitment he has made has been

:29:45. > :29:48.worth it. This is the first time he has competed outside Kenya. What a

:29:49. > :29:52.feat it would be if he comes away with a win on this fabulous

:29:53. > :29:55.occasion. Looks now as though he has got away, he is increasing the

:29:56. > :30:00.pressure and that's the way to do it, in the final stages of this

:30:01. > :30:06.wonderful Cardiff Half Marathon. It's been an enthralling race. As

:30:07. > :30:12.far as the women are concerned up your demonstration. But the men have

:30:13. > :30:17.had a race and suddenly, Korir of Kenya, came here with a personal

:30:18. > :30:25.best of 62.40, I just wonder if he will challenge the race record of 61

:30:26. > :30:32.minutes and 51 seconds? The women's is definitely going to go, that is

:30:33. > :30:38.71 minutes, Susan Partridge's record of 71 minutes ten seconds will

:30:39. > :30:45.certainly go with Jepchumba. On the turn and shortly towards the 13 mile

:30:46. > :30:49.mark. He's not convinced he's made the break yet because he keeps

:30:50. > :30:54.looking over his shoulder. Wants to make sure he has nobody sitting on

:30:55. > :31:05.him. Another little kick, are planned over a railway bridge so you

:31:06. > :31:08.have to really in hard. Then it is, once you around the corner, it's

:31:09. > :31:13.pretty much downhill and you are onto the flat. At the moment with

:31:14. > :31:18.that climb it looks like the gap is growing bigger but you can see now

:31:19. > :31:22.it is dropping down, Korir kicking in, looking at the time clock and

:31:23. > :31:28.working incredibly hard to make sure he keeps the gap as much as he can.

:31:29. > :31:29.Only just over the hour now as he approaches the finish. It really

:31:30. > :31:41.will be a quick one for him. Remember, he came here with a best

:31:42. > :31:45.of 61 minutes so he is running roughly that time, so this is a big

:31:46. > :31:54.improvement. Absolutely in full flight now, look at this. He is

:31:55. > :32:03.absolutely sprinting, as soon as you see that finish insight. This is a

:32:04. > :32:08.new race record. First out of tenure, he has come to Great

:32:09. > :32:20.Britain, to Wales, to Cardiff, he has come to win the Cardiff Half

:32:21. > :32:26.Marathon. It is one hour 54, he has done it, he did it in a strange way,

:32:27. > :32:33.he tried to free himself from Kotut, and he managed to do that. Kotut has

:32:34. > :32:41.finished in second place. Outside his personal best, but, my goodness,

:32:42. > :32:50.that was a great race. Mneria now taking third place, he ran in the

:32:51. > :32:54.Olympics in the 5000, did not get through the heat, has done better

:32:55. > :32:58.here, got himself on the podium inside 62 minutes, and that is a

:32:59. > :33:03.very good run indeed. A personal best by a big margin, came here with

:33:04. > :33:07.63.38 and has got away with something much better than that. In

:33:08. > :33:12.fourth place, the defending champion, Ben Siwa of Uganda. Cannot

:33:13. > :33:26.quite match the pace on this day, but, my goodness me, still sub 62.

:33:27. > :33:29.He has done pretty well, as well. When the organisers said this rate

:33:30. > :33:35.is fast in fact, it proves it with the times you are seeing today. Back

:33:36. > :33:40.to Jepchumba, running very well. A bit of a climb here, underneath the

:33:41. > :33:41.railway bridge, a bit of shade for a minute. Lovely running conditions

:33:42. > :33:56.for the athletes today. She is heading home, all she has to

:33:57. > :34:02.do is keep that running style, keep in good form. Dewi Griffiths there,

:34:03. > :34:09.it looks like there has been another bit of a break in that pack, back to

:34:10. > :34:15.two again. They were running good Kimosop, last year's medallist, has

:34:16. > :34:26.he gone ahead of them? He has literally just gone ahead.

:34:27. > :34:35.They have just spotted the finish line, which is a huge motivation for

:34:36. > :34:39.any athlete. They just want to get to the finish line as quick as they

:34:40. > :34:47.possibly can. Lovely running there for Debbie Griffiths. A big personal

:34:48. > :34:53.best -- for Dewi Griffiths. I love won the elite athletes still look at

:34:54. > :34:56.their watches. He came here with 64.10, 27 in the world half

:34:57. > :35:03.championship half marathon here this year, he has absolutely destroyed

:35:04. > :35:06.that. That is a very good run, he did not panic when the Africans

:35:07. > :35:15.moved away from him, but he had the help of Matsui along came. It was

:35:16. > :35:27.Matsui of Japan who, along with him, proved to be a very useful partner

:35:28. > :35:41.indeed. Here we go with Jepchumba. She is now between 12... 12.5, I

:35:42. > :35:47.would think, in this 13.1 mile race. She looks a little bit slow at this

:35:48. > :35:51.point, it looks like she's starting to find the course a bit more

:35:52. > :35:57.challenging. But, as we have said all the way through, it is not

:35:58. > :36:02.unexpected when she has been on her own for the whole of the race. Just

:36:03. > :36:05.heading downhill now, she knows she has only got a couple of turns left

:36:06. > :36:11.before she comes into the final finishing straight. A lot of credit

:36:12. > :36:15.to her, she really went out to run against the clock, to try to improve

:36:16. > :36:23.on her best, but that is a big best to improve on, it really is, sub 65.

:36:24. > :36:27.To come here with 65.51, that was in April in Prague. And I think for her

:36:28. > :36:32.to test ourselves, because when she gets into the races with much bigger

:36:33. > :36:33.fields, if she is going to go to marathon distance, she is going to

:36:34. > :36:54.have to go out that hard in the first few miles of any

:36:55. > :36:57.race that she wants to do. So this may have been a little bit more of a

:36:58. > :37:00.training session for higher than a race, just knowing how hard she can

:37:01. > :37:02.put herself and at what point in the course she can look at changing the

:37:03. > :37:05.mile time, changing the technique and trying to get the time she

:37:06. > :37:07.wants. She went through 20km in one hour, four minutes 50 seconds. She

:37:08. > :37:10.had slowed down considerably. She had been running at 66 minute pace,

:37:11. > :37:13.then it dropped to 68 minute pace. We are still going to see a best

:37:14. > :37:20.performance on this course, that is for sure, the 71 minute performance

:37:21. > :37:25.which stands, 71.10 from Susan Partridge is certainly going to go,

:37:26. > :37:31.but there we come the 66 now, she has still got a little way to go, so

:37:32. > :37:38.she has slowed quite considerably in the second half of this race. There

:37:39. > :37:44.was no want to help her at all, she has been totally and utterly alone.

:37:45. > :37:47.It has just been a run, really. I think we expected there might be

:37:48. > :37:51.some of the men who would be there to help her, some of the top club

:37:52. > :37:55.runners who might have been able to go with her in the early stages,

:37:56. > :37:59.they have maybe looked at her and thought, no, it is too hard, they

:38:00. > :38:03.will blow out their own race if they do it. But she trains with a men's

:38:04. > :38:08.group, she trains with her husband, she is not afraid to try, and when

:38:09. > :38:13.you see her in some of the bigger races, that determination will stand

:38:14. > :38:20.her in good stead. This is the final climb on the course before she drops

:38:21. > :38:25.down. She is approaching towards the 13 mile marker and then just 0.1 of

:38:26. > :38:30.a mile to go from there. She will get a big, big hand here as she

:38:31. > :38:35.comes into this final stage with that little downhill part. Look at

:38:36. > :38:38.that, free running down that slight incline now. This is quite a

:38:39. > :38:42.challenge at this part of the course, when your legs are starting

:38:43. > :38:46.to go, your muscles are getting tight, that sharp downhill,

:38:47. > :38:50.controlling it is incredibly important, and she needs to maintain

:38:51. > :38:56.that pace and feel comfortable. You are quite right, it is a good point

:38:57. > :39:01.and it happens to the great North Run as well, that little final down,

:39:02. > :39:08.it is not until you turn left... I remember that! It is hard work, I'm

:39:09. > :39:13.told. This is going to be very, very quick, around 68. We predicted

:39:14. > :39:18.around 68, it will be a new course record, a new championship record,

:39:19. > :39:24.race record, as you say. By a big, big margin. Coming up to 68 minutes

:39:25. > :39:33.now, and that is another very good run, she ran 65.51 in April in

:39:34. > :39:45.Prague, she ran Istanbul in 68.18, Gothenberg 68.01, this is 68.14,

:39:46. > :39:49.world-class running, all on her own. That is class. I think we are going

:39:50. > :39:55.to see a lot of this young woman in the future and certainly, let me

:39:56. > :40:00.repeat, she says no marathon until 2018, but you never know. I can't

:40:01. > :40:04.wait to see her run the marathon. I don't want to wish the time away but

:40:05. > :40:09.she has got so much more that she can learn about her running style,

:40:10. > :40:15.her training. When you see where she has come from in the last 18 months,

:40:16. > :40:19.you would imagine she is going to be challenging the best women in the

:40:20. > :40:26.world. Robin is on for one of the world records dressed as Batman and

:40:27. > :40:30.Robin, wearing a Kamworor on his chest as well, making sure he makes

:40:31. > :40:37.the most of every moment. For somebody who is dressed in a

:40:38. > :40:44.costume, running 1.10 pace is very good going. I wonder what has

:40:45. > :40:49.happened to Batman?! Ahmed of Egypt's coming in now. And there he

:40:50. > :40:55.is, Robin. No batsman with him, as you say. Pretty good time, too. That

:40:56. > :41:04.is a very good time indeed. Robin has done well. Here is second place,

:41:05. > :41:13.Flomena Daniel of tenure, second in the women's race now. Going to go

:41:14. > :41:19.very close to 70 minutes here, very tired coming down this straightaway

:41:20. > :41:27.but still a very, very quick run in deed and we will have two women

:41:28. > :41:34.inside the previous best. 70.03, very, very good indeed by Flomena

:41:35. > :41:40.Daniel of Kenny. Running since 1999 as a world junior, now developing

:41:41. > :41:48.herself. Commonwealth Games Marathon Championships on of course. That was

:41:49. > :41:52.last time out. Batman... He will have to have a word with Robin, I

:41:53. > :41:53.think! He does not look like he has got quite the same sprint finish

:41:54. > :42:08.there. Well done, Batman, 70.46, not bad at

:42:09. > :42:18.all. These are very respectable times for club runners. Jerotich,

:42:19. > :42:22.third-place women. It has been tough for the women out there today, it

:42:23. > :42:27.really has. They might have expected to have had a bit more protection,

:42:28. > :42:31.maybe run with a few more people around them, but strong running

:42:32. > :42:35.there. She was the defending champion, of course, coming into

:42:36. > :42:38.this race, she won it last year and she maintains her position on the

:42:39. > :42:47.podium but at a level three this year. 71.22, or thereabouts. Well

:42:48. > :42:58.done indeed. The top three women are home.

:42:59. > :43:05.You can see the road is getting a bit busier now. I love it when they

:43:06. > :43:09.are still able to wave to the cameras and cheer and shout as they

:43:10. > :43:18.go past. But this is pretty tough running for these guys. But these

:43:19. > :43:22.moments will continue for some considerable time, that is how it

:43:23. > :43:27.is, that is what it is about, mass participation. 22,000, you mentioned

:43:28. > :43:31.earlier, Taney, 800 different charities being supported by the

:43:32. > :43:34.efforts of all of these men and women, and they will have given a

:43:35. > :43:40.lot of their time to go out and run, to prepare for this occasion, and

:43:41. > :43:45.some will succeed by their own standards, a personal best, running

:43:46. > :43:50.for the first time. This is the husband of Shirley Connor! She is

:43:51. > :43:56.ahead of you! Is she?! You had better go after her! That is not the

:43:57. > :44:02.sort of thing you should say, Christian! Don't discourage him! For

:44:03. > :44:06.these athletes, people out running now, this is hard, they are not

:44:07. > :44:11.natural wonders, they are people who have maybe not been training for

:44:12. > :44:15.very long, and the guys who are out there, four, five, six hours, it

:44:16. > :44:19.really hurts and they need a lot of encouragement and support from the

:44:20. > :44:23.crowd, because it is tough, I remember the first half marathon I

:44:24. > :44:29.did, it felt like it went on for ever. It felt like a marathon. As a

:44:30. > :44:38.full-time athlete, you are very fortunate because that is all you

:44:39. > :44:43.do. Here comes Rachel Felton in, and Rachel, of course, has been quite

:44:44. > :44:47.good on the course, on the local causes, this season. She has done

:44:48. > :44:55.very well, I think, in five kilometre and ten kilometre races,

:44:56. > :45:08.she had four wins recently. Just coming round that bend. She won the

:45:09. > :45:13.Cardiff ten kilometre four times, the fourth just recently. Coming in

:45:14. > :45:19.with a best of 73.43, only just outside of that this season. It is a

:45:20. > :45:26.season 's best, she came in with 76 this season. The first British

:45:27. > :45:42.athlete home, just outside 74 minutes. So that is good. It looks

:45:43. > :45:46.like it was a tough race for her. Wonderful vision of the area around

:45:47. > :45:52.Cardiff Bay. Beautiful, beautiful morning here. The sun now beginning

:45:53. > :46:03.to improve the temperature around us. Seeing that mass of runners

:46:04. > :46:07.around Cardiff looks fantastic. I think we can go back to Jason at the

:46:08. > :46:12.end of the race, see what he has got to say.

:46:13. > :46:18.I just want you to enjoy these pictures, Cardiff Bay looking

:46:19. > :46:21.absolutely beautiful today. The Wales millennium Centre, thousands

:46:22. > :46:26.of runners, this is the culmination of weeks and weeks of training. Most

:46:27. > :46:32.of the runners today are raising money for amazing causes right

:46:33. > :46:37.throughout the UK and right across Wales. ?2.5 million estimated to be

:46:38. > :46:44.raised by the end of the Cardiff Half Marathon. And also a word

:46:45. > :46:48.today, Taney and Stuart, to the 800 volunteers, you saw them in Rio, at

:46:49. > :46:52.the Paralympics and Olympic Games, giving up their time over this race

:46:53. > :46:58.weekend to ensure everyone has an unforgettable experience. And

:46:59. > :47:03.hopefully David Forde at some point will be tuning into this coverage,

:47:04. > :47:06.he deserves a big shout out because, aged 86, he is the oldest

:47:07. > :47:21.participant. Well done to you. The clones running arm in arm,

:47:22. > :47:26.loving less. Tom frost is 17 on race day, the youngest participant, and

:47:27. > :47:29.some of the stories are pretty incredible, especially the people

:47:30. > :47:35.running this for the very first time. According to the figures from

:47:36. > :47:50.the organisers, 51% running for the very first time, 52% male, 48% are

:47:51. > :47:59.female. And what a beautiful day. And how lovely to see so many people

:48:00. > :48:03.turning out to cheer them on. Looks beautiful. But it's not just about

:48:04. > :48:07.today of course, over the weekend there has been a real festival of

:48:08. > :48:11.running with young people joining in as well.

:48:12. > :48:19.If you want to get in the mood for the Cardiff Half Marathon but don't

:48:20. > :48:22.fancy running 13.1 miles, there is an entire day of fun for the whole

:48:23. > :48:46.family and all abilities with the festival of running.

:48:47. > :48:57.One of the highlights of the day for me without a doubt is the 100-metre

:48:58. > :49:12.Cobbler-. And they are off. -- toddler run. It's got the

:49:13. > :49:30.performance, the family, and people love the festival of running.

:49:31. > :49:35.Plenty of happy and smiling faces behind me because now it's time for

:49:36. > :49:48.the whole family to get together and work as a team in the family fun

:49:49. > :49:50.run. Fantastic! He did so well, he ran all the way around, did not stop

:49:51. > :50:16.once. Am I on TV? You might be. Exclusively for this year we have

:50:17. > :50:23.the Cardiff University fun run, a chance for a 300 students to blow

:50:24. > :50:28.away the cobwebs of freshers week. It's great to be able to run around

:50:29. > :50:30.here, I go to university here so it's great to be able to race, the

:50:31. > :50:39.crowds were brilliant, really good atmosphere. What a fabulous day, I

:50:40. > :50:45.was third overall, my little lad that the toddler run, then we all do

:50:46. > :50:51.the family run so I thought why not come back and finish with gold in

:50:52. > :50:55.the Masters. What a wonderful way to countdown to the Cardiff Half

:50:56. > :50:57.Marathon, runners of all abilities, all ages and who knows, maybe a

:50:58. > :51:08.future world champion? If you want to go to the BBC Sport

:51:09. > :51:13.website, if you love what you are seeing right now and who can blame

:51:14. > :51:17.you, look at that, it is beautiful, if you go to the BBC Sport website

:51:18. > :51:24.to get inspired. You can just see it at the bottom of your screen, the

:51:25. > :51:29.hashtag get inspired. All you have to do is put in your postcode,

:51:30. > :51:35.choose your sport and it will direct you to your local club, be it

:51:36. > :51:39.running, archery, football, cricket, swimming, gymnastics, whatever. Get

:51:40. > :51:42.inspired on the BBC Sport website. If you want to get involved in

:51:43. > :51:48.social media we would love to hear from you, on Twitter use the hashtag

:51:49. > :51:57.BBC Cardiff half. Look out for some special guests along the route,

:51:58. > :52:02.Gareth Thomas running with Alfie's Angels. Shane Williams is apparently

:52:03. > :52:05.also out there on the course, he loves a half marathon. We saw Gethin

:52:06. > :52:21.Jones at the start of the programme as well. Even

:52:22. > :52:29.We also understand Mark Lewis Jones is here in some capacity and

:52:30. > :52:38.apparently Christian Malcolm has a panda? INAUDIBLE

:52:39. > :52:46.You have done very well, how do you feel? It's a great atmosphere, just

:52:47. > :52:52.got to keep going. Your man behind you, who are you supposed to be? I

:52:53. > :53:02.am support for Mr Gary Browne. Raising money. Don't let me die stop

:53:03. > :53:15.you, keep going, you are doing very well, a fantastic job, all the best.

:53:16. > :53:16.The panda doing a wonderful job. Approaching the Wales Millennium

:53:17. > :57:06.Centre. What's going on? Sunday told me it

:57:07. > :57:11.was raining so I would have to wear waterproof clothes. It is not going

:57:12. > :57:17.to rain today. We have a mixture of Elvis and... It is Elvis! I did not

:57:18. > :57:26.realise Elvis is this big. Carb loading. Who are you running for?

:57:27. > :57:35.Just the running club, doing it for fun, nobody in particular. Go and

:57:36. > :57:38.have more fun, carry on. A reminder if you are just watching and missed

:57:39. > :57:46.the elite men's and women's race, the men's winner Korir of Kenya and

:57:47. > :57:55.the women's winner Jepchumba of Kenya. The fastest Welshman Dewi

:57:56. > :58:02.Griffiths, personal best, 63.25. We saw Batman and Robin crossing the

:58:03. > :58:06.line, what is the story? We are looking to break the world record

:58:07. > :58:11.for the half marathon dressed as superheroes. It's currently held by

:58:12. > :58:16.a friend of ours who we train with regularly who is based in Cardiff,

:58:17. > :58:21.it's 75 minutes at the moment. We want to break that and get as close

:58:22. > :58:30.to 70 as we can. But having tried to run in this costume, we would just

:58:31. > :58:34.be happy with some 75. A fellow athlete was involved in a parachute

:58:35. > :58:40.accident in January which has left him paralysed from the neck down. He

:58:41. > :58:44.is making progress all the time, how far that goes we are not sure but he

:58:45. > :58:50.is positive about it and tackling it feeds on which we all expected. Even

:58:51. > :58:55.prior to the accident, as a friend and a fellow athlete I looked up to

:58:56. > :58:59.him. I have been in the RAF or two and a half years and he has been in

:59:00. > :59:03.far longer than that and he was one of those who encouraged me to join

:59:04. > :59:07.and help me along. It's a bit cheesy but with everything he has been

:59:08. > :59:11.through, the person he is, I have always seen him as a bit of a hero

:59:12. > :59:20.himself so I thought let's do it as superheroes. Everyone knows Rob in

:59:21. > :59:26.Cardiff, he's a big fixture of the athletics community. An e-mail was

:59:27. > :59:30.sent out offering five spaces for people to raise money for him in the

:59:31. > :59:33.Cardiff half so we spoke about it and said we would like to take up

:59:34. > :59:40.those spaces to try to raise some money. I ran the same card course

:59:41. > :59:44.earlier this year in March, 66.50 which is my PB at the moment, I

:59:45. > :59:49.would hope to get around that sort of time but it will be slower in

:59:50. > :59:53.this. Half marathon is not my distance, a bit too far for me, but

:59:54. > :59:59.I've done a couple in the last 12 months that haven't gone great. I've

:00:00. > :00:04.done 69 minutes, so sub 75 for the world record seems a bit high. The

:00:05. > :00:08.first thing is raising money for Rob, and it would be nice to get the

:00:09. > :00:12.record if we could so we will have that in our minds. We said earlier

:00:13. > :00:18.on we will run together till about ten miles and then if one of us

:00:19. > :00:24.feels better, the competitive edge might start and try to push on. I

:00:25. > :00:31.think Batman will be just ahead of Robin. Every man for himself!

:00:32. > :00:35.CHUCKLES Remarkable, Robin won the race,

:00:36. > :00:39.brilliant, great finish. I think some of the elite athletes were

:00:40. > :00:45.under pressure when he crossed the line. Let's hear from the boys. We

:00:46. > :00:50.saw you crossing the finish line exhausted, but the big question is

:00:51. > :00:57.did the superheroes break the record? Both inside the record, I

:00:58. > :01:06.ran 69 .5, so we took a fair bit off it. Rob must be delighted. Yes, he

:01:07. > :01:11.is probably watching and laughing at us dressed like this. You have both

:01:12. > :01:16.done some major races, how does it differ being in fancy dress? The

:01:17. > :01:21.hardest thing I've ever done, so warm. After the first couple of

:01:22. > :01:27.miles we turn to each other and said it was too hot. Did you follow

:01:28. > :01:30.tactics? We try to, try to stick together for ten miles but I had

:01:31. > :01:38.cramp at eight miles so I told him to move on. You're raising loads of

:01:39. > :01:42.money, how much so far? 1900 at the moment, we want to keep pushing it,

:01:43. > :01:47.we'll keep the fundraising page for another week so if you have not

:01:48. > :01:48.deleted please do. Brilliant, congratulations, you can fly away

:01:49. > :01:58.now, goodbye. Commissioner Gordon is on the line,

:01:59. > :02:01.there is work to do in Gotham city. They were fantastic, well done,

:02:02. > :02:06.boys. Roath Lake looking gorgeous this morning on this beautiful

:02:07. > :02:14.October morning. Don't forget, this course has been praised for its

:02:15. > :02:16.flat, fast, it is iconic. They staged the world half my

:02:17. > :02:20.Championships here in March, we did not have this brother, it was

:02:21. > :02:26.torrential, the rain. Mo Farah was here in Cardiff, winning a bronze

:02:27. > :02:37.medal in pretty testing conditions. What a year he has had, going on to

:02:38. > :02:42.win double Olympic gold medals. That handy back to Steward to talk you

:02:43. > :02:48.through today's elite races. Thank you. Just have a look at the

:02:49. > :02:52.women's race, in fact, which was quite a formidable affair, really.

:02:53. > :02:56.Turned out to be a demonstration, in the end. This young woman, Violah

:02:57. > :03:03.Jepchumba, at one stage was running at 66 minute pace, it dropped a bit

:03:04. > :03:08.to 68 towards the end, so the second half of the race not quite as quick

:03:09. > :03:14.as the first. She is the sixth fastest woman of all time, much was

:03:15. > :03:24.expected, it was a lone adventurer for her ahead of Flomena Daniel, the

:03:25. > :03:28.Commonwealth champion and Jerotich, but the advantage was considerable

:03:29. > :03:35.by the time she got to the final stages of the race. Just outside 68

:03:36. > :03:38.minutes. It was a new race record by a considerable margin, taking the

:03:39. > :03:47.original record of Susan Partridge, 71.10, off the record books, 6814.

:03:48. > :03:54.Let's have a little look at the result of the race, here it is,

:03:55. > :03:59.Jepchumba 68.14, Flomena Daniel 70.05, and Lenah Jerotich, 71.20

:04:00. > :04:05.three. The first Briton home, Rachel Felton with 74.0 three.

:04:06. > :04:14.We can have a little look back now at the men's race, and that was

:04:15. > :04:18.always going to be a close encounter of the first kind, and so it was

:04:19. > :04:26.that the African contingent, along with Dewi Griffiths and the Japanese

:04:27. > :04:36.athlete latched onto the back of the African leaders, Kotut and Mneria.

:04:37. > :04:40.And of course Shadrack Korir. All five of them really started to move

:04:41. > :04:47.the race along. In the second half of the race, by ten miles, it was

:04:48. > :04:56.looking around 61 minutes. A lot of strange racing between Shadrack

:04:57. > :05:00.Korir and Kotut in the final stages. Look at him moving from side to

:05:01. > :05:08.side, Kotut followed him all the way! But in the end, of course,

:05:09. > :05:12.Korir was a man with a sprint finish and Kotut could not match. This was

:05:13. > :05:17.the point at which it began to unwind for Kotut, remember he won

:05:18. > :05:24.the Paris Marathon this year, and Korir having the first race of his

:05:25. > :05:28.life outside of Kenya. The emphasis of drive and a sprint speed down the

:05:29. > :05:33.home straight was quite something to watch. He was so determined and it

:05:34. > :05:42.was a new race record for him. Very, very fine run ahead of many area and

:05:43. > :05:47.Ben Siwa, the defending champion. Just have a look at the result of

:05:48. > :05:55.that now, Korir just outside the hour, a new race record, just as

:05:56. > :06:00.Jepchumba's was. Kotut, 61.04, many area 61.30 six. The defending

:06:01. > :06:04.champion, Ben Siwa, found himself in fourth place, Debbie Griffiths,

:06:05. > :06:06.63.26, a big personal best for the Welshman in eighth place -- Dewi

:06:07. > :06:26.Griffiths. Let's have a look at the winners, I

:06:27. > :06:29.think we can talk to the second place, Kotut, one of the favourites,

:06:30. > :06:38.but in the end turned up in second place. Congratulations, what an

:06:39. > :06:43.exciting race to watch. I think the race was OK, I liked everything

:06:44. > :06:51.about the race. I promise today to do something, if not to win, to

:06:52. > :06:59.boost the best time. I wanted to run under 60 but unfortunately I could

:07:00. > :07:02.not make that. I can recommend something about the course, the

:07:03. > :07:10.course is so perfect. There was a lot of people out there. The group

:07:11. > :07:24.of people gave me moral support to run, I decided to push to make

:07:25. > :07:29.someone, if not me, run faster. This race is brilliant. You must be

:07:30. > :07:36.delighted. And also Shadrack smashing the course record and you

:07:37. > :07:39.were involved with that? Yes, I am happy, I have helped someone run his

:07:40. > :07:46.personal best like some other people have helped me run my personal best.

:07:47. > :07:50.I am happy, the Cardiff Half Marathon now is a 60 race, that is

:07:51. > :07:56.what makes me happy, even though I did not win, I am so, so happy, and

:07:57. > :08:00.I will be happy to be back again and make something better than this. See

:08:01. > :08:14.you next year, then! Thank you so much.

:08:15. > :08:20.JASON: And we would like to see you back next year. This is the

:08:21. > :08:28.strongest ever elite field. We have had beaten 2015 Cardiff half winner,

:08:29. > :08:31.Ben Siwa, and Debbie Griffiths, who I am hoping we can talk to bury

:08:32. > :08:37.sugar, the fastest Welshman coming in today with a time of 63.25, a

:08:38. > :08:41.personal best for him, he has been training with Steve Jones and we

:08:42. > :08:51.hope to chat with him shortly. And the women's winner, can you's Violah

:08:52. > :08:53.Jepchumba, whose time is incidentally the third fastest

:08:54. > :09:02.women's half marathon time in history. Let's also bring you

:09:03. > :09:12.up-to-date with the winner of the wheelchair race, that went to Richie

:09:13. > :09:17.Powell, who has been talking to us. Congratulations, you must be

:09:18. > :09:22.delighted? Fantastic day, fantastic weather and a fantastic crowd as

:09:23. > :09:26.well. What was it like out there? It is a tough course, but it is the

:09:27. > :09:32.same for everybody, a very fast course, a great course, a home run

:09:33. > :09:34.for me, basically. Brilliant, congratulations, well done. Ranks

:09:35. > :12:51.very much. How are you, Buddy? I am all right!

:12:52. > :12:58.Banks were holding me back! I am busy, I am running! I understand!

:12:59. > :13:02.How are you feeling out there? As a local lad, you understand, it is a

:13:03. > :13:05.fantastic group, I am proud to be Welsh everyday of the week but even

:13:06. > :13:10.more so, the support is constant, you don't think about being tired,

:13:11. > :13:14.you just enjoy it. My friend has never run this far before, it he is

:13:15. > :13:18.ahead of me, we are trying to get round together. Go and catching up.

:13:19. > :13:28.Please give me a call! Will you when it next year? I don't know about

:13:29. > :13:32.that! -- will you be running it? Lovely to see getting out there on

:13:33. > :13:36.the course as well, wondering why Christian Malcolm has had called him

:13:37. > :13:39.now, we are intrigued! Dewi Griffiths is the fastest Welshman

:13:40. > :13:45.this year, alongside Steve Jones, who trained him. We have just heard

:13:46. > :13:51.Gethin describing what it is like, what was it like for you? Pretty

:13:52. > :13:58.lovely conditions, the sun is out, Cardiff is at its best today. Smiles

:13:59. > :14:03.on everyone's bases. Pretty nice day out there, great support, great

:14:04. > :14:08.atmosphere. Magnificent but you, personal best? Yes, happy day all

:14:09. > :14:14.round. And what is that down too, is it down to the man to your right?

:14:15. > :14:20.Part of it is down to him... Part of it?! I have trained over the last

:14:21. > :14:24.few weeks and I am progressing, adding, getting older. Where have

:14:25. > :14:30.you been training, here in Wales or out in the States? I have been out

:14:31. > :14:34.for a month, came back last weekend. Pretty bit at the moment, and

:14:35. > :14:39.hopefully it showed today. How big an influence has he been over the

:14:40. > :14:42.last couple of months? He has always been an influence since we first

:14:43. > :14:46.spoke a couple of years ago, it is nice to have him in my corner as a

:14:47. > :14:50.bit of a mental, seeing what he did back in his day, and I would like to

:14:51. > :14:56.be late if not beat some of it. Is it true that he is pushing you

:14:57. > :15:05.harder than anyone has in the past? I think he would think he is as

:15:06. > :15:14.hard! It will be hard training under him, but I enjoy it. What sort of

:15:15. > :15:21.mileage are you doing Eastwick? Over 100 miles a week when I was out

:15:22. > :15:26.there. What were you doing in terms of mileage before you started

:15:27. > :15:29.working with Steve in the states? Something similar, but I am getting

:15:30. > :15:37.older as well so I can cope with a bit more, so progressing year on

:15:38. > :15:43.year and getting to that volume 100, 120. Steve, have you seen a big

:15:44. > :15:48.difference in his training and performances? Yes, he has been

:15:49. > :15:52.coming out of the states now for the last 2.5 years. This is his third

:15:53. > :15:55.trip out and I have seen improvements not just in his

:15:56. > :16:00.performance but his commitment, he has matured a little bit, he is

:16:01. > :16:05.going in the right direction. And he listens coming he doesn't say a lot

:16:06. > :16:11.but he listens. He is part and parcel of my group now and they have

:16:12. > :16:14.embraced him. So much of endurance running, distance running, is mental

:16:15. > :16:18.as well, what about the psychological

:16:19. > :16:29.Key is a growing lad, he's still young, still maturing his running.

:16:30. > :16:33.The emotional and mental part of it is very important. I think if you

:16:34. > :16:36.can gain the confidence in the work you are doing, in the training you

:16:37. > :16:40.are doing and the people you are around then you can show that in the

:16:41. > :16:51.races as well. What is your old with ambition? Take his record offer him!

:16:52. > :16:54.Which one? LAUGHTER One final question about what you're

:16:55. > :16:58.seeing here today, I know you are a proud Welshman, back here in Wales

:16:59. > :17:04.after training out in the United States but this is beautiful to see.

:17:05. > :17:08.It's great. It's putting Cardiff on the map and Wales on the map, having

:17:09. > :17:12.the World Championships here in March and showing everyone again

:17:13. > :17:19.that we can put on a great event in Wales. I think it will grow. I don't

:17:20. > :17:25.want to buy this you but I have been told you have requested some holiday

:17:26. > :17:31.time and he said no, what do you want a holiday for? I have got to

:17:32. > :17:39.top up my tan! Has the lead request been completely rejected? He doesn't

:17:40. > :17:44.need it! We can do this on TV, is he allowed a holiday or not? He can do

:17:45. > :17:49.whatever he wants but I think to start with, as you mature and get

:17:50. > :17:55.older, you do need a bit of a break between seasons. Between the road in

:17:56. > :17:58.the country and attract. But I have always been a firm believer that to

:17:59. > :18:04.step up to the next level in needs to be a consistent 52 weeks a year,

:18:05. > :18:09.every four years is an Olympics so just keep the momentum going.

:18:10. > :18:15.Instead of taking and trying to get back up again, toughen up the body

:18:16. > :18:19.and keep the momentum going. Thank you for talking to us, and

:18:20. > :18:27.congratulations Dewi Griffiths, where do you fancy, Tenerife? I

:18:28. > :18:34.fancy a holiday as well! Great to see you, thank you, wonderful scenes

:18:35. > :18:37.here in Cardiff. That's the finish line, from a helicopter shot,

:18:38. > :18:42.beautiful. So many people doing wonderful things today, raising

:18:43. > :18:50.money, extraordinary people doing remarkable things. I am running it

:18:51. > :18:55.for everything she has been through and also dreams and wishes which is

:18:56. > :18:59.an amazing charity which has helped through the treatment. Megan was

:19:00. > :19:03.diagnosed with leukaemia last March, one of many sick children who have

:19:04. > :19:10.had a wish is granted by the charity whilst receiving treatment. Coming

:19:11. > :19:13.into hospital is hard, he does not want to come to hospital, he wants

:19:14. > :19:22.to go to school with his friends and we would much rather that as well.

:19:23. > :19:32.Which part is called do you think? Yes, that's gold, get the medal

:19:33. > :19:38.shiny. What should we call him? Ben. Why Ben? Because I have a friend at

:19:39. > :19:41.school called Ben. We did not know the Welsh Guards were coming and

:19:42. > :19:49.it's been a wonderful experience, he has really enjoyed it. I like the

:19:50. > :19:54.helmets because it is fluffy. And I have worn it and had a picture.

:19:55. > :19:58.Doing the run will help more children have wishes when they are

:19:59. > :20:05.going through a life-threatening illness. Are you going to help me

:20:06. > :20:12.paint mine? I can't do it on my own. You want to do the blue. You can do

:20:13. > :20:19.it if you want. To be part of the Welsh Guards and come and see the

:20:20. > :20:25.kids, it's amazing. You are doing a good job. Teamwork. It takes her

:20:26. > :20:37.mind off everything they are going through, all the treatments. It

:20:38. > :20:42.helps them. She's not really run before, the last time she ran she

:20:43. > :20:46.broke her arm so this is a step up! Good luck mum! LAUGHTER

:20:47. > :20:56.Thank you. 25,000 adults and children

:20:57. > :21:01.registered for running events right across this weekend, not just about

:21:02. > :21:07.the half marathon today, races yesterday as well, children as young

:21:08. > :21:09.as three taking part, brilliant. Olympians, Commonwealth Games

:21:10. > :21:14.champions featuring in this strongest elite field ever

:21:15. > :21:19.assembled. One of the stories we told you about at the start of the

:21:20. > :21:24.programme was Rory Coleman, ultramarathon runner struck down by

:21:25. > :21:30.a very rare illness just a few months ago. He has had rehab, was

:21:31. > :21:33.learning to walk again just a few weeks ago and now is running the

:21:34. > :21:39.half marathon. Let's find out how he's getting on. How are you? You

:21:40. > :21:47.look like you're having a great time. We are having a fantastic

:21:48. > :21:50.time, beautiful bay. It is. He is extraordinary, hasn't walked a

:21:51. > :21:56.single step yet and we have done six miles. Back in March she was five

:21:57. > :22:02.months pregnant, I helped her then and I have been really ill since

:22:03. > :22:06.then. So it is my turn to help him. Less than three months ago I was in

:22:07. > :22:11.a wheelchair paralysed from the neck down so I have had to learn how to

:22:12. > :22:15.walk again and I am back running. It's fantastic, beautiful day, we're

:22:16. > :22:21.having a great time out. Great to be out on our feet again. You are a

:22:22. > :22:26.true inspiration, I mean that. I have almost done 1000 marathons, I

:22:27. > :22:29.have got 24 to go. One at the end of the month and this is getting back

:22:30. > :22:35.to the fitness, running is our lives, this is what we do. I will

:22:36. > :22:44.shake your hand and give you a hug, you are an inspiration, don't let me

:22:45. > :22:49.stop you. Well done, one hour 33 minutes, you must be delighted.

:22:50. > :22:57.Yeah, just wanted to get it done. I'm on nights tonight so I need to

:22:58. > :23:02.get home. What do you do? I am a firefighter. Hence the uniform. What

:23:03. > :23:09.was it like out there? The atmosphere is amazing, it's really

:23:10. > :23:13.good. Have you been sparring each other on? It's been unbelievable,

:23:14. > :23:20.the children on the side, everything. Well done,

:23:21. > :23:26.congratulations. Sir Runalot, how's it going? This is the stupidest

:23:27. > :23:33.decision of my life, this is murder. It's for a good cause. Two great

:23:34. > :23:42.causes, check out Sir Runalot on Facebook to help support. I think I

:23:43. > :23:46.am OK, getting through about eight jails in 15 minutes. And more

:23:47. > :23:51.painkillers than advisable but I think we are doing OK. If we don't

:23:52. > :23:57.get it today we will try again. You keep going, well done. What a great

:23:58. > :24:03.sport. One of the best programmes you will see on BBC Wales is Alfie's

:24:04. > :24:10.Angels where he takes a whole bunch of unfit women and turns them into

:24:11. > :24:18.Cardiff half marathon athletes. Outside! This time last year Welsh

:24:19. > :24:31.rugby legend Gareth Thomas trained 16 rookie runners to run the Cardiff

:24:32. > :24:35.Half Marathon. We did it! Having successfully completed that mission,

:24:36. > :24:40.12 months later Alfie is back again. But this time he is super sizing his

:24:41. > :24:43.ambitions. Does anybody here think you can motivate the person next to

:24:44. > :24:51.you in front of you to complete the half marathon? There is your answer.

:24:52. > :24:58.This summer he has accepted his biggest challenge yet. To help train

:24:59. > :25:03.from scratch 100 novice runners for this year 's Cardiff Half Marathon.

:25:04. > :25:09.A total of 20 teams have been following a training programme set

:25:10. > :25:13.by Alfie and training guru James. We have been following three of those

:25:14. > :25:21.teams up close and personal for the Alfie's Angels TV series. Team

:25:22. > :25:30.number one, eight incredible ladies whose children all attend the same

:25:31. > :25:35.needs school in Cardiff. Team number two is fabulous foursome who all

:25:36. > :25:42.work on ward 12 of the Royal come organ hospital. And finally team

:25:43. > :25:45.three, five batty beauticians from Haverfordwest. It's been a

:25:46. > :25:53.helter-skelter summer for all the teams. They have trained their way

:25:54. > :25:57.from couch potatoes to 21 kilometres. But it's not been a

:25:58. > :26:01.stroll in the park. At the very beginning Alfie was convinced the

:26:02. > :26:07.nail bar girls would not it. It pains me to say it but I cannot see

:26:08. > :26:14.them doing it. He was worried they were all about booze, Botox and

:26:15. > :26:19.smokes. But after an Alfie intervention... Your lungs after a

:26:20. > :26:26.year when you smoke. When you smoke 20 a day. They have all knuckled

:26:27. > :26:29.down. And Alfie 's outlook has done a complete 180. The nail bar girls

:26:30. > :26:34.when I first met them I thought their party lifestyle and a fun

:26:35. > :26:40.element of them was maybe all they were about but I was so wrong. They

:26:41. > :26:43.are an amazing group of girls individually and collectively, so

:26:44. > :26:53.motivated. They work hard and they have been leaders. Let's get through

:26:54. > :26:59.it. Everybody looks to one of the nail bar girls for conversation or

:27:00. > :27:04.motivation, they have turned out to be from what I thought a team that

:27:05. > :27:10.would struggle to a team that has led the way. At the outset the

:27:11. > :27:14.hospital girls had the opposite effect. Their everyday lives, from

:27:15. > :27:17.the moment they wake up to when they go to bed is difficult and they will

:27:18. > :27:23.probably see a lot of these challenges as easy and Excel and a

:27:24. > :27:27.lot of them. But how wrong can one man be? The nurses quickly became

:27:28. > :27:31.casualties of their older overenthusiasm. The nurses when I

:27:32. > :27:36.first met them I thought they were a strong team but I think with the

:27:37. > :27:40.amount of time they are on their feet at work and training they were

:27:41. > :27:45.picking up injuries, they were overtraining. The fracture is

:27:46. > :27:49.straight to the bone. But they have such drive and motivation and

:27:50. > :27:54.dedication which covers from their work life. Working a 12 hour shift

:27:55. > :27:57.in award then training, then going home and looking after the family

:27:58. > :28:02.and doing that constantly every day of the week is an extremely

:28:03. > :28:09.difficult thing to do. They have been another motivating factor in

:28:10. > :28:17.inspiring everybody else. Then there was the mums. The mums speak for

:28:18. > :28:20.themselves. They have been walking a continual tightrope of trying to fit

:28:21. > :28:25.in the demands of training alongside the demands of family life. All the

:28:26. > :28:28.other women have seen how these women live their lives and how

:28:29. > :28:32.special they are and what they have done is taken the determination they

:28:33. > :28:38.have everyday and used it differently. They have said all this

:28:39. > :28:43.determination I take out of my life to help everybody else I am going to

:28:44. > :28:52.take some for me. I am going to do something for me and I think they

:28:53. > :28:57.have done that. For all 100 of the angels there have been big

:28:58. > :29:01.sacrifices, heartache and happiness. They have marked of the milestones

:29:02. > :29:06.across a summer of sweat that none of them were offered it in a hurry.

:29:07. > :29:12.Key is the man getting them fit and prepared and ready for the Cardiff

:29:13. > :29:17.Half Marathon and what it is all about is getting them fit and

:29:18. > :29:21.inspired to take up other sports as well, that is where a Gareth Thomas

:29:22. > :29:24.made his name, the principality stadium will be rocking come

:29:25. > :29:28.November for the autumn internationals and then February and

:29:29. > :29:33.March were the six Nations. Beautiful day in the capital city of

:29:34. > :29:39.Wales. Let's find out how the angels are doing. Alfie's Angels. One of

:29:40. > :29:45.the hundredth. I see you all coming through, you are doing fantastic.

:29:46. > :29:50.How are you doing, it's hotter than expected? If my mum is watching it

:29:51. > :29:58.is OK. If dad is watching, it is really tough! You look fresh, I say

:29:59. > :30:02.to everyone you look fresh, you don't look as bad as you feel. You

:30:03. > :30:12.don't look too bad yourself! Halfway now. Go on, don't let me stop you.

:30:13. > :30:17.Well done. Congratulations Kevin, you did it, crossed the finish line,

:30:18. > :30:21.did you break the world record? I am not sure, I think it's close. I

:30:22. > :30:25.started a bit behind the time, I think it will be closed by a couple

:30:26. > :30:32.of seconds. I just have to hope for the best. Running in this heat with

:30:33. > :30:36.all these clothes on, how was it? It was surely difficult to be honest

:30:37. > :30:40.but all the fans out in Cardiff were brilliant. I had support from all my

:30:41. > :30:53.friends and colleagues from work, massive thanks. Raising money is the

:30:54. > :30:57.most important thing but well done, congratulations you are an

:30:58. > :31:03.inspiration. Thank you very much. Go and put your feet up and cool down.

:31:04. > :31:13.I will. Give me a quick word, how are you? I was faster last year! How

:31:14. > :31:17.are you feeling? I am sticking with the women, they are struggling with

:31:18. > :31:21.the heat but we are getting there slowly. We have seen a lot of them

:31:22. > :31:25.coming through and they seem to be doing all right. Yes, a bit

:31:26. > :31:28.concerned because the start was so exciting for them they got carried

:31:29. > :31:33.away and went off quicker than they should have. But they are going all

:31:34. > :31:37.right. I am here for the last one whatever happens even if I have to

:31:38. > :31:38.drag them across the line. You're doing a fantastic job, good to see

:31:39. > :31:48.you. Two of the nicest men in Welsh sport

:31:49. > :31:54.together in Cardiff Bay. Matt is joining us, hello, good afternoon to

:31:55. > :31:59.give. The work that Gareth Thomas is doing is amazing, isn't it? It has

:32:00. > :32:04.been truly inspirational. Hywel Alfie's Angels has stepped up from

:32:05. > :32:08.year one, which was a great first year, getting the girls from Derry

:32:09. > :32:13.to complete the marathon, raising the bar and getting 101st runners to

:32:14. > :32:21.take part in it, the way we have all followed it over the last few weeks,

:32:22. > :32:25.inspirational stories, from the mums and the girls from Pembrokeshire, as

:32:26. > :32:30.well as the nurses, it has been really good. I was there last night

:32:31. > :32:34.as they went on to the blues at half-time and received an incredible

:32:35. > :32:40.welcome from the blues crowd. What it does is showcased the fact that

:32:41. > :32:44.this is possible for anyone. And I think we were inundated with

:32:45. > :32:47.requests for the Run four Wales programme and what happens next,

:32:48. > :32:51.maybe we go to 1000 of Alfie's Angels and see what happens. Surely

:32:52. > :32:56.one of the things you want to get out of an event like this and a

:32:57. > :33:00.project like Alfie 's Angels is to almost, and this is the most

:33:01. > :33:02.overused expression in sport at the moment, inspiring the next

:33:03. > :33:06.generation, and we have to be careful with that, we have to be

:33:07. > :33:10.realistic, but for those women, some of them have not won since they were

:33:11. > :33:18.at school and it is about them changing their habits. It is a huge

:33:19. > :33:23.commitment, and a leap of faith, in a way, taking part in something like

:33:24. > :33:27.this. I have just been amazed at their commitment to the event. One

:33:28. > :33:31.of the things we have been looking at, with my Welsh athletics had on,

:33:32. > :33:34.we have put in place a social running programme across Wales and

:33:35. > :33:37.we recognise that over 15% of the adult population of Wales is now

:33:38. > :33:41.running on a regular basis but behind that there are so many

:33:42. > :33:46.people, that latent demand, people who want to get going and have that

:33:47. > :33:49.first inspirational moment that starts the process, and this is the

:33:50. > :33:54.trigger, the catalyst for that activity. And that is very much your

:33:55. > :33:57.sport, athletics is what you specialise in, but no doubt a lot of

:33:58. > :34:01.these people crossing the line right now who are running will maybe be

:34:02. > :34:06.inspired to try another sport, maybe a sport they have never done before,

:34:07. > :34:10.because when you fit -- when you are fit, you feel you can try anything.

:34:11. > :34:20.We recognise our responsibility as part of the help of the nation

:34:21. > :34:23.agenda, so of course today is about running, taking part in something

:34:24. > :34:25.for the first time, but it could be anything, walking, cycling, there

:34:26. > :34:28.are so many things out there now, it is trying to find something that

:34:29. > :34:32.starts the journey for these everyday people who are struggling

:34:33. > :34:36.sometimes the time, commitment, things going on in our busy modern

:34:37. > :34:42.lives, just finding that one thing that gets them to start the process,

:34:43. > :34:46.something I have just loved. Alfie and what he is doing is phenomenal

:34:47. > :34:50.and we will keep an eye on that and make sure all 100 get safely over

:34:51. > :34:54.the line. We will talk more about the future for this event and others

:34:55. > :34:58.in a moment but let's remind you of some of the wonderful things people

:34:59. > :35:04.are doing right across this half marathon course today.

:35:05. > :35:09.I'm Stephen Hammond, I will be 65, very, very, very shortly, and I am

:35:10. > :35:14.from Llanelli in south Wales. I will be running the Cardiff Half

:35:15. > :35:17.Marathon, I am doing it for a charity called Sandys, and I will be

:35:18. > :35:27.running it without any trainers on, barefoot. -- a charity called Sands.

:35:28. > :35:31.It started a few years ago, I did the London Marathon with trainers,

:35:32. > :35:34.enjoyed it and got through it, did not break any records, and then a

:35:35. > :35:39.couple of years later I thought I would do it again and started

:35:40. > :35:43.training, and I forgot my trainers one-day! Rather than go back for

:35:44. > :35:48.them, I decided, it was a nice day, the sun was shining, and I thought,

:35:49. > :35:54.I will run barefoot. And I did, and I found it was almost therapeutic, I

:35:55. > :35:58.enjoyed it, it was really good. And then I did some research and found

:35:59. > :36:04.nobody had ever run a full marathon in London before barefoot, so, a bit

:36:05. > :36:08.like Mount Everest, because it was there I thought, I will do it, and I

:36:09. > :36:14.was the first person to run it. After that, it got a bit addictive,

:36:15. > :36:17.and I found I just enjoy it, and it has got to the stage now where I

:36:18. > :36:25.really couldn't run with trainers on, it would feel really

:36:26. > :36:30.uncomfortable. Sands stands for Stillborn And Neonatal Death. It is

:36:31. > :36:33.not one of the high-profile charities but I would like to make

:36:34. > :36:40.people much more aware of Sands, and it is a course which is very close

:36:41. > :36:48.to my heart. My daughter had course to use them last year, and they were

:36:49. > :36:54.very, very good to her. And it is something which, like most men,

:36:55. > :36:59.until you actually are involved, you hear of stillbirth and miscarriages,

:37:00. > :37:04.as men we kind of shrug it off and think, oh, well. But when it comes

:37:05. > :37:08.close to home and you realise how devastating it can be, particularly

:37:09. > :37:12.for the mother but for the whole family, the extended family, then

:37:13. > :37:16.you come to realise that it is a tragedy, and people who have

:37:17. > :37:21.suffered this really do need help, and Sands do a fantastic job, they

:37:22. > :37:24.help people who are at a very great emotional crisis in their life, and

:37:25. > :37:36.I cannot speak highly enough of them. I haven't had any injuries at

:37:37. > :37:40.all since I have been running barefoot. I think there are several

:37:41. > :37:46.reasons for this, really. One is that when you run with trainers, you

:37:47. > :37:50.tend to land on your heel, whereas when you are running barefoot it is

:37:51. > :37:55.almost natural to land on the ball up your foot, and so you get much

:37:56. > :37:59.more spring in your step, and it is not so stressful for the joints. And

:38:00. > :38:02.don't forget we have been running for millions of years before

:38:03. > :38:05.trainers were invented and I think we are designed to run barefoot, so

:38:06. > :38:13.I would ask other people why they wear trainers. I will be 65 shortly.

:38:14. > :38:19.I didn't start running at all, never even run for a bus, I don't think,

:38:20. > :38:22.before I was, I think, 52. What I'm saying is, it is never too late. It

:38:23. > :38:26.is surprising what you can do when you put your mind to it. I would

:38:27. > :38:31.like to think that I will certainly be doing this again on my 70th

:38:32. > :38:38.birthday and, who knows, 80? I am not going to go beyond that, but you

:38:39. > :38:44.never know. I am joined now by Elmo, who have we

:38:45. > :38:50.got here? Brian. How did it go? It went really well. Time today wasn't

:38:51. > :38:54.really a thing for me, it was mainly about doing that for all those

:38:55. > :38:58.children who need support out there. I have a learning disability myself,

:38:59. > :39:02.I just feel that it matters for children out there to be inspired by

:39:03. > :39:11.people like myself and encourage them to take up the sport. Today I

:39:12. > :39:15.wanted to show the kids that they can do it, no matter what your

:39:16. > :39:19.ability is. You are certainly an inspiration to us. I must ask, it

:39:20. > :39:28.must have been boiling inside that suit? Yes, it was hot. I had to stop

:39:29. > :39:33.at times to get water to call myself down. Brilliant conditions and

:39:34. > :39:45.brilliant course, as always. Congratulations, Brian.

:39:46. > :39:53.I was drinking until 1230 PM, I have just sobered up now! Just running it

:39:54. > :40:00.off today! There are 46 of us altogether, we have raised 250,002

:40:01. > :40:06.years, 10,000, 9000 or something makes it a quarter of a million so

:40:07. > :40:10.hopefully we will headquarter of a million. Brilliant! Listen, don't

:40:11. > :40:15.let me stop you there, I want you to try to sober up on this last six

:40:16. > :40:22.miles so! Amaan .com or Minnie mouse, you are

:40:23. > :40:31.looking ecstatic! Absolutely! I came here and have done 1.55, I cannot

:40:32. > :40:34.wait to get that on Facebook! The support out there was unbelievable,

:40:35. > :40:37.I have had so many shouts and cheers, it has been absolutely

:40:38. > :40:44.fantastic. I have come from Lancashire, my husband has finished,

:40:45. > :40:48.he is quicker than me. How did the Cardiff Half Marathon Treeview? Very

:40:49. > :40:52.nice, a few sneaky hills I did not know about, but fantastic weather,

:40:53. > :41:01.brilliant race. Back next year as Minnie mouse? No, I will have a new

:41:02. > :41:13.outfit then! And to beat that 1.55? Maybe! Congratulations!

:41:14. > :41:17.How are you feeling? I'm OK, OK. Can we have a quick chat? Tell me how

:41:18. > :41:23.you are feeling? You are the man running barefoot? I am, I think we

:41:24. > :41:26.will make it, we are getting there, slowly. I have had to put some

:41:27. > :41:31.plasters on because there was a bit of glass back there but I think I

:41:32. > :41:35.will be OK, doing all right. How many half marathons have you done?

:41:36. > :41:41.Quite a few now, about ten altogether. All barefoot? Yes, apart

:41:42. > :41:46.from the very first, when I had trainers on. But I enjoyed it

:41:47. > :41:53.barefoot and people think I'm a bit mad, but in many ways it is easier

:41:54. > :41:56.will stop well, don't let me stop you there. We have got a fabulous

:41:57. > :42:02.day for it anyway, so lucky with the weather.

:42:03. > :42:10.Thank you. What a warrior. I think one of the other men that Christian

:42:11. > :42:16.interviewed yesterday was at Burton yesterday, it was Burton Albion two,

:42:17. > :42:21.Cardiff zero, let's not go there! Mandy Moore just crossing the line,

:42:22. > :42:24.big way for her there. When you look at these people doing incredible

:42:25. > :42:28.things the charities across Wales, you must be very proud because you

:42:29. > :42:32.are the man at the heart of that? I am absolutely proud, the

:42:33. > :42:36.organisation is proud. What this event gives us is the opportunity

:42:37. > :42:40.for charities, Barnardos is a type of charity that has had a key role

:42:41. > :42:45.in the event over the last 15 years, but we have hundreds of local

:42:46. > :42:49.charities, Conservative estimate is over ?2.5 million being raised today

:42:50. > :42:54.for good causes in Wales, so that side of the event is sometimes not

:42:55. > :42:57.the most obvious but it is a social dimension behind the scenes which

:42:58. > :43:03.makes us all proud. The other thing, with an athletics hat on, the model

:43:04. > :43:08.we have created is that surpluses from today's event will go to fund

:43:09. > :43:13.grassroots athletics and it keeps schools athletics alive in Wales. We

:43:14. > :43:17.are keeping the next generation of youngsters involved in the sport and

:43:18. > :43:20.it is something we are immensely proud. You may have just seen in the

:43:21. > :43:24.bottom left of your screen a man being held across the finishing line

:43:25. > :43:30.where we are right now. It is just wonderful spirit, so many people

:43:31. > :43:34.running side-by-side, I think I read today 51% of the people who applied

:43:35. > :43:37.to take part in the Cardiff Half Marathon, you would know this as the

:43:38. > :43:42.chief executive of run Wales, taking part for the first time. Yes, I am

:43:43. > :43:49.impressed with your knowledge! It is truly amazing that year-on-year, and

:43:50. > :43:53.I think as we were saying earlier, the inspiration provided by Alfie 's

:43:54. > :43:57.Angels and the fact that people now think this is possible, they might

:43:58. > :44:01.be sitting at home today feeling inspired, the pictures have been

:44:02. > :44:05.incredible of Cardiff and the race, and a lot of people will be sitting

:44:06. > :44:08.at home thinking, in 12 months' time, I will have a go at that, it

:44:09. > :44:13.is my chance to do something to change the way I live. What is the

:44:14. > :44:17.hope and aspiration for the half marathon, what do you hope to

:44:18. > :44:21.achieve? Would you dream of putting on a marathon in Cardiff? Our

:44:22. > :44:26.aspiration is to keep growing the Cardiff Half Marathon to make the

:44:27. > :44:29.elite side of it as strong as possible, to really strengthen that,

:44:30. > :44:33.and to get more and more club runners involved but also just to

:44:34. > :44:37.keep it going from a community perspective, all the good things we

:44:38. > :44:41.have spoken about today, to keep building on it. I am more than happy

:44:42. > :44:45.to talk about our future plans, because it is important that we

:44:46. > :44:50.don't just rest on our laurels, what we recognise more and more is that

:44:51. > :44:54.there is demand for longer distances, so I am happy to give you

:44:55. > :45:04.the exclusive today that we are looking to launch in the next two

:45:05. > :45:07.weeks a full marathon in Wales that will take place in April as almost a

:45:08. > :45:09.precursor to the London Marathon. It recognises that Wales, at the

:45:10. > :45:14.moment, uses the marathon as its Welsh championship, which is crazy.

:45:15. > :45:18.There is huge demand, 250,000 people applied for the London Marathon

:45:19. > :45:23.every year, 35,000 people get places, so the demand is there.

:45:24. > :45:27.People all the time are asking me and the staff members, why are you

:45:28. > :45:31.not putting on a marathon? So we are going to do that, we have got plans

:45:32. > :45:36.in place, almost finalised, so delighted today to announce that Run

:45:37. > :45:40.4 Wales will be putting on a full marathon in the next six months.

:45:41. > :45:44.Fantastic, and you have done that on my television as well. Really good

:45:45. > :45:48.to talk to you. As Matt says, it is not just about taking part, it is

:45:49. > :45:58.not just the elite race, it is about raising money as well.

:45:59. > :46:01.I started this year in January, nearly 21 stone. My son Jake was

:46:02. > :46:09.born last year missing his lover left arm. I decided that I needed to

:46:10. > :46:13.introduce damage control. I didn't want my boys being bullied because

:46:14. > :46:19.they had a fat mum. It is bad enough now when we go out and Jake gets

:46:20. > :46:24.stared at, comments are made. It is hurtful. I don't see why they should

:46:25. > :46:29.be bullied because of my own problems. So I decided to start

:46:30. > :46:36.eating healthily. I started running, well, walking at first, then

:46:37. > :46:41.running, and ten months down the line I completed a five kilometre,

:46:42. > :46:43.ten kilometre, and I am now attempting the Cardiff Half

:46:44. > :46:50.Marathon, and I am almost six stone lighter. Next year I hope to do a

:46:51. > :46:58.marathon, and I'm aiming for Ironman Wales in 2018. To me, it is not so

:46:59. > :47:02.much my wait any more, it is feeling I have got a purpose, more than just

:47:03. > :47:06.an mum and a wife, I have started looking after me, which was the

:47:07. > :47:10.problem, I spent so much time looking after everyone else and not

:47:11. > :47:14.myself, that is how I got to 21 stone. It is time to be a little bit

:47:15. > :47:23.selfish. Had Jake not been formed the way he was, I possibly would not

:47:24. > :47:30.have succeeded again. I hate saying that because it sounds like my other

:47:31. > :47:35.children were not as important, but how as a parent can you teach your

:47:36. > :47:39.Child with a disability that anything is possible if you are not

:47:40. > :47:43.willing to show them yourself, how am I meant to teach him when he

:47:44. > :47:48.comes home and says, someone says I cannot ride a bike or climb a

:47:49. > :47:54.climbing wall, how am I meant to show him that, absolutely anything

:47:55. > :47:58.is possible? I have worked so hard, and it has meant spending hours away

:47:59. > :48:03.from the children some days, but they will get it. It is great,

:48:04. > :48:07.because my son has come home this week and he wants to join

:48:08. > :48:10.cross-country, he wants to sign up for gymnastics, my other child wants

:48:11. > :48:16.to sign up for football clubs. It has had an amazing impact on the

:48:17. > :48:21.rest of us as well. It was nice to hear from my son Henry that when he

:48:22. > :48:23.grows up what he wants to do is run and run like me. That makes it all

:48:24. > :48:33.worthwhile. I am running for reach UK, they are

:48:34. > :48:39.a charity who support children and families of children who have been

:48:40. > :48:42.affected by upper limb differences. They have given us support when

:48:43. > :48:49.local health professionals have failed. There is always someone

:48:50. > :48:55.there, these other families just like you in the same situation and

:48:56. > :49:00.we get to meet up and Jake gets to be with other children like him as

:49:01. > :49:05.well. It must be hard, he must be the only child with a limb

:49:06. > :49:08.disability where we live, so it's nice for him to not be the odd one

:49:09. > :49:17.out for a change. It's going to be emotional. Because for once I am

:49:18. > :49:27.proud of my boys, but for once I did something for me. I did that. I put

:49:28. > :49:31.in the hard work. I put in the effort. For once I was Michelle, I

:49:32. > :49:42.was not mum or a wife, I have done that. I am proud of myself.

:49:43. > :49:48.So many wonderful people taking part in the Cardiff Half Marathon and for

:49:49. > :49:52.many of them it's a little too much, behind the cameraman are two people

:49:53. > :49:56.laid out, I think they are OK but they are on the grass, I think they

:49:57. > :49:59.are sunbathing because it's a beautiful day. Joined by Tanni

:50:00. > :50:04.Grey-Thompson, can you see them, I think they are OK. I think they are

:50:05. > :50:09.just having a bit of a stretch because the sprint finish can take a

:50:10. > :50:13.bit out of you. Have you enjoyed it today, it's been such a lovely day.

:50:14. > :50:18.It's been fantastic, I think it's amazing for Cardiff and Welsh sport,

:50:19. > :50:23.to have it as the second biggest half marathon in the country. The

:50:24. > :50:27.elite race is great but I love watching everyone come across the

:50:28. > :50:30.line, running for charity who have never run before and two tomorrow

:50:31. > :50:34.might be struggling to walk a little bit and might not be feeling great

:50:35. > :50:39.but they have come out and done it. They have made a difference. Let's

:50:40. > :50:44.talk about the elite race, we knew it would be quick because it's so

:50:45. > :50:50.flat and a gorgeous day, as expected for you? I think so, the men's race

:50:51. > :50:54.was interested with Korir, never seen something like that were

:50:55. > :51:01.someone is exacting across the road. Psychologically that's tough. I

:51:02. > :51:05.think we all expected Jepchumba to win. It was a good women's field

:51:06. > :51:10.today but when she takes the next step and has more depth around her I

:51:11. > :51:14.think she will go incredibly quick. She said she would run a marathon

:51:15. > :51:20.for two years, I think about it are learning how much to push the body.

:51:21. > :51:26.I think for the British athletes to run in that quality of field is

:51:27. > :51:31.fantastic. I am glad you said that, I spoke to Dewi Griffiths, personal

:51:32. > :51:37.best for and chatting to Steve Jones, Steve thinks, believes there

:51:38. > :51:43.is a different jury her fist since he has been working with him. He

:51:44. > :51:47.went out hard, try to stay with the pack and when he started to lose

:51:48. > :51:51.touch he ran his own race, didn't try to do anything silly. Then he

:51:52. > :51:55.comes out with a really decent personal best which you cannot ask

:51:56. > :52:01.any more from an athlete than that. I love the fact he's going to be

:52:02. > :52:05.running with Steve, he will get a different input into his training.

:52:06. > :52:09.As an athlete you evolve and change, you need to listen to different

:52:10. > :52:13.people. It's maybe not the position Dewi Griffiths would have wanted but

:52:14. > :52:22.we knew he was going to be running his personal best, that has to be

:52:23. > :52:26.motivational going forward. And the wheelchair race. Yes, I have known

:52:27. > :52:31.Richie Powell a long time, he's not a natural half marathon athlete but

:52:32. > :52:37.performed really well. Somebody told me he represented Wales in coarse

:52:38. > :52:41.fishing as well, did you know that? He represented GB at Paralympics 92,

:52:42. > :52:45.did the Commonwealth Games, then he went and did coarse fishing and has

:52:46. > :52:50.come back to wheelchair racing. I think you will still be here when he

:52:51. > :52:55.is 80. Some TV and radio backslapping, well done on the

:52:56. > :52:59.Paralympics, did you enjoy it? It was amazing. We were a bit worried a

:53:00. > :53:09.couple of weeks out, talking about budget cuts, didn't know what that

:53:10. > :53:13.would mean but it was great, once the competition started it was all

:53:14. > :53:20.fine. Once Team GB started winning loads of medals that takes over

:53:21. > :53:24.everything else. The team did amazingly to finish second on the

:53:25. > :53:27.back of the games where if you had asked me a couple of months out I

:53:28. > :53:32.was not sure I would have been quite so confident. I would have said top

:53:33. > :53:38.five. For both the Olympics and politics it is a big step forward.

:53:39. > :53:43.We are hearing glorious sunshine, it's like the Copacabana. I did not

:53:44. > :53:48.get anywhere near the Copacabana! I saw it a bit from a distance but I

:53:49. > :53:54.did not get to it. Lovely to see you, thank you. It's sport

:53:55. > :54:00.personality of the year time and we are looking for your unsung hero.

:54:01. > :54:04.The sporting people who make things happen but rarely grab the

:54:05. > :54:08.limelight, whether they are helping out on the field are behind the

:54:09. > :54:12.scenes they are always there voluntarily giving up their time to

:54:13. > :54:18.help others without expecting in return. Do you know why sports

:54:19. > :54:23.unsung hero worthy of recognition? BBC Wales is looking for Welsh

:54:24. > :54:27.sports unsung hero. If you know someone who is 18 years or over on

:54:28. > :54:30.the 1st of January who fits the bill and would like more details or

:54:31. > :54:38.perhaps even nominate them for this award, visit the website, BBC .co

:54:39. > :54:46..uk/ sport Wales. But nominations close just before midnight on Sunday

:54:47. > :54:51.the 23rd of October. Crossing the finishing line holding hands or you

:54:52. > :54:56.are still friends? Just about! It's been a fantastic day, beautiful

:54:57. > :55:01.weather. Good, pleased it's over. Did you encourage each other around?

:55:02. > :55:09.I was carrying the jellybeans so he could not go without me. Was it a

:55:10. > :55:14.great experience? Yeah, we have done it a few times and it was a really

:55:15. > :55:18.nice route with great support. Stunning city, stunning support,

:55:19. > :55:24.could not ask for more. And it keeps getting better. It seems massive

:55:25. > :55:28.this year. Very big this year, I have enjoyed it this year more than

:55:29. > :55:35.other years. So glad to see you're still friends. 11 years ago we did

:55:36. > :55:43.at the first time. Don't tell people that. Come here, I don't want you

:55:44. > :55:46.getting run over, how are you? I'm all right, just thinking about fish

:55:47. > :55:53.and chips at the end. Is that what you have been promised? Yes, and

:55:54. > :55:56.presenting three awards at the Bath this tonight, I will get home and

:55:57. > :56:06.showered and look presentable. I think you look good. Don't be

:56:07. > :56:12.ridiculous. Congratulations, finishing, why are you dressed like

:56:13. > :56:16.a bumblebee? I am running from the bumblebee conservation trust. I

:56:17. > :56:23.thought it was a good idea but in retrospect it's a bit hot for it

:56:24. > :56:30.today. Lots of water. Yes, it's been really well organised. What was it

:56:31. > :56:35.like? It was great, beautiful, flat, the sun is out, beautiful city,

:56:36. > :56:41.could not ask for more. What was the camaraderie like? Great, it's always

:56:42. > :56:47.good, everyone running for each other, the crowd was amazing, it

:56:48. > :56:57.makes it easier. You can keep on buzzing now! Go and put your feet

:56:58. > :57:09.up. Are you genuine firemen? Yes. I have to make sure. We are running

:57:10. > :57:14.for neuroblastoma UK. A former firefighter 's daughter passed away

:57:15. > :57:21.so we are running for them. Having a great time but really hot. It's

:57:22. > :57:27.getting heavy, the more I swept the heavier it is getting. Don't let me

:57:28. > :57:32.stop you, keep well hydrated. All the best. They must be boiling

:57:33. > :57:38.because in the sunshine it's very hot here today. For an October

:57:39. > :57:43.morning stroke afternoon anyway. They must be boiling, once again I

:57:44. > :57:48.think it's only right we give a big shout out this afternoon to the

:57:49. > :57:54.extra mile of volunteers who are helping hand out the water and look

:57:55. > :57:58.after the people taking part today. Delighted to say we have Zoe and

:57:59. > :58:01.Charlotte, Charlotte has just about turned off her phone, lots of

:58:02. > :58:06.messages from people saying well done, that was on live TV, we will

:58:07. > :58:13.play that back free later. Good afternoon, these are two of Alfie's

:58:14. > :58:20.Angels and you have finished in what time? I think I was 2.2 one. That is

:58:21. > :58:26.very good, is it what you are hoping for? For a first time I am proud of

:58:27. > :58:31.myself what I have achieved before I started this I had never done

:58:32. > :58:43.anything at all, my fitness level zero. For me this is absolutely 100%

:58:44. > :58:51.amazing. Charlotte you? I think I was just after the Zoe. So tired.

:58:52. > :58:55.The last mile was so tough but I am so lucky my family were all dotted

:58:56. > :59:03.around, I could see them and kept going. Flags waving. Everyone has

:59:04. > :59:08.been amazing. One of the stories of the day, very well done, God bless.

:59:09. > :59:13.That's it from us, thank you for watching, well done to all the

:59:14. > :59:15.runners taking part today. You have major country very proud, from all

:59:16. > :59:19.of us here, goodbye for now. Euro 2016,

:59:20. > :00:03.what a time for Welsh football.