On Sunday I took part in the 40th edition of the Lliswerry 8 in Newport. This annual 8 mile road race is organised by Lliswerry Runners and always sells out very quickly. Race places always go on sale first thing on a morning in September/October time and the website often crashes as everyone tries to secure an entry! It has been nicknamed the “flattest race on the planet” and takes place around country lanes on the outskirts of Newport.

The race HQ is located at the Newport Stadium and the start is a short 5 minute jog away at the Lliswerry Secondary School. When entering you need to provide an estimated time and from this runners are organised into various waves so that the start is a bit more organised. The race takes part on closed roads. There is an approximately 1 mile run out before joining a 6 mile loop and then back on to the original 1 mile back to the finish to total 8 miles.

I ran this race last year so knew to expect a competitive field. The conditions weren’t quite as good this year. It was mild but there was a fair bit of wind, particularly during the first half of the race, which made it slightly more challenging. I’m not in as good shape as I was last year so I came in with a goal of trying to average 5:20 minute mile splits and see how that felt.

It was a very informal start with the starter counting back from 5 seconds to go but they stalled on “One” which meant everyone stumbled over the line. Still we got away ok and the race started. Quite quickly a few runners pulled away to create a lead group. I looked at my pace on my watch and decided to hold back a bit and form a chase group. There were three or four of us chasing but quite quickly this just became me and Ross Purchase (Porthcawl Runners). We ran together for a few miles but then I started to pull away and formed a gap. This meant I was running solo in third for the rest of the race as Adam Bull (Pontypridd Roadents AC) and Alastair Cambell (Lliswerry Runners) were leading the race a couple of hundred meters further up the road.

I was very happy with my race execution though as I gradually built throughout the race with each mile split getting faster. Over the last few miles I slowly closed the gap on the leaders but it was a bit too much to catch them. Still I was very happy with my performance as I averaged 10 seconds a mile faster than I was aiming for and felt strong. Considering where my performances were before Christmas and how busy work has been I thought it was a very solid effort and the furthest road race I have run since last spring.

The men’s podium was Adam Bull (Pontypridd Roadents AC) in 41:10 followed by Alastair Cambell (Lliswerry Runners) in 41:23 and myself in 41:39. The women’s top 3 were Emily Fell (Les Croupiers RC) in 47:51, Ceri Merwood (CDF Runners) also in 47:51 and Gabriella Booth (Porthcawl Runners) in 47:59. In total there were 956 finishers. Full results of the Lliswerry 8 2026 here.

Well done to everyone who raced and thank you Lliswerry Runners for organising a great event!