Personal bests all round for Team Astutis in Cardiff 10k 2015

The sunshine was out for another successful day at the Cardiff 10k on Sunday 6 September, as 22 members of Team Astutis proudly raced across the finish line for Kidney Wales. British Lion and Welsh International rugby star Jamie Roberts marked the start of the race, which began outside of the city’s civic centre and took 5,000 runners along a flat and scenic route around Bute Park, Cardiff Castle grounds and Llandaff fields.

So far this year Astutis has raised a tremendous £2,581 for Kidney Wales, making us the number 1 fundraising team for this year’s event, with more donations still flooding in. This brings the total amount raised by Astutis for the charity to a massive £8,472. Astutis would like to say a big thank to everyone who has donated and supported them over the past 4 years in all of their fundraising activities for Kidney Wales. There is still time to donate for this year’s Cardiff 10k over at Team Astutis’ Just Giving page https://cardiff10k2015.everydayhero.com/uk/team-astutis-2015-10k

Team Astutis at Cardiff 10K 2015Sunday saw a number of personal bests achieved by the dedicated runners of the team, including team captain Helen Hodges who knocked a whopping 10 minutes off her previous time, completing the race in well under an hour for the first time, in 52 minutes 12 seconds. She added;

“I am really proud of the effort that everyone from Team Astutis put in to raising so much money for Kidney Wales, but also for turning up and achieving excellent times on the day. Despite a few minor injuries and a lot of sweat, we all had fun and will no doubt be looking forward to doing it all over again next year”

The fastest runner accolade within Team Astutis went to Operations Consultant and Health and Safety Trainer, Tom Lea, who completed the race in an incredible 47 minutes 38 seconds. MD Steve Terry and his father Mike weren’t far behind crossing the finish line in 49 minutes 52 seconds, closely followed by first time competitor International Account Manager Gavin Williams at 56 minutes 32 seconds.

Special recognition has to go to Course Advisor John Ellis and Finance Officer Rhoswen Patterson, both of whom had been training immensely in preparation for the event and shaved a massive 30 minutes off of last years’ time. John Ellis, who has used the Cardiff 10k as motivation to get fit and healthy, shared his thoughts:

“I did the Cardiff 10K for the first time last year and with the help of friends and managed to walk it in just over 2 hours 7 minutes without suffering a heart attack during the months of training! This prompted me to start living a healthier lifestyle losing five stone and challenging myself to improving my time in the Cardiff 10K this year. Thanks to my improved fitness levels, I was able to walk a lot quicker and also jog which culminated in a time this year of a little over 1 hour 25 minutes. I beat my target of 1 hour 30 minutes so I was very pleased. I’ve got still a long way to go on many fronts but I feel I’m getting there and my colleague and I are aiming for a target a time of 1 hour 15 minutes next year. I would like to thank everybody for their sponsorship and kind words of encouragement which spurred me on and made it all worthwhile.”

Rhoswen Patterson, who also walked the event last year, was hit with disappointment during her training when she unfortunately twisted her ankle and was unable to continue with her preparation for the event. That didn’t stop her however, as she was determined to complete the race for Kidney Wales and crossed the finish line in a fantastic 1 hour 32 minutes. She commented:

“My aim going into this year was to improve on last years’ time of 1 hour 38 minutes. Unfortunately my ankle injury at the beginning of August put a dampener on my training but I was determined to compete again this year. I am extremely proud that I managed to complete the whole run/walk, even if I did hobble over the finish line in a not too shoddy 1 hour and 32 minutes. I’m so proud of the Astutis team, and how much money we have raised of the Kidney Wales foundation. Next year I’m aiming for 1hr 15 minute!”

Team Astutis at Cardiff 10K 2015 awards ceremonyRunners were met with live bands, food stalls and massage stations at the end of the race, and Team Astutis ended the morning with a big brunch at the Park Plaza hotel, along with the other corporate community teams, where they were presented with an award for their fundraising contribution to Kidney Wales

Congratulations to everybody who took part in the Cardiff 10k ­see you next year!