St Albans Striders’ Si Fraser proved his is faster than a steam locomotive on Saturday after running Race the Train in Tywyn, Wales.

The aim of the race is for runners to complete a 14 mile multi-terrain race and finish before the steam train on the Talyllyn railway finishes its journey to Abergynolwyn and back.

For most of the race the train is in sight of the runners and the time to beat this year was 1hr 48mins. Fraser came 31st in 1hr 35mins and was one of only 187 runners, out of 768, who succeeded in beating the train.

Also on Saturday, Strider Ben Walsh came seventh overall in the Stour Valley Path 100km Trail Ultra in Suffolk, finishing second in a time of 11hrs 6mins.

On Sunday Jack Brooks took part in the Leila’s Run Trail Marathon. This four-lap race mainly follows footpaths between Wheathampstead, Harpenden and Sandridge and is held in memory of Leila Taylor, a popular runner from Wheathampstead. Brooks finished in 4hrs 8mins.

Tom Crouch won the Newmarket Duathlon in 1hr 7mins. Marc Phillips and Claire Sharpe also competed the race, finishing in 1hr 36mins and 1hr 45mins respectively.