Robert Kestin and Helen Platel were the big winners as MUUK-Adventures held their first competitive event in 21 months on Saturday. 
 
The Ras Dewi Sant 40 Mile Ultra Marathon saw 17 runners take to the start line at 8am, and perhaps in-keeping with recent times, nothing was straightforward as the route was altered to accommodate the severe weather which arrived in Pembrokeshire in the early hours of the morning. 
 

Weather forced a change of route

 
Originally, competitors were due to run two 20-mile laps of the St Davids peninsula, which incorporated a large section of the coastal path, but that was changed to three laps of just over 16 miles to ensure the safety of all involved. 
 
But the brutal conditions were secondary to the pleasure of the athletes finally able to take part in an event again, and in a thrilling finish the Swansea-based Kestin held off Haverfordwest’s Sean Rice. 
 

Kestin holds on after establishing big lead

 
Kestin had enjoyed an 11 minute lead over Rice after his second lap, but that narrowed in the closing stages and in the end, his time of 6:50:27 was enough to give him victory by a mere 40 seconds. 
 
St Davids’ own Andy Holcroft was third in a time of 7:26:30. 
 
Helen Platel from Solva, no stranger to endurance races and a former IronMan World Championship competitor, was the first female home in 17:47:29 – a time that gave her sixth place overall. 
 
There were four entrants unable to finish as injuries scuppered their day, but overall it proved a hugely successful return to events for MUUK, and company director Fintan Godkin said it was pleasing to be back. 
 

Positive feedback

 
“It went really well and the feedback has already been positive,” he told PembrokeshireSport.co.uk
 
“But to be fair that’s not really a reflection on us - it’s more a reflection of people being delighted to be able to get out and race again. 
 
“So thank you to everyone who took part and to the staff who helped throughout the day.” 
 
And despite the weather, he said re-scheduling the day was never considered. 
 
“Obviously it’s been glorious in April and then to see the forecast was horrendous today was typical. 
“I had to think about what to do. We could not cancel it again after 21 months without an event so we made some last minute changes to make sure things were safe.” 
 

Wide-ranging support

 
As always, runners came from across Wales and some even from England, and Godkin added the company were now hoping to run more events later in 2021, with a backlog of races still to be fulfilled due to postponements caused by Covid-19. 
 
“It’s important we honour the bookings of people and then hopefully next year, we can get back to more advertising more events again.” 
 
Race results: 
 
1: Robert Kestin 6:50:27 
2: Sean Rice 6:51:07 
3: Andy Holcroft 7:26:30 
4: Jimmy Wilson 7:39:00 
5: Rich Simpson 7:46:23 
6: Helen Platel 7:47:29 (first female) 
7: Nathan Hutton 7:52:41 
8: Clive Rees 8:05:50 
9: Dan Rees 8:15:00 
10: Adam Bowman 8:53:55 
11: Vince Bailey 9:08:30 
12: Julian Lewis 9:09:02 
13: Russell Bailey 9:09:50 
14: Nathan Evans 9:09:40 
15: Kayleigh Bagshaw 9:10:17 (second female) 
16: Jo Bowes (third female) 9:14:03 
17: Lenny Hughes 9.20:00 
DNF: Tom Sinton (2:29:20 after one lap); Darren Thomas (4:32:20 after two laps); Rhys Davies (6:43:14 after two laps); Dafydd Rees (6:24:00 after two laps).