ATHLETES took part in a race with a difference at the weekend, as the inaugural Wild Wye SwimRun (WWSR) was held near Chepstow.

The WWSR was a 13km running race with a difference.

Starting next to Chepstow Castle, competitors began by running northwards through Gloucestershire for around six kilometres.

This portion of the race included passing through the 1188-yard Tidenham Tunnel on the former Wye Valley Railway.

They then swam across the River Wye at high tide – a distance of about 100 metres, with five Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) boats - plus bank teams - providing safety cover and assistance.

Then it was back to Chepstow by land on the Welsh side.

SARA's Richard Newhouse said that this second part of the event is "much tougher than the first part - along the Wye Valley Walk and through the Piercefield Woods Nature Reserve".

"We wanted to keep this first event quite small," he said.

"We had 66 runners, who all received a medal and a special memento."

READ MORE:

The event was sponsored by The Boat Inn in Chepstow, and won by Oliver Williams from Pontypridd in one hour, two minutes.

Sarah Bell from Chepstow was First Lady in one hour and 17 minutes.

The event was in aid of the work done on local rivers and waterways by SARA - and raised around £1500 through race entry fees.

However, people can also donate directly to SARA here.

The date of the Wild Wye SwimRun is dependent on the tides - which means next year’s event will be in July.

The exact date will be announced soon.