Llyr claims worthy top-ten finish for GB at European Sprint Duathlon in Italy.

By Don Hale


*Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts pictured in the lead in his GB vest during the Duathlon.

Llyr claims worthy top-ten finish for Great Britain at European Sprint Duathlon in Italy.

Report by Don Hale.


North Wales Road Running veteran Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts enjoyed a superb run for Great Britain last weekend in the Veteran’s MV50 European Sprint Duathlon Championships in Italy, and claimed an excellent Top-Ten finish.

The international all-rounder was even leading the pack at one stage but admitted to a slight mishap during transition which pushed him back, but he recovered well to eventually claim a prestigious 8th place overall.

Held in Carole, which is about 50km from Venice, his split times included 16 minutes and 35 seconds for the first run of about 5k, and 36.20 for the cycle ride, with 11 minutes for the second run.

After the event Llyr confirmed: “I was really pleased, but it could have been higher if I hadn’t had trouble getting my feet into my bike shoes during T1 transition, but I’ll take the top 10 any day!”


 

 

Don Hale is a former award winning investigative journalist and now a best-selling author who has created a very popular blog post linked to numerous social media sites. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025.

Comments

Post a Comment

Most recent posts

Some personal stories by North Wales athletes in the London and Manchester Marathons.

By Don Hale
Image
*NWRRC athlete Gwen Charlton (*above right), heads towards the finish line at the London Marathon. Some personal stories by North Wales athletes in the London and Manchester Marathons... Special Marathon’s sporting feature: Introduction by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   This is a brief sporting spotlight featuring a number of the many North Wales based athletes who took part in last weekend’s London or Manchester Marathons, with a few even overcoming personal tragedies in order to compete, and most also raising some much-needed funds for local charities. It would be impossible of course, to mention everyone who took part, but this article will at least give a voice to some key individuals who have made a determined effort with hard training throughout the winter to ensure they were ready to start and finish one of the most gruelling races ever, over 26.2 miles.  This is a summary of their personal challenges: Fast time at London for Martin Green. Martin Green, ...
Read more

Hot and hilly for runners in Nick Beer Memorial 10k race

By Don Hale
Image
*Martin Green in the colours of North Wales finished 7th overall. Hot and hilly for runners in Nick Beer 10k race Report by Don Hale. Photographs by Steve Jeffery. Athletes from across the country descended on Llandudno last Sunday morning and battled soaring temperatures to compete in the re-scheduled Nick Beer Memorial 10k race, which had to be delayed for several months due to covid-19 restrictions. This ever-popular challenge, which started on Llandudno promenade, before climbing steeply around the scenic Great Orme and back, attracted over 400 runners of varied ages and abilities. The event also included a large contingent of elite athletes, and several teams for a combined Inter-County race. And in addition, there was also a highly successful 1k fun-run for children in aid of St David’s Hospice, which attracted over 70 entrants. With the club busy hosting and organising this spectacular race, most club members were involved in some way with marshalling or supervisory duties, ther...
Read more

Great performance by Welsh Master Ifan Lloyd in the Comrades Ultra-Marathon.

By Don Hale
Image
*Pictured above - Welsh Master and Swansea Harrier Ifan Lloyd. Great performance by Welsh Master Ifan Lloyd in the South African Comrades Ultra-Marathon... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Welsh Master and Swansea Harrier Ifan Lloyd bravely completed the gruelling Comrades Ultra-Marathon in South Africa last month, which is said to be one of the world’s largest and oldest ultra-marathon events. This year, and described as an ‘up-run,’ this prestigious annual race was held in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa and started in waves from 5.30am by the City Hall in Durban, and eventually finished 88kms (55 miles), away in  Pietermaritzburg. The organisers claimed it is ‘ The Ultimate Human Challenge ,’ and said it’s the ‘ Unofficial World Championships of ultra-running. ’ Ifan was one of about 22,522 entrants with some 17,304 finishers and amazingly, he completed his own epic performance in a superb time of just 8 hours...
Read more

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Prolific poet and author Vernon Keith Fowler - Special Coast and Country Author Spotlight Feature.

By Don Hale
Image
Special Coast and Country Author Spotlight Feature Welcome to another new author feature in conjunction with Amazon.   ABOUT THE AUTHOR : Prolific poet and author Vernon Keith Fowler, who has written three volumes of varied and fascinating poems compiled throughout his colourful life.   Published by North Wales based firm:   www.bookpublishing4u.co.uk   *All three volumes of his interesting poems are now available on the Amazon links below: - MI Poems - Volume 1.: An eclectic mix of poems written over many years. Paperback – 25 May 2024 https://amzn.to/3AWDrYI   MI Poems - Volume 2: An eclectic mix of poems written over many years Paperback – 6 Aug. 2024. https://amzn.to/3AHZUbW   MI Poems - Volume 3: An eclectic mix of poems written over many years. Paperback – 10 Nov. 2024. https://amzn.to/3AHZYsc
Read more

A close finish at the blustery Felinheli 10k race in midweek

By Don Hale
A close finish at the blustery Felinheli 10k race in midweek   donhaleblog.blog.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   It was very warm and windy for the challenging Felinheli 10k race in midweek, with three members of Meirionnydd RC finishing within the top four places overall. Tomos Roberts  and team-mate  Daniel Kashi  actually shared the exact same finishing chip times of 32 minutes and 21 seconds in a very close-run contest, with  Ifan Dafydd  claiming fourth place in 33.41; whilst in between the club rivals, was the promising youngster  Noa Vaughan,  who finished third in 32.53. In addition, there some excellent performances by many of the top ten finishers including  Steffan Sayer  (Menai T&F) in sixth place in 34.57, and from  Ian Edwards  (Eryri Harriers) eighth in 36.05, and fell runner  Michael Corralles  (Dark Peak FR) tenth in 36.44. Elliw Roberts  (Eryri Harriers) was the first female finisher in ...
Read more

Medal and PB success at the Welsh track & field championships at Yate

By Don Hale
Medal and PB success at the Welsh track & field championships at Yate Report by Don Hale, with input from Brett Davis and Steve Gardner. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   There was a good turn-out and plenty of medal success and PBs at the recent Welsh Masters Athletics track and field championships staged at Yate on 28th June. This prestigious event attracted nearly 500 Masters in total from a variety of clubs across the UK for a highly competitive national encounter, which again included the Welsh finals. And we are fortunate to have some excusive reports from a unique race in which a father and son both won gold medals, and some extraordinary news of an unfortunate mistake where a controversial lap counter failed, yet the athlete in question still won a silver medal; and in in contrast, a report from an international track champion who struck gold in two track events. Welsh Masters Athletics director Brett Davis confirmed:   “ Sean McCormack  and...
Read more

Proud moment for athletics coach John Hatton and a popular former midwife Sharon Buckley.

By Don Hale
Image
*John Hatton (*above left), with Sharon Buckley at the Conwy half-marathon. Proud moment for athletics coach John Hatton and a popular former community midwife Sharon Buckley. It was a proud moment this weekend for athletics coach, MC and promoter, John Hatton as he saw his new running protegee  Sharon Buckley – a well-known former North Wales midwife - cross the finish line at the challenging Conwy half-marathon with a remarkable time. John, who is heavily involved with North Wales Road Runners , Conwy parkrun , and is also a keen supporter and promoter of a host of charity events, confirmed: “Over the last 6 months I have been training Sharon, who is 60, to run her first half-marathon which she did today in 2.34.17, which is a fantastic achievement. “Sharon was a highly respected midwife in North Wales, and at one time she received an award as the top midwife in the Betsi Cadwalader Health Board for her dedicated service to the community.” *John Hatton was on hand last ...
Read more

Christmas cracker at the NWRRC handicap race...plus other race results.

By Don Hale
Image
*North Wales Road Runners are pictured (*above) just before the start of the festive handicap race on the promenade at Rhos on Sea. Christmas cracker at the NWRRC handicap race. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Twenty-four members of NWRRC took part in the annual Christmas club handicap race, which this year was staged from the Rhos on Sea clock tower to the renovated far end of the promenade and back over a 4.5-mile course. Well organised with times recorded and verified by  Carla Green  and  Elizabeth Driscoll , with support from other members, the handicap rules this time included each runner having to hand in their watches and mobile phones, and the need to predict their finishing times, so that no one knew their exact pace, or whether their estimated times were likely to be accurate, until they actually reached the finish line. The top three female winners , who were the closest to their times included the winner –  Kay Hatto...
Read more

Male and female course records smashed at the Mish Mash Bethal 5k.

By Don Hale
Male and female course records smashed at the Mish Mash Bethal 5k. Report by Don Hale. coastandcountry.blog donhaleblog,blogspot.com/2026   There was a good turn-out of some 102 athletes at the Mish Mash Bethal 5k race last Wednesday night, which attracted a large number of elite and club athletes, where both the male and female course records smashed! Dion Griffith  (Meirionnydd RC) was the overall winner and the record-breaker with an outstanding performance with a great chip time of just 15 minutes and 5 seconds, and his club claimed eight out of the first ten finishing places. This included  Owen Roberts , who finished second in 15.09, and  Adam Jones , third in 15.30. And quite amazingly in this crazy fast-dash event, the first eight finishers all dipped under 17-minutes, and the first thirteen under 18-minutes. Gemma Moore  (Eryri Harriers) was the female record-breaker with another outstanding run, finishing in 16th place overall, and she also won her F40...
Read more

RNLI Llandudno 5K & 1K Fun Run on 28/9/25.

By Don Hale
Image
RLNI Llandudno 5K & 1K Fun Run Sunday 28th September 2025 Join Us to Support RNLI Llandudno! https://rnli.niftyentries.com/RLNI-Llandudno-5K-1K-Fun-Run-2025 https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com Be part of something special and help save lives at sea by signing up for our  first-ever charity run !  **URGENT: Just 50 places left so hurry to book your place. 🏃‍♂️  5km Run  – Open to all ages and abilities 👟  1km Fun Run  – Perfect for children and newbies to running This exciting event is the first of its kind hosted by  RNLI Llandudno , and  your support will make a real difference . Every step you take and every pound you donate helps our volunteer lifeboat crews continue their vital work— saving lives and keeping people safe along the beautiful North Wales coast . 🌊 Together, we can make our shores safer. 💙 Sign up today and be a lifesaver! Description :  A fast and flat course for both distances. The race starts and finishes on Llandudno...
Read more