NW Road Running quartet star at the Christmas Indoor Open event.

*Pictured above - North Wales Road Runners (l-r), Steve Gardner, Michael (Pat) Finnie, and Don Hale at the Indoor Open 60m event last Saturday.

Top performances by NW Road Running quartet at the Christmas Indoor Open event...

Report by Don Hale.

https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com

www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk

 

Four veteran Road Runners competed in the North Wales Christmas Indoor Open Challenge event staged at Coleg Cambria, at Connah's Quay, last Saturday afternoon, and they all claimed new PB’s, podium places, and probable new records in their respective age categories.

This was an extra meeting on the Track & Field race calendar that attracted a few hundred of the best junior to master athletes in the region who competed in a wide variety of events in an indoor arena.

Steve Gardner, Michael (Pat) Finnie, and Don Hale from NWRRC all ran in the 60m heats, whilst Steve’s father Dave Gardner took part in the shot-put competition and won his super-master M80 age cat with an excellent throw of 6m36. 

Steve, meanwhile, also helped to create a unique family double and recorded an impressive new PB time for the 60m of 9.20 seconds, and was 2nd in his M60 cat, and he was only narrowly beaten by an experienced and outstanding national sprint champion in Martin Weetman!

*Dave Gardner (*above), won his M80 age cat at the shot-put event.

Michael (Pat) Finnie celebrated his 66th birthday in style by turning in another stunning sprint performance in his 60m heat with a very fast new PB time of just 10.98 seconds to win his M65 age cat, whilst master veteran Don Hale ran his first 60m dash for nearly two years after recovering from serious injury, and recorded the fastest indoor time this year for any M70 athlete, with a time of 12.91 to win his M70 age cat.

After the event Don said: “It was great to have three fellow members of NWRRC at this event, which was well organised by Welsh Athletics, and their team of volunteers. We all performed well, and it was great to Dave Gardner back in action in the shot-put, and I was pleased to record my first sprint time for ages following my injury but felt a bit stiff from a standing start, which probably cost me some time, but I was very proud of all my colleagues, who were all in top form.”

All the recorded times will now be assessed by Welsh Athletics and Welsh Masters Athletics to check and/or confirm whether any 2023 records have been broken.

*There were several other Welsh Masters athletes in action during other 60m heats, including Matthew Harding (Deeside AC), who ran 8.18 and won his M40 cat, and Martin Weetman (Cannock & Staffs), who ran 8.53 for a new M60 PB as the country’s top-ranking sprinter, along with Joseph Horner (Menai T&F), who won his M55 cat in 8.82. Amanda Cook (Wrexham) was also the 1st W45 athlete in 9.02.

*A special mention should also go to Paul Brooks (Wrexham AC), who is also a popular official from the North Wales Regional Athletics Council (NWRAC), who also competed this weekend at the NW Christmas Indoor Open event, and won his M75 age cat with a great shot-put effort.

After his event, Paul said: “I was surprised and pleased with a year’s best of 7m41 in the shot putt at today’s Christmas Open meeting. Yay! A new Club M75 record.”

*Paul Brooks (*above), performed well again at the NW indoor shot-out event and won his M75 age cat with a new PB record!

*These are the provisional results from the North Wales Christmas Indoor Open event 2023.

https://wales.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2023/GBR/nwxmid/event/T07/

 

*Welsh Masters Indoor Rankings list events 2023.

https://www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk/_files/ugd/c1c53c_459dfb148d0b47c286b93a5f3328bb5c.pdf

 

Other records and top rankings for Welsh athletes during 2023.

 

North Wales Road Runners Steve Gardner, Michael (Pat) Finnie, and Don Hale are already in the Welsh record books for various T&F distances, with several other recent performances currently under review.

Veteran Steve Gardner has had a tremendous season, gaining Welsh Masters international recognition at several Track & Field meetings. And on Saturday, he ran the 4th fastest 60m indoor time of the year within his age cat for a new PB of 9.20. Dave confirmed this week: “I looked at the MV60 800m and 1500m ranking times, which seemed a little slower than the times I ran at Yate. And on checking the Run Britain rankings list, it appears that I have the 2nd fastest times at 800m and 1500m in Wales this year.

“And coupled with top six times for Parkrun, 5k, 5-miles and 10k, I was pleasantly surprised. It’s given me a little boost to try and get in a few more events in during 2024.”

Michael (Pat) Finnie already has also recorded some excellent times and rankings for the 60m, 200m, and 600m within his previous M60 cat, but has rapidly improved on his 60m indoor sprint times since joining the M65 age cat. 

This weekend’s indoor result at Deeside gave him another excellent PB and showed a massive improvement over the past three meetings from 11.35, 11.02, and now 10.98, and this was the 4th fastest time for a Welsh Master this year.

Don Hale already holds the Welsh national 600m indoor record in his previous M65 age cat, and during past times he has also added top ranking times for the 200m and 60m indoor events at that same age cat, and this weekend added the best indoor time this year over the 60m distance within his current Welsh Masters M70 age cat, and he was also noted in the top five 5k road times for his age during 2023.

*This week, PO10, Run Britain, and Welsh Masters Athletics, confirmed the top-five 2023 rankings for M70 Welsh athletes over 5k in road races and included: (1) Dave Gibson (Tri-Hard Harriers) at Swansea of 19 minutes and 24 seconds, (2) George Nixon (Prestatyn RC) at Capenhurst of 25.01, Don Hale (NWRRC) at Abergele of 25.05, Robert Lewis (Caerphilly RC) of 25.08 at Cardiff, and Brett Hadfield (Amman Valley) at Swansea of 26.19.