(UPDATE): Funeral arrangements for the former Swansea Harrier and WMAA secretary Jonathan Kersting.

By Don Hale


Funeral arrangements for the former Swansea Harrier and WMAA secretary Jonathan Kersting...

Message from Mel James at Welsh Masters Athletics. 

I have received the sad news of the passing of a previous WMAA secretary Jonathan Kersting, on April 12th. Jon was secretary around the millennium time, alongside the great John Collins and Ken Bray. 
He competed for Swansea Harriers and WMAA within the B&I Cross Country International and many other masters events. I received this info from Ken Bray's daughter Yvonne, (Bullen) It was Jon's wife that informed her. I will attempt to find out more info, ASAP. 

These are the details of Jon Kersting's funeral arrangements.

The funeral will take place on Wednesday 8th May. 
The Service is at St Mary's Church, Burry Port. SA16 0SL at 12.30pm. Followed by Cremation at Llanelli Crematorium, Penprys Rd. SA14 8BX. 
Friends and Family are cordially invited to meet after the funeral at Ashburnham Golf Club, Burry Port. SA16 0HN.    


Regards, Mel James, Welsh Masters Athletics.




 

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

Your comments are welcomed

Most recent posts

Hot pace at Rhos after a frosty start for plenty of visitors.

By Don Hale
Image
*Some of the many hard working volunteers at the Llandrillo  yn Rhos parkrun Hot pace at Rhos after a frosty start for plenty of visitors. Report by Don Hale donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   It was bright and sunny following a heavy early morning frost at the Llandrillo yn Rhos parkrun last Saturday, which also commemorated International Women’s Day. And there was another bumper turn-out by club and local athletes, plus plenty of visitors, who this week enjoyed an almost sand-free 5k promenade course. Nicolas Seguin  was the first finisher from 386 entrants, with a new PB in 17.41, and his talented JW15-17 daughter  Tamsin Seguin  (Menai T&F) made it a family double as the first female finisher (16th overall), with an excellent run in 19.45.  Harry Driscoll   (Meirionnydd RC) was the second male finisher in 17.55, with visitor  John Myers  (Helsby RC) third on his debut in 17.58. For the ladies, with  Tamsin ...
Read more

Track champion Steve finished second at the Welsh Duathlon championships

By Don Hale
Image
*Steve Gardner (*above left) on the podium with Tim Parfitt and Steven Gee. Track champion Steve finished second at the Welsh Duathlon championships. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog International track champion Steve Gardner finished as the runner-up on the podium in the prestigious Welsh Sprint Duathlon Championships at Pembroke last Sunday. The NWRRC member, and GB track athlete, who was representing his second claim club GOG Triathlon, competed in a 5k run, a 21k cycle race, followed by a final 2.5k dash, and he finished second overall with an excellent combined time of 1 hour 12 minutes and 31 seconds. After his event, Steve confirmed:  “Just a note to let you know I competed for GOG Triathlon Club today, finishing in 2nd place; 1st place went to  Tim Parfitt  in a time 1 hour 12 mins and 31 seconds, and the 3rd spot went to  Steven Gee  in 1 hour 13 mins and 17 seconds.  “There was only 46 seconds between the three of us, so it was a...
Read more

Road Runners galloped home at the Chester 10k races

By Don Hale
Image
*Pictured above - Vicky Taylor with Mandy Owen and Kelly Alford at Chester. Road Runners galloped home at the Chester 10k races Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog Five North Wales Road Runners completed  amongst a very large field of some 7,315 entrants at the Chester 10k race last Sunday, and they all performed well and recorded some noteworthy finishing times. Veteran  Jon Evans  was in top form, and he finished strong in a good chip time of 47 minutes and 44 seconds, and he led the team home with  Molly Evans  next in 49.32.   *Jon Evans (*above left) with  master vet Rob Fryer. And it was good to see  Kelly Alford  back in action again, and she also enjoyed her run in 49.38; with master vet  Rob Fryer  continuing his purple patch in 54.59; and  Vicky Taylor  ran home in 77.12.  *And there were plaudits too for  Mandy Owen  who finished in 66.17.
Read more

Tough Pipe Dream race for Fell Runners

By Don Hale
Image
*Pictured above - a race marshal  directs Adam Lemalle and a pack of runners along this challenging fell run route. Tough Pipe Dream race for Fell Runners Report by Don Hale. Photos courtesy of Dougie  Graham. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog The tough Dolgarrog Pipe Dream Fell Race attracted some 165 finishers to their annual challenge last Saturday, which was part of the WFRA short championships, and won by Kieran Wynne-Cattanach (Eryri Harriers) following a great effort over this 6.8k course in just 33 minutes and 52 seconds. He was followed by  Gavin Roberts  (Calder Vale RR) in 34.10, and  Rhys Goodrick  (Vegan Runners) in 35.02.  And the first female finisher,  Bronwen Jenkinson  (29th overall) secured a unique double victory for  Eryri Harriers , with another fine performance in 41.06, whilst  Suzie Richards  claimed the runner-up spot in 42.57 (34th overall), with  Jessica Evans (36th overall), an...
Read more

Update on Llandrillo yn Rhos parkrun...Works on the promenade. Good to go ahead!

By Don Hale
Image
*Pictured above - the start of a previous parkrun at Rhos on Sea. UPDATE ON LLANDRILLO YN RHOS PARKRUN. Works on the promenade. Good to go ahead!  * Special report by event co-director Richard Peevor. (See below for details: donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 www.facebook.com/Ypromenadparkrunllandrilloynrhos After a stressful 24 hours for our event team and after Sharon and I, our two event directors have done a course inspection tonight we feel that we can go ahead safely on Saturday. For a period of approximately eight weeks two areas of the promenade that will have semi permanent kiosks built on them have been cordened off with metal fencing. They are essentially at each end of the Cayley embankment, one near the slipway approximately 400 m from the start and the second approximately 1000m from the start. Both areas are also obviously on the return leg of the parkrun course. The second area (as you can see in the first picture below), near the Rydal boat park should not cause any pro...
Read more

So What's Wrong With Dreaming? Author Richard John Campbell MBE - Special Coast and Country book review/promotion.

By Don Hale
Image
So What's Wrong With Dreaming?   Special Coast and Country book review:  Run in conjunction with: donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 *This is a direct link to Amazon books:   https://amzn.to/40LHDn7 Featuring author Richard John Campbell MBE, and his latest book - So What's Wrong with Dreaming? Born into a family struggling, like so many, from the after-effects of the Second World War; where the home was poor and shared by seven people, all packed into a small Victorian semi. With a father who had been in the Navy but having left our family home, permanently a month before I was born, I was ill-prepared for my future schooldays; days which were mostly very stressful, and at times traumatic.  A time when I, mostly, felt insecure at best and totally humiliated at worst; though, surprisingly, some good did come out of it. Once I had finished with school, I became determined to avoid the future expectations of my family and take every opportunity to, hopefully, build a life t...
Read more

Welcome to parkrun North Wales - an exciting new initiative from Dave Munday.

By Don Hale
Image
Welcome to parkrun North Wales Dave Munday launches an exciting new online site for NW parkrunners. Special report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026   This an exciting new initiative from the well-known, popular parkrunner and local  athlete Dave Munday, who is ready to provide a regular summary of all North Wales parkruns. He explained this week:  " This is the site I am using for the round-up of all 17 North Wales parkruns, stats on numbers attending etc.  "The parkruns are continuing to grow in North Wales, and this group is for regular local parkrunners and visitors to our wonderful events throughout the region.  "Weekly stats and information will be shared, but please use it to tell your own parkrun journey, achievements and milestones, and also to connect with other parkrunners." *For more details please check out this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2193251831088739
Read more

TIME TO TAKE ON THE BEAST - the Beast of Bryn - charity races on 23rd August 2026

By Don Hale
Image
Beast of Bryn 2026 :  23 August 2026 donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 Beast of Bryn 2026 (Bwystfil Y Bryn): Info from Paul Bulmer. https://beastofbryn.fullonsport.com/event/beast-of-bryn-2026/profile We are delighted to be hosting the Beast of Bryn 2026 (Bwystfil Y Bryn) BRAG (Bryn Residents Action Group) established this race in 2011 and it quickly grew in size and reputation. Much of the history of the race can be found on the BRAG  website . The management of the race was outsourced for a few years, but since 2024 has been fully managed by  BRAG. The event is held under UK Athletics rules with the registration number TR-26-5. We have two distances to choose from – approximately 6.5 miles (10.5km) or 10.5 miles (17km) with total climbs of approximately 288 or 556 Meters. The 10.5-mile route can also be part of the  Welsh Athletics Masters Championship  for affiliated runners. The route passes through the mountains of Afan Forest Park, with stunning view...
Read more

Visitors set a hot pace on a cold, frosty morning at the Rhos parkrun – plus other results and reports from the region.

By Don Hale
Image
*Runners listen to the briefing at the start of the Llandrillo yn Rhos parkrun. Visitors set a hot pace on a cold, frosty morning at the Rhos parkrun – plus other results and reports from the region... Report by Don Hale. Photos courtesy of Michael Finnie. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Pictured above and below - the mass start of the Rhos parkrun. It was another jam-packed and fun-filled occasion on Saturday morning at the new Llandrillo yn Rhos (Y Promenade) parkrun last Saturday following a record-breaking attendance on Christmas Day. Despite the freezing temperatures and a generous covering of heavy frost around the region, with the icy conditions causing the cancellation of rival events at  Conwy  and at  Nova , the Rhos parkrun, possibly aided by a light layer of sand at key points, was given the green light, much to the delight of 576 eager entrants. And many runners later expressed their gratitude to the run director  Dougie Graham  and his RD colleagues,...
Read more

The tough Nick Beer 10k race proved a great success once more with good numbers and a fast pace...

By Don Hale
Image
*Pictured above and lower - runners at the start of the Nick Beer 10k race as they depart Llandudno promenade ( *Photos by Don Hale ). The tough Nick Beer 10k race proved a great success once more with good numbers and a fast pace... Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 The annual Nick Beer 10k race proved a hit once more with a massive 967 athletes completing a tough course from outside Venue Cymru and around the Great Orme before returning to Llandudno’s spectacular promenade, where spectators gave each entrant a warm welcome on a rather cool and breezy day. Visiting athlete  Hamish Morton  (Cambridge & Coleridge AC) was the first finisher overall in just 34 minutes and 55 seconds, and he was the 1st MSen, but he was one of four elite runners who ran away from the main pack and they all dipped under the magic 36-minute mark.  *Menai T&F athlete Steffan Sayer (*above) finished second in the Nick Beer 10k. Steffan Sayer  (Menai T&F) was the r...
Read more