Don Hale Blog

Response to Conwy Parkrun's potentially controversial statement about the latest behind the scenes activities... Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com Following the statement issued by Conwy parkrun officials on Thursday afternoon, it would now seem that their comments have attracted widespread controversy, confusion and much anger, with many volunteers and regular runners and supporters, demanding to air their personal views in response. This feature contains some varied reactions etc:   *I have therefore included a link and a copy of the parkrun statement from 29/5/25 which appeared on my blog, and on the Conwy Parkrun’s Facebook page from yesterday. And in addition, I have also included – in the interests of fairness and accountability – the latest updated statement from Conwy parkrun officials, which seems to have attracted further controversy and debate, together with the pubic reaction:   *This is a link to the original statement on my blog from Conw...

Dear Conwy parkrun community, We wanted to update you on the work going on behind the scenes to get Conwy parkrun back up and running.  It has been fantastic to see, from our Facebook page, the Conwy parkrun community enjoying their Saturday mornings at other parkruns, far and wide – but it would be even better to have everyone back in Conwy. We wanted to take this opportunity to update you on the progress we are making. As you know, the work on the path between the RSPB nature reserve and the railway bridge forced us to pause our parkrun while the path was resurfaced. It’s great to see that this work has been completed on time, and it does look fantastic. Unfortunately, at the same time that this work began, we were made aware of concerns from parkrun HQ regarding the adequacy and safety of our car parking. This has meant we must address these concerns before we are allowed to restart. The RSPB car park has been identified as being too small for an event that continues to grow in ...

*Pictured above - Kay Hatton and Mike Hayton both won their age cats. Visiting athlete smashed the female course record at Penrhyn parkrun, plus other results and reports... Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Penrhyn Castle parkrun attracted 317 entrants last Saturday including visiting athlete Sara Ismail-Sutton (Durham City Harriers), who was not only the 1st finisher overall, but she also smashed the female course record on her debut in 17.45. Despite the cool and blustery conditions Sara beat all her male rivals with ease, and was eventually followed by  Aidan Thomas  in 18.30, and VM60 veteran  Graham Bale  (Plymstock RR), who gave Aidan a hard chase in 3rd spot in 18.33. Quite remarkably, the first three female finishers were all debutants, and with Sara taking the top-spot overall, the 2nd female place was taken by  Anna Patrickson  (City of Salisbury), in 21.56, with  Patricia Ronksley ( Stragglers), 3rd in 23.09....

Colwyn Bay AC student Bryn Woodall wins national 1500m title in America with new PB... Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Colwyn Bay AC member and student Bryn Woodall set a superb personal best time to win a national 1500m track championship title at the NAIA track finals in America last weekend. The promising North Wales athlete, and a former regular at the  Conwy parkrun , who still holds the course record holder over their 5k route, is currently overseas on a student scholarship scheme, has been busy studying at Milligan University in the USA.   And last week he recorded a great new PB of just 3.41.93 over this distance to claim a prestigious title victory against quality opposition at the end of a busy season of athletics.

  *Penrhyn course marshall Dougie Graham (*above) at the Penrhyn Castle parkrun. Hot and breezy for runners in a variety of weekend events. Report by Don Hale. Penrhyn photos by Michael Finnie. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   It was another hot and breezy weekend for athletes last weekend with a wide variety of events to consider including several local parkruns, an international Shrewsbury 5k, and both Manchester and Chester half marathons, to name but a few. The various local parkruns continue to thrive with many hundreds of local runners tackling courses across North Wales, with many boosted by ‘Conwy on Tour,’ members each week. *Penrhyn Castle parkrun  enjoyed a good turn out of some 359 entrants, with visitor  Mark Hobbs  (Micky Morris Racing Team),  celebrating as the first man home in a very close finish on his course debut in 17 minutes and 55 seconds, and bizarrely, he shared the exact same time over the line as  Malachy Bromham , with tee...

*Pictured above - Martin and Carla Green at the 5k international Masters race. North Wales athletes starred for Wales against England Masters Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   A large number of North Wales based athletes formed part of the Welsh Masters team that competed at the Shrewsbury 5k Running Festival last Saturday against England Masters. Meirionnydd RC  had two members in the top ten finishers including  Rhodri Owen , who was 3rd overall out of 331 elite runners in 14.57, with  Tomos Roberts  7th in 15.11, and former  NWRRC  member  Martin Green , a top veteran, now with his new first claim club, also enjoyed a great run in 53rd place in 16.53.   *Will Williams (*above left), with Cheryl Frost and Karen Butler. North Wales Road Runners  had five members involved with the famous red vest, and they all recorded good times with  Will Williams  104th in 18.12,  Steve Gardner  140th in ...

*Pictured above - Jonathan Kettle one top form at Chester. Superb PB for Jonathan Kettle at the Chester half-marathon. Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   North Wales Road Runner Jonathan Kettle returned to action at the weekend with a superb performance and claimed a new course PB despite the heat at the Chester half-marathon, finishing 23rd out of 6.539 other runners. After his race he confirmed:  “The Chester half-marathon may have not been my fastest, but I was pleased with a course PB of around one minute, and I didn’t expect it at all.  “I said to someone before the race that you have to go hard enough to risk blowing up to know what you really have on the day, and today I did that, and I didn’t blow up, absolutely loved the pain of the race.”   *Stuart Culverhouse (*above left), with Helen Hannam and Adam Lemalle. Jonathan was one of eight NWRR members who faced the hot dash at Chester and master veteran  Kevin Slattery  was ...

*Pictured above - Emma Vadhesha and Sarah Ferguson Hudson. Sarah and Emma tackled the hot North Downs 50k ultra race in style... Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Ultra-distance and endurance athlete Sarah Ferguson Hudson and her friend Emma Vadhesha competed in the North Downs 50k race last Saturday and despite the hot weather, they completed their gruelling challenge in style. NWRRC member Sarah (*pictured right), later explained: “It was very hot and hilly. It eventually took us 7 hours and 50 minutes, but the scenery was stunning around the North Downs. Who knew it was so hilly down South? I ran with my lovely friend Emma, who got me into running in the first place.” Sarah confirmed that she normally runs in her ultra races with her husband Ben, but he is still recovering from injury and explained: “Ben’s ankle is definitely on the mend, and we have booked into the Jubilee half-marathon in a couple of weeks, so he is hoping to improve on his time from...