Some personal stories by North Wales athletes in the London and Manchester Marathons.
*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, (*pictured right at a previous race), who holds dual registration as a top athlete with Meirionnydd RC and NWRRC had a tremendous run in London and recorded a superb time, especially considering the very warm conditions.
After his race Martin confirmed: “I probably have the same story as everyone else tbh, it was warm even at the start, so the result was probably about five minutes slower than I was hoping for, but so long as you try your best, that’s all you can ever do, so just happy to finish in the end.
“My time was 2:36:03, which is around 5 minutes slower than usual so all in all it’s actually a decent performance taking everything into consideration.”
Marathon was on Gwen’s bucket list for many years...
Gwen Charlton is a busy mum and a keen member of North Wales Road Runners. She too provided a revealing story about her marathon debut which she completed in 5:04 and said: “The London Marathon has been on my bucket list for many, many years, and I was very lucky enough to secure the annual run club spot to represent NWRRC in 2025.
“I’ve never experienced a race quite like it before. The crowds were phenomenal, 3-4 people deep in some sections, yet having trained through the winter months, nothing could have prepared me for the hot weather on the day! A fantastic experience, one to cherish forever!”
The Wheels came for Mal at 25k
Road Runner Mal Preece had mixed experiences about his London Marathon race, which he completed in about 4:31. He explained: “I was on track for a 3:15 PB, but the wheels came off at 25k, and I had to walk for a good portion of the rest of the race. Move onto Berlin in September. The joys of summer training!”
*The fundraising quartet are shown peddling their static bikes outside Clare's.
Quartet peddled and ran a marathon to help raise funds for Happy Faces charity...
Jon Hayward, Dyl Williams, Pete Brocklehurst and Dougie Graham were part of an original quartet of local runners set to run the London Marathon, who have been busy raising funds for the local charity “Happy Faces” for some considerable time.
Throughout the past few months, they have been regularly seen around Llandudno and Rhos on Sea, peddling their static bikes outside Clare’s, Asda, and the charity’s HQ, to help raise awareness of this charity’s hard work in supporting local initiatives.
Unfortunately, Dougie suffered an injury during his training, so he had to defer his London place till next year, but the remaining trio continued, and between the entire team, they have so far raised over £4,000 for this worth cause.
Team members recall their marathon efforts:
Jon Hayward: “Medal Monday...Thanks to everyone who donated to my charity fundraiser for Happy Faces Children's Charity. I raised a huge £2,145. Someone ring that bell, a new marathon PB of 3:47:28, knocking off nearly half an hour! It was a really hot day, as ever the spectators were incredible. I even saw Gordon Ramsey after Tower Bridge who shouted, 'Go on Jon!' An ace day!
*Above left - Jon Hayward, and (*right), Pete Brocklehurst.
*Above left - Dyl Williams at London, and (*above right), the team are shown fundraising outside the Happy Faces HQ in Rhos on Sea.
Dyl Williams: “This says it all really. It was so hot today I even stopped my Strava after an hour. I think I had a bit of heat stroke. I strained my calf too in the 12th mile, but I hobbled on as I was determined to finish in sheer pain. First beer in 5 weeks and that went down well to say the least. Official time 6hrs 13 never again. Thank you to everyone that has donated, really appreciated to smash my target.”
https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/dylan-williams
*14/3/25: This was original preview story about the quartet’s ambitions to fundraise at the London Marathon: Don Hale Blog: NW Running quartet prepares for London Marathon an...https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/nw-running-quartet-prepares-for-london.html?spref=tw
Emotional day in London for Josie and Rhian.
It was an emotional day at the London Marathon for local club athletes Josie Davies and Rhian Roxburgh following a personal tragedy, which tested the duo to the limit, both physically and emotionally, whilst also raising funds for the ‘Happy Faces’ charity appeal.
This is a personal account of their determined efforts at the London Marathon...
Josie Davies: “Wow what a weekend of emotional high and lows. TCS London Marathon once again did us proud, but what a day! Firstly, I want to thank my lovely sis-in-law Rhian Roxburgh, who God knows how, kept me focused through all the emotional pain throughout the 26.2 miles, the heat was brutal and zapped us from the start.
“It was so tough mentally and physically, but we did it and Gef would have been proud. Thank you to our bestie’s Mandy and Charlie Owen who surprised me around Mile 9, I had no idea they were coming, and I was an emotional wreck, so lovely to have our Nikki, Dan and the gang at the end.
“I felt, I just wanted to thank everybody for all the donations and support I've been shown, I could not have got through all this over the last few months without you, especially getting to the end of 26.2 miles."
Rhian Roxburgh: “It was an emotional day, Josie Davies did a remarkable thing. She did amazing. It was tough for her especially, with it being her first marathon without Gef for 18 years. He was there in spirit, and it was what kept her going throughout. The crowds were amazing all the way around. So proud of you Josie! I want to thank everyone who has sponsored us, we have raised £2,329 in the last 5 weeks between us. With over 100 of our friends and family donating. “Thank you so much, as it means so much to us as this charity Happy Faces Children's Charity is a small charity who support sick, disadvantaged and disabled children in North Wales.
“This was a charity close to my brother’s heart and I am very grateful to be able to continue his good work in raising money for them.
“There is still time to donate if you want to…
https://www.justgiving.com/page/rhian-roxburgh-1...
*Pictured above (l-r): Charlie Owen, Josie Davies, Rhian Roxburgh and Many Owen join in the celebrations after completing the London Marathon.
Manchester Marathon debuts for Tristan and Will.
The Manchester Marathon – Tristan Owen and Will Williams are just two of the many determined local athletes who competed last week in the heat of the Manchester Marathon. This is a personal account from the pair, who made their marathon debuts in this very challenging event:
Tristan Owen is a well-known local businessman, charity supporter, and an enthusiastic member of Llandudno Rotary Club. He is also a keen golfer and parkrunner, and last weekend, he made his debut in the Manchester Marathonraising funds for a great cause and thankfully he has survived to tell the tale.
Speaking a day or two following his return to Llandudno, Tris confirmed: “I am pretty much recovered actually... which surprises me given how difficult it was! I set out to complete a marathon, a distance twice as far as I'd ran before, then, to see if I could.
“The experience was both amazing and humbling. The atmosphere was electric, and all the participants and supporters were incredible. The last 6 miles, running in 20-degree heat and enduring muscle cramps, was the hardest thing I've ever done, but I'm so proud to have crossed that line.
“And thanks to a lot of very generous people, I've managed to raise over £1,200 for Llandudno Rotary Club's "Community Chest" small grant scheme. More than double what I expected, so thank you to everyone.”
*On 15/3/25, I published my blog preview about Tristan’s marathon ambitions: This is a link to this story: Don Hale Blog: Tristan Owen's Manchester Marathon plans for the R...https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/tristan-owens-manchester-marathon-plans.html?spref=tw
*This is a link to Tristan's fundraising page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/tristan-owen-marathon-rotary
Will felt the heat and hit the wall but battled on for a decent marathon debut...
Will Williams (*pictured right), is another very talented athlete who represents North Wales Road Runners (NWRRC), and also via his second claim club Cybi Striders.
He gave a brutally honest assessment of his tough debut run in the Manchester Marathon and explained: “I went out for sub 3 hrs, but I blew up at mile 16. It was so hot, so I slowed down massively over the last 10 miles unfortunately.
“Never mind, it was still a decent marathon debut. My first marathon experience but OMG! That was hard and definitely a race of two-halve. I made every rookie mistake known to man and boy, but did I pay for it!
“From the joy of the first 16 miles, through to hitting the wall hard, and literally crawling over the line. No regrets, and I learnt so much about myself, knowing that I can go to the well and dig myself out of the hole. It didn’t help that it was so warm either!”
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