Some Happy Faces at the Manchester half-marathon.

By Don Hale


*Pictured above left - Josie Davies with Mandy Owen in Manchester.

Some Happy Faces at the Manchester half-marathon.

Report by Don Hale.

donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025

North Wales runners Josie Davies and Mandy Owen took part in the Manchester half-marathon on Sunday. 

For Josie in particular, it was an emotional event after losing her husband Gethin earlier this year, and this challenge was part of her prolific fundraising plan for the Happy Faces Cancer Charity,

Josie confirmed: “The biggest thank you to Mandy and Charlie Owen for today, 1 for taking us, and 2 for Charlie “Daddy Day Care” services for looking after the boys for me to take part in the race. 


“Quite a stressful time getting ready to run, and the organisation was far from the best race I’ve taken part in, and the finish wasn’t much better, but the actual run I really enjoyed.


“It was my first half-marathon since the Cardiff Half last October, and I did pretty much the same time, in fact better I think, so was really chuffed with that. My late husband Gef was definitely there with me as on my music ‘you’re never walk alone played,’ so he was definitely there pushing me on just like he always was.”


And Mandy added: “Manchester half done and dusted. I quite enjoyed the route and ran the first 11 miles quite easy, then walked/ran the remaining 2.1 miles. So glad you did it Josie, and yes, Gef would definitely have been pushing you on.” 


*Read my previous blog about Josie amazing fundraising campaign for Happy Faces: Don Hale Blog: Josie's prolific fundraising runs for the Happy Fa... https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025/10/josies-prolific-fundraising-for-happy.html?spref=tw

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

  1. AnonymousOctober 14, 2025 at 8:35 AM

    Well done to both these ladies, Josie I lost my younger brother to this horrible disease, we were very close. I really appreciate what yourself and Mandy have achieved so well done to you both, but also a big thank-you to Charlie Owen for looking after the children allowing the ladies to do there part, well done Charlie 🫡

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Your comments are welcomed

Most recent posts

Conwy surgery duo all set for a hot 100k Sahara Desert Trek for St David’s Hospice...

By Don Hale
Image
*Emily Carr (*above left) with Sarah  Corkish-Brown - at the Bodreinallt Surgery at Castle Street in Conwy, where they are preparing for their epic charity trek. Conwy surgery duo all set for a hot 100k Sahara Desert Trek for St David’s Hospice... Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Two daring  members of the Bodreinallt doctors’ surgery team at Conwy are busy preparing to take part in an amazing Sahara Desert Charity  Trek, which is a gruelling 100k event across the hot Sahara Desert in just 5 days, to help raise funds for St David’s Hospice. Practice manager  Sarah Corkish-Brown and Practice Nurse Emily Carr  have signed up for this huge undertaking, which is scheduled to take place in Morocco between  1st-8th  November. The event organisers claim entrants can ‘r ediscover true adventure in the awe-inspiring Sahara Desert.’ The five-day trek covers 100km passing through Morocco’s forbidding landscape punctuated by peaks...
Read more

Battle for honours at the first NW Cross-Country match of the season.

By Don Hale
Image
*Pictured above - runners from the leading pack at the NW XC race at St Asaph. Battle for honours at the first NW Cross-Country race of the season at Llanerch Hall, St Asaph. Report by Don Hale. Photos courtesy of Bernie Jones. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   The North Wales Cross Country League’s first fixture of the season defied the odds and beat Storm Amy last Saturday with hundreds of runners competing for honours at Llanerch Hall, near St Asaph. Bernie Jones , who was one of the main race organisers, and is the secretary of the NW XC League later confirmed: “A  Big thank you to  Prestatyn Running Club, Denbigh Harriers  and all the marshalls and volunteers for putting on today’s race. It would have been easy to cancel with Storm Amy, but I’m glad we didn’t!” Some great action shots (*above and below) from the NW Cross Country match at St Asaph last Saturday. The first finisher in the  Senior Men’s race  was talented youngster  Noa Vaughan  ...
Read more

North Wales parkrunner Gareth went ‘Down Under’ to compete in the Melbourne half-marathon...plus parkrun results round-up

By Don Hale
Image
*Gareth Southworth  and his wife Kath inside the stadium in Melbourne. North Wales athlete and parkrunner Gareth went ‘Down Under’ to compete in the Melbourne half-marathon...plus parkrun results round up... Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Popular North Wales athlete and parkrunner Gareth Southworth continued his running exploits in Australia over the weekend by competing in the Melbourne half-marathon on Sunday. Gareth, who was representing   Cybi Striders , is enjoying a break ‘Down-Under’ with his wife Kath and enjoyed a good run in 1 hour 43 minutes and 56 minutes, and he was 15th in his VM60-64 age cat (1773rd) overall amongst over 12,154 finishers. This event was part of the  Melbourne Marathon Festival  and after his run, Gareth commented: “It was an unreal experience to finish inside the iconic MCG Stadium.” This latest result followed his performance the day before in the  Parkville parkrun  in Princes Park, Melbourne, wher...
Read more

NW Road Running duo ran well in the Chester Marathon.

By Don Hale
Image
*Pictured above -Steve Bozier at the Chester Marathon. NW Road Running duo ran well in the Chester Marathon. Special report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Two North Wales Road Runners tackled the windswept Chester Marathon on Sunday and they both performed well, especially given the extremely challenging conditions. Steve Bozier  was a little apprehensive about running this distance at first after taking some time out from longer races, but he ran well in chip positions of 844th out of 6,698 entrants in 3 hours 26 minutes and 12 seconds, and afterwards he said: A great day back racing again, my first marathon in a year, and only my second race this year.  “I really enjoyed that and only entered two weeks ago with just six weeks of training as a warm-up for the  Eryri Marathon in three weeks. I took it relatively easy and paced it well to get my second fastest marathon time. Rest now, recover, and onto the next one!"  Jon Evans  ( *Pictured rig...
Read more

CHARITY DARK RUNS at Penrhyn Castle and Conwy for Hope House and Ty Gobaith Children's Cancer Charities.

By Don Hale
Image
   *Pictured above - Gwennan Charlton and her family at the Penrhyn Castle event. Penrhyn Castle Dark Run Join the Penrhyn Castle Dark Run – Light Up the Night for Hope House Children’s Hospices! donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Get ready for a magical evening at the stunning Penrhyn Castle as we light up the night for a truly special cause. The Dark Run is a family-friendly event in support of Hope House Children’s Hospices, offering a fun and unique 3K route (or 1.5K for little legs) through the beautiful castle grounds – all after dark!   October 18th 2025, 6pm Our warm up will begin at 6.10pm and at 6.30pm sharp we will start the run! Every participant will receive a bespoke glow-in-the-dark medal and a goody bag to remember the night. Dress up in your brightest, most glowing outfits (optional, but encouraged!) and help us bring light and hope to local families who need it most. We kindly ask each runner to raise as much as they can – e...
Read more

Josie's prolific fundraising runs for the Happy Faces Children's Charity.

By Don Hale
Image
*Pictured above left - Josie Davies with her daughter Nikki in London. Josie's prolific fundraising activities for the Happy Faces Children's Charity... Special report and introduction by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Josie Davies is a keen and very popular social runner, who is also a prolific charity fundraiser for the Happy Faces Children’s Charity which supports sick, disabled and disadvantaged children across North Wales. This incredible and locally based organisation first began in 2003, and they have since raised over £1M and provided twelve specially adapted school minibuses for over 5,000 children, in addition to specialist equipment for more than 700 children in North Wales. Josie has taken part in various marathons and numerous demanding events over the years for this particular organisation, and her happy and smiling face can often be seen running up and down Llandudno prom, or around the local area, whilst training hard for her next venture.  And despi...
Read more

Bangor City 10k race saved by quick thinking to help defeat the weather.

By Don Hale
Image
*Some members of the NWRRC team at the Bangor City 10k - pictured left to right on the back row - Steve Roberts, Daniel  Henell and Mike Hayton, and (*front row), Not Lister, Helen Hannam, Kay Hatton, Cheryl Frost and Gwen Charlton. Bangor City 10k race saved by quick thinking to help defeat the weather. Special report by Don Hale. Photos by John Hatton. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Over five hundred determined runners completed the weather-beaten Bangor City 10k on Sunday with many elite athletes recording some excellent times despite the challenging conditions. And praise was given to quick thinking by the race organiser  Chris Yorke  from  RunWales  for overcoming many problems with debris on parts of the half-marathon route, which unfortunately forced the late postponement of this associated race but allowed the 10k to continue. In this latter event, Bangor University AC student  Andrew Moore  was the first man home in just 32 minutes and 5...
Read more

North Wales parkruns battered by Storm Amy but Ruthin survived! And news from Gareth and Kath Down Under!

By Don Hale
Image
  *Pictured above - Father and son - Stuart and Joe Culverhouse at Ruthin. North Wales parkruns battered by Storm Amy but Ruthin survived! And news from Gareth and Kath Down Under. Special report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Storm Amy forced the postponement of numerous parkruns throughout the UK last Saturday with North Wales events in particular badly affected by course flooding, heavy rain and gale force winds. Regular events at Newborough Forest, Nant y Pandy, Wepre, Penrhyn Castle, Conwy, Llangollen, Prestatyn, and Wrexham’s  Park in the Past parkruns  were all affected, with the Ruthin Memorial parkrun one of the few survivors. The Ruthin event on the Memorial Playing Fields, attracted 146 hardy runners including 74 visitors, with many travelling from far afield after searching hard to find a live parkrun, and despite the challenging conditions, ten people still recorded some very worthy personal best (PB) times. At the time of writing the name ...
Read more

Great new PB times for John and Michelle at the Bath Marathon.

By Don Hale
Image
*John and Michelle Farrell competed well in the Bath Marathon. Great new PB times for John and Michelle at the Bath Marathon. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Caitlin Faye. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 GOG Triathlon members John and Michelle Farrell competed well in the Bath Marathon last Sunday with both athletes recording some very good finishing times and new personal best (PB) times! Michelle won her age category in the Police Services UK (PSUK) championships and John was pleased with fourth place in his own age cat. After the event John confirmed: "A Lovely few days in Bath. A beautiful city and a marathon. PB’s for both Chelle and myself in 3:45 and 3:52 r espectively, and yet another win in age for Michelle at PSUK champs and 4th in age for me." *Pictured above - Michelle (*right) received her winners trophy from a police official.
Read more