Don Hale Blog

*Alex Aldous is pictured above with the leading pack at the Llandrillo yn Rhos parkun on the promenade. Hundreds of parkrunners braved the icy conditions at many North Wales locations... Report by Don Hale. Photos by Michael Finnie and Danielle Peevor. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   There was another excellent turn out at the Llandrillo yn Rhos parkrun last Saturday, despite the freezing temperatures and icy conditions underfoot, which caused the postponement of several other local events, at Conwy and Nant y Pandy amongst many others. The rather sandy 5k course at Rhos probably helped athletes to keep their feet and once again this particular parkrun attracted a host of visitors from far afield, and quite remarkably, nine out of the first ten finishers were course debutants! Sam Lewis Jones  (Parc Bryn Bach RC) was the first finisher on his course debut in just 16 minutes and 54 seconds, with the second runner unknown, but in 3rd place was visitor  Ian Lowe  (Oswes...

*The successful NWRRC quartet of ladies pictured above at the Regional cross country championships at Bangor (l-r): Kay Hatton, Gwen  Charlton. Cheryl Frost and Karen Butler. NWRRC quartet amongst the medals at the cross-country champs at Bangor... Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   A quartet of ladies from North Wales Road Runners enjoyed some great performances at the Regional cross-country championships at Bangor last Saturday. Cheryl Frost  collected a prestigious gold medal after winning her W60 age cat whilst finishing 20th overall in 28 minutes and 38 seconds, and  Kay Hatton  was third in the same age category as Cheryl, and she won a bronze medal in 30.13. Karen Butler  was also on top form, and she won a silver medal after finishing second in her W65 cat, and she was 28th overall in 30.28, with  Gwen Charlton  performing well in 40th place, but she narrowly missed out on a medal in her W35 cat after finishing 4th in 34.4...

*Will Evans (*above) made a successful debut at the Rhos parkrun Another attendance record smashed at Rhos despite Arctic conditions...plus other parkrun results. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Michael Finnie and others. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   The Llandrillo y Rhos parkrun set another amazing attendance record of 629 last Saturday despite a strong and bitter-cold Arctic headwind and a rather sandy 5k course. This popular new event attracted hundreds of visitors at the end of the festive holidays,  and it was also boosted by numerous runners travelling along the coast due to several early parkrun postponements, due to freezing conditions elsewhere with plenty of ice and snow, and Rhos also  recorded  an exceptional minus 8 degree wind chill via Strava! Visitor  Jacob Hiom  (Cuth’s RC) made a successful course debut at Rhos, finishing in only 17 minutes and 21 seconds, yet incredibly, he shared the exact same finishing time as  Simon Cole  (...

*Father and son, Stuart and Joe Culverhouse (*above) ran well at Conwy. Cold and windy but well attended New Year’s Day parkruns. Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   It was another very cold and very windy morning at most of the New Year’s Day parkruns, yet the conditions still failed to deter hundreds of hardy and determined athletes from travelling a long way just to start their 2026 events in style. Known parkrun events took place at  Conwy, Llangollen, and Newborough Forest , to name but a few, and all reported good attendances, and were well supported by generous teams of enthusiastic volunteers. At Conwy,  the organisers welcomed 242 entrants including numerous first timers, and the first finisher was Wrexham AAC star  James Yarwood  in 17 minutes and 45 seconds.  Iain Burgess  ran a good second place in 18.10, and visitor  Thomas Watkiss  took the third spot in 18.44. Anna Drinkwater  (Eryri Harriers) (*pictured ri...

*Ben and Sarah Hudson are pictured above (*and below) on the start/finish line after their Midnight 10k dash at Shrewsbury on New Year's Eve. Midnight 10k in Shrewsbury and an early 5k parkrun at Llangollen for Ben and Sarah. Report by Don Hale.  donhaleblog.bogspot.com/2025   North Wales Road Running couple Ben and Sarah Hudson hit 2026 running, quite literally, as they competed in the unique Midnight 10k in Shrewsbury on New Year’s Eve. Ben celebrated a great result finishing in 7th place overall with a good time of 51 minutes and one second, and Sarah shared their success as the second female finisher with another excellent time of 45.21. However, not content with resting on their laurels, and despite a late-night race and a long drive home, the pair made their course debuts, early the following morning – New Year’s Day – at the Llangollen parkrun on the Old Railway Track.  Ben finished in 15th place overall, and he won his VM45 age cat in a very fast time of 22.24, wh...

*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,...