Don Hale Blog

    *Pictured above - Jonathan Kettle (NWRRC) received his MV50 age cat award. Trawsfynydd Lake race in support the South Snowdonia Mountain Rescue Team. Report by Don Hale. Lake photos by John Hatton. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   Over two hundred athletes helped to raise thousands of pounds for the South Snowdon Mountain Rescue team on Sunday by competing in the North Wales SSSART Trawsfynydd 8.5-mile race around the Lake. This popular annual event combined a challenging, undulating, yet picturesque road and trail course through the (Eryri) Snowdonia National Park from near Blaenau, Ffestiniog, and attracted numerous experienced fell and trail runners from across the UK.   *The first finisher at the Snowdonia multi-terrain race was Stefan Sayer (Menai T&F) pictured left, with the first female athlete Lydia Sharpe, and Carla Green (NWRRC) Steffan Sayer  (Menai Track & Field) was the first finisher overall after recording an excell...

Good results for NW marathon runners   Picture right - Mal Preece from NWRRC ran  well  at the Boston marathon. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 North Wales Road Runner Mal Preece competed in the Boston Marathon last weekend, and despite a gruelling race and some very windy conditions, he finished just a few seconds away from recording a great new course PB. After the event he confirmed:  “Very tough and windy conditions, 40/50mph headwinds, but pleased with the time. Just 23 seconds away from my PB of 3:22:27!  Definitely a fast course with the right conditions. I’ll be signing up again for next year.” *On returning home, Mal later took part in the  Llandrillo yn Rhos parkrun  on Saturday finishing in 117th place in 26.08. Cheryl Smashed her previous marathon PB. *Cheryl Frost (*pictured left) from NWRRC smashed her previous personal best time at the Newport Marathon on Sunday with a determined run in 3 hours 46 minutes and 20 seconds despite suffering f...

   Help  Events  Results  Register  Log in North Wales, SSSART Trawsfynydd  Multi Terrain 8 Miler Sunday 19th April 2026 donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog         Event Details ****Cymraeg isod**** Beautiful multi terrain 8.6 mile race around Trawsfynydd lake in Eryri/Snowdonia national park. A mostly fast course with one challenging hill on a mixed tarmac and fast trail  course. The Race will be under the Welsh Athletics / UK Athletics Rules. All proceeds are in aid of the South Snowdonia Search and Rescue Team.  The team is run entirely by volunteers, who are on callout 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to help those in need in the local area. The team is a charity, dependent on donations from the public, and the proceeds of the race will provide vital funds. Starting by the Magnox Power Station Car Park at 12:00 on Sunday 19th April.  Grid reference SH69052 37960, post code LL41 4DT;  Open to at...

*Pictured above - flashback to a previous BMAF event. Update on Masters Road Race Championship Calendar 2026...make a note of some important BMAF diary dates. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog Although the BMAF Executive has only two elected officers and an England Masters representative in post we are not a quorum, this concern has led to some delays and the ability to make decisions.  However, with the help of BMAF Services we are determined to continue to provide Championships at T&F, XC and on the Road. To that effect I am posting an update on future Road and Trail Championships to all athletes who have shown an interest in past events On the 28th June we return to the North Downs for our  30k British Masters Trail Championships . I am delighted to report that many who compete return and this year will be no different. The reasons are simple. It is possibly the best Trail race in the South. The  Marathon  is next and will be promoted in Ram...

*Event organiser Dave Munday (*second from the right) with his North Wales group at the Father Collins parkrun near Dublin last Saturday. North Wales parkrun group trip to Dublin report from Saturday 11th April 2026... Special update from Dave Munday – the trip organiser - and the editor from parkrun North Wales. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog *Flying the flag (*above) for North Wales with a group including people who have competed all the regional parkruns, and (*below right) Andrew and Nan Roberts pictured at the Malahide parkrun. It was an early start as the ferry left Holyhead at 4a.m! The smiling faces from the parkrun tourists started to arrive and we were all in high spirits as we boarded the ferry and found somewhere to get our heads down for a few hours’ sleep, before we arrived in Dublin at 7am . Different groups were heading to different parkruns with Fairview, Father Collins and Malahide being the main three that people were heading towards. I was with a...

*Pictured above - flashback to a previous start at the Llandrillo yn Rhos parkrun. 10,000th finisher milestone possible at Rhos this week? donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog Report by Dave Munday, the organiser of the parkrun North Wales Facebook site.   As you all know this site is about promoting the 17 North Wales parkruns and especially the stats and figures that they produce. One thing other regions flag up is milestones on overall attendances since the parkrun started. In North Wales our highest overall attendance is Conwy parkrun with 111,614 finishers, it was such a shame that this site was not going for the 100,000th finisher, as that would have been great to capture that, and who was it that crossed the line, I will work it out and contact the Conwy parkrun team. This year, we will have different parkruns hitting different milestones and I will post up on here. The 1st one could be this weekend as  Y Promenâd parkrun, Llandrillo-yn-Rhos...

*Pictured above - track champion and Welsh International athlete Steve Gardner. Victory for Steve Gardner at the Scottish Sprint Duathlon Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   Welsh International track athlete Steve Gardner won his age category in a prestigious Duathlon Sprint event in Edinburgh last weekend. The Team GB athlete, and  NWRRC  member, who was representing his second claim club  GOG Triathlon , improved on his previous impressive result - and a silver medal - at the recent Welsh Sprint Duathlon Championships just a fortnight ago, to win his MV60-64 cat following a strong overall performance. Steve later said:  “I competed for  GOG Triathlon Club  in the East Fortune Sprint Duathlon, located on a racetrack to the East of Edinburgh. The events consisted of 5k run, a 20k cycle, and a final 2.5k run.  “Finishing in 1st place in my veteran age group was an improvement on my 2nd place at the Welsh Champs ...

*Rhos run director Dougie Graham at the front with some of the volunteers Fast runners dazzled in the sun at Llandrillo yn Rhos..plus some other NW parkrun results. Report by Don Hale. Most photos by Michael Finnie. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026   The bright sunny weather and a fast course attracted plenty of top club athletes to the Llandrillo yn Rhos 5k parkrun last Saturday with five out of the first six finishers all recording times of under 18 minutes! James Yarwood  (Wrexham AAC) was the first finisher overall with a new course PB of 16 minutes and 29 seconds, with visitor  Armon Williams  second in 17.17,  Gareth Griffith  third in 17.27, and veteran  Martin Green  (Meirionnydd RC) a narrow fourth in 17.36. It was a similar story for the ladies with  Beatrice Cordingley  (Sale Harriers) taking the first female spot with an excellent run, and a new course PB in 20.00 (18th overall), with visitor  Lizzie Slater  (South Che...