Don Hale Blog

MENTAL ELF – Festive Fun Run. Sunday 30th November at 11am for Conwy Mind at Eirias Events Centre. Put on your Elf hat and join our Festive Fun Run. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   There are two choices to choose from: - A 5k Mental Elf, or a 2k Mini Elf.   Join us on Sunday 30th November 11am at Eirias Events Centre, Colwyn   Bay  for a day of fun and fundraising.  Walk, jog, skip or run while soaking up the festive spirit and supporting Conwy and Vale of Clwyd Minds. Together, we can go the extra mile for mental health! Mini Elf 2k Fun Run: A new event this year! Mini elves can join in the fun too with a 2km fun run packed full of all the jingling fun. A Free National Trust pass for every participant*   This year, Mind is partnering with the National Trust. If you take part or volunteer in a local  Mental Elf event, you’ll receive a free family access pass to National Trust sites! It’s our way of thanking   you for supporting mental health ...

*Pictured above - Mark Davies who has just  launched an appeal for HEADWAY. Mountain  runner Mark Davies launches a unique fundraiser for Headway - the brain injury charity association. Introduction by Don Hale.  donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Mark Davies is an inspirational and popular athlete from Llandudno, who has won numerous athletic awards, and set some extraordinary records for his incredible mountain and fell running exploits over the years, but now he is about to face his ultimate challenge to test his amazing recovery powers!   In January 2023 however, he was the victim of a hit and run incident and suffered a traumatic brain injury which completely changed his life. Now, through sheer determination, hard work, and generous support, his is slowly recovering and re-learning to talk, walk and run.   Mark has now entered the gruelling  Conwy half-marathon  in November over a challenging route that also includes a circuit of the  Grea...

*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...

*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...

*Stuart Culverhouse (*right) ran well with Darren Dentith at Ruthin. Good results and keen competition at various North Wales parkruns...results round up... Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Some very good results including numerous personal best (PB) times at various parkruns across North Wales last weekend, with some keen competition for placings, particularly amongst the ladies, and well done to JW11 athlete Martha Brown at Nant y Pandy, who finished a close second overall, and the first female finisher in 19 minutes and 18 seconds.   *Conwy:   GOG Triathlon athlete  Simon Cole  was the first finisher at the  Conwy parkrun  with a very fast finish in just 16 minutes and 52 seconds, and  Elin Jones  took the first female finisher place with a new PB in 20.40. * North Wales Road Runners included  –  James Singleton  59th in 24.51, with master vet  Rob Fryer  84th in 26.38, and he also won his VM70 a...

   *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...

*Martin Green (*above far right) leads the pack at the Penrhyn Castle parkrun. Parkrunners beat the wind and rain to record some great PB times...NW results round-up... Report by Don Hale. Photos by Michael Finnie. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Heavy rain and wind played a key role at most of the NW parkruns last Saturday with many courses reporting flooding and sections of heavy going, yet they still attracted numerous club and mixed ability entrants from far afield. With the  Newborough Forest parkrun  cancelled, this probably swelled the numbers at both the nearby  Penrhyn Castle and Nant Y Pandy  events, with numerous debutants recording some excellent PB times despite the challenging conditions *Penrhyn:  (*pictured right - John Hatton and fellow volunteers at Penrhyn).  There was a very good turn-out of some 243 entrants at the  Penrhyn Castle parkrun  with  Adam Jones  the first man home in 16.29, and  Rhodri Owen ...