Don Hale Blog

Five age cat wins for Road Runners at sunny Conwy parkrun....and Steve Forsyth back in action again...plus Elizabeth back at the Falkland Islands. Report by Don Hale. Most photos by Steve Jeffery.   *Steve Forsyth (*above) back in action again at Conwy. North Wales Road Runners entered fourteen members at last Saturday’s Conwy parkrun and claimed six podium places, including five age category wins, amidst another great turn-out of some 283 mixed ability runners from all parts of the UK. Visiting athlete  Sam Lewis Jones  (Parc Bryn Bach RC) set a hot pace and claimed a new PB on such a bright, sunny, and warm morning, and finished a minute and a half ahead of his 2nd placed NWRRC rival  Steve Forsyth  in 17.02, with Steve running home in 18.32 on his return to Conwy.  Aiden Myles  (UK Parkrun Tourists) finished 3rd. and he was just two-seconds adrift of Steve in a fast finish. The first female athlete was  Gemma Moore  (Eryri Harriers), 7th overall, in 18.32, with  Hailey Fletcher  (Se

*Steve Mason(*above) had another good outing at Conwy parkrun. Soggy parkrun at Conwy for Easter holiday visitors. Report by Don Hale. Most photos by Steve Jeffery. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   It was another very soggy 5k course at the Conwy parkrun last Saturday as a variety of club and social runners opted to run this puddle-filled event, which was boosted by many Easter holiday visitors from all parts of the UK. The first runner home at Conwy parkrun was  Nic Brook  (Eryri Harriers) who had a tough battle for honours with talented junior  Oshi Adey , and debutant  Dave Hughes . Nic eventually won his MV45 age cat in 17 minutes and 50 seconds, but he was only five seconds ahead of Oshi, who won his JM15-17 cat in 17.55, with Dave third despite a course PB in 18.18. The 1st female runner was  Libbie Read  (Heaton Harriers) who was 13th overall, and she also won her SW25 age cat in 20.49, with  Gemma Moore  (Eryri Harriers) and her baby buggy 19th overall and 1st VW35 in 21.51,

  New dates for midweek series of fell races confirmed. Report by Don Hale.  *North Wales ladies on the town (above l-r) Elizabeth Driscoll, Hannah Griffith, Tessa Bushnell and Gwennan Charlton. Four female members of NWRRC recently took part in a unique Urban Orienteering event around Llandudno as part of a new and exciting series of races organised by Eryri Harriers. Gwennan Charlton , who was a member of this talented quartet confirmed: “You are given a map and set of checkpoints, then you visit as many of these as possible within a one-hour time limit. Hannah Griffith, Tessa Bushnell, Elizabeth Driscoll , and me, teamed up, and finished as the second team, a close 10 points off the winning team. *Hannah Griffith has also confirmed the dates for the forthcoming mid-week urban fell race series of races: See poster (*below): -

*North Wales ladies on the town (above l-r) Elizabeth Driscoll, Hannah Griffith, Tessa Bushnell and Gwennan Charlton. Orienteering night shift for club quartet.   Four female members of NWRRC took part in a unique Urban Orienteering event around Llandudno last Thursday night as part of a new and exciting series of races organised by Eryri Harriers. Gwennan Charlton , who was a member of this talented quartet confirmed: “You are given a map and set of checkpoints, then you visit as many of these as possible within a one-hour time limit.  Hannah Griffith, Tessa Bushnell, Elizabeth Driscoll , and me, teamed up, and finished as the second team, a close 10 points off the winning team. The next instalment of the urban orienteering series will be held in Conwy on 23rd of March.”  

Elizabeth Driscoll (*pictured above) tackled the Cascais Ironman race in style. Report by Don Hale.   It proved to be a happy landing for RAF Air Traffic Controller Elizabeth Driscoll as she successfully navigated her way around the tough Cascais Ironman 70.3-mile course in Portugal last weekend. The experienced North Wales Road Runner who in everyday life has a very responsible role at RAF Valley on Anglesey, tackled three gruelling challenges, which included a difficult 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a 13.1-mile run, and all carried out in very hot conditions. *Elizabeth Driscoll (*pictured above) on the finish line after her race. Elizabeth eventually completed the event in 6 hours 33 minutes and 36 seconds and finished in 1,619th place overall, and she was the 262nd female and claimed 14th place in her F55 age cat. This proved to be an incredible performance by this popular endurance athlete who first set her heart on completing this race whilst on secondment last year in

*Josh Keogh struck gold after winning his age cat at the Fell Running Championships. Fell Running gold medals for Josh and Charlotte. Report by Don Hale. *Rowen: Josh Keogh  finished 4th overall in 1 hour 17 minutes and 21 seconds but won gold in first place in the Senior Men’s age cat within the North Wales Regional Fell Running championships at the challenging Ras Tal y Fan 8-mile race at Rowen last Saturday. And  Charlotte-Rose Wilton-Jones  also won a gold medal following her Senior Women’s title success in the same competition, recording an excellent time of 1 hour 48 minutes and 44 seconds. *A great run from Charlotte-Rose Wilton Jones (*above) to win gold in her Senior Women cat in the Fell Race champs. Other race results: - Elizabeth Driscoll 2nd in her cat at Triathlon in Chester. *Chester: Elizabeth Driscoll  competed at Chester on Sunday in a major triathlon event and celebrated another remarkable performance. After the race she confirmed: “A fantastic race at the  Deva Diva

*Endurance runner Karl Morris ran 83-miles last weekend at Pen Llyn race. *Pen Llyn:  Brave NWRRC endurance athlete  Karl Morris c ompleted the  Pen Llyn 75-mile  race over the weekend, but said he made a few errors and ended up doing 83 miles instead! Karl eventually ran 83.53 miles in 21 hours and 21 minutes and his challenging route including 3,386m of elevation. He later explained; “I forgot an honesty book page, so I had to track back a mile, and then had to hunt for toilets in Nefyn.   “I even managed to get lost in a farmer’s field. Oh well, a great day and I got to run along some of the best coastal path routes anywhere in the UK. Finished 7th in the end. The marshalls’ and volunteers did a great job.”  *Great work from Elizabeth Driscoll at the Llanrwst Sprint Triathlon. *Llanrwst:  NWRRC athlete  Elizabeth Driscoll  competed at the  Llanrwst Sprint Triathlon  on Sunday and easily won her F50 age cat with a stunning performance at her first event with a new carbon bike.

*Elizabeth Driscoll (*above) collects her 1st Lady prize following her success at the World’s most southerly marathon on the Falkland Islands. Report by Don Hale.   North Wales Road Runner Elizabeth Driscoll finished as the 1st Lady last Sunday at the highly challenging Stanley Marathon on the Falkland Islands and added to her already impressive set of results in other varied races on this most southerly outpost. To give its official title, the Standard Chartered Bank Stanley Marathon, is widely regarded as one of the most challenging marathon courses, with participants rewarded by magnificent views around the Islands’ capital, Stanley. It is also an AIMS certified event which confirms its position as the World’s most southerly marathon. Elizabeth, who is an RAF Flight Control Officer, is currently based on the Falkland Islands as part of her duties, and regularly takes part in numerous and varied sporting events. Her other recent successes include winning the Ladies title in three Cap

*Elizabeth Driscoll (*above) finished as the 1st Lady in the Cape Pembroke half marathon to complete a unique sporting double at different Falklands Islands events. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Elizabeth Driscoll.   North Wales Road runner Elizabeth Driscoll celebrated a magnificent sporting achievement last week by winning the 1st Lady title in two very different activities on the Falkland Islands. The popular all-round athlete, who later collected a cash prize and a bottle of champagne for her efforts, first completed a “Dri-Tri,” event, which involved a 3k row, 15k watt bike, and a 5k treadmill, in one hour and three minutes.  And then on Sunday, Elizabeth ran in the Cape Pembroke half marathon race completed the challenging course in just one hour 48 minutes to win the 1st Lady finisher title again, and to confirm a unique double.  These latest prestigious awards add to her recent hat-trick of successes in Falkland Islands parkruns,’ where she also finished as the 1st female runne