Don Hale Blog

*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  ...

*P ctured above - Former ex-pat and popular Australian author Joy Bloumis has just missed out on a prestigious final book awards short list. North Wales produced and promoted story was nominated for a prestigious Australian Jewish book award. The Storms You Walk Through:  A Memoir of Roza Hamer by ex-pat author Joy  Bloumis.   *This book is now available on Amazon:  https://amzn.to/4lXUnzo Exclusive report by Don Hale . Promoted by Coast and Country online magazine. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025     An exciting new book written by an Australian author and promoted by North Wales based Coast and Country online magazine in conjunction with publishers Bookpublishing4u, has narrowly missed out on a prestigious top Jewish Book Award in Australia after reaching the final cut of nominations. Ex-pat and octogenarian  Joy Bloumis , who now lives in Victoria, Australia, has written a fascinating new book about a mysterious and dramatic episode in her life that f...

*Pictured above - Dalzell Runners, John and Julie Jones at Lake Alwen. Squelchy clockwise loop for Dalzell Running duo at the Llyn Alwen Trail race. Report by Don Hale.  donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Dave and Julie Jones from Dalzell Runners competed in the Llyn Alwen Trail and Canicross events last Sunday, with Dave claiming the second spot in his MV50 age cat. After the race, he confirmed: “ What a difference a day makes! Sunshine greeted us this morning  following yesterday's deluge,  for a squelchy clockwise loop of the lake. A lovely little run and well organised by Bespoke fitness.   “ Happy with my result of 54.53 for 12th place and 2nd MV50-59, and Julie also had a great run too coming in at 1.15.17, and she was 62nd out of 79 finishers and 4th FV50-59.” *Pictured (*right) and (*below), some spectacular scenery during this challenging trail race.

*NWRRC member Mal Preece (*above) pictured at the promotional finish area with his medal after running in the Berlin Marathon. Road Running duo beat the heat in the Berlin Marathon. *The North Wales dynamic duo of Mal Preece (*above left), and Lesley Goodson relax after competing in very hot conditions during the Berlin Marathon. Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Two members of North Wales Road Runners ran in the world famous Berlin Marathon on Sunday in very hot temperatures, which seemed in stark contrast to the rather wet and windy weather in the UK over the weekend. Both  Mal Preece  and  Lesley Goodson  claimed they were glad to finish, but the pair still recorded some excellent times given the circumstances of competing in this prestigious event, and in those unexpected conditions, along with tens of thousands of global entrants. Mal finished in 3 hours 48 minutes and 25 seconds, and afterwards he explained: “This was marathon number 8 at...