Don Hale Blog

Crazy weekend and results round-up as Road Runners battled against the elements... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk It was a super-crazy, and very busy weekend for a host of North Wales Road Runners last week, as many were winding down their marathon training plans to concentrate  on a few varied distance  races, only to be hit by Storm Kathleen, and faced a succession of gale force winds, and driving hail, or rain. Tom Aindow faced mixed weather on the coast at  Brighton where despite an injury collected near the start of his full marathon race, but he bravely continued to record a decent finishing time. And plaudits too, to Jon Evans at the Berlin half-marathon, where he too faced his demons following a debilitating illness, to complete his 'target race' in a good time. Ben and Sarah Hudson , also faced a tough encounter from strong winds, with Sarah also collecting some unwanted blisters just weeks before her London marath

*Harry Driscoll (*pictured above) was the first NWRRC member home at the Chester 10k race last Sunday - photo by John Hatton. Harry Driscoll led North Wales Road Runners home at the Chester 10k. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Eight North Wales Road Runners competed amongst nearly 5,000 finishers at the Chester 10k race last Sunday, and they all performed well despite the cold, wet, and windy conditions. Harry Driscoll  led the team home with a tremendous run in 68th place overall with a great new course PB in just 37 minutes and 49 seconds, and  Steve Roberts  was also on top form in 542nd place in 45.49. *Harry Driscoll (*above left), with Steve Roberts. Meanwhile,  Cheryl Frost  and  Kay Hatton  continued their regular cat and mouse tussle, with Cheryl finishing well in 769th place, as the 89th female runner, in 47.34, and 4th in her FV55 age cat, and Kay also enjoyed another fine run and won her FV60 age cat, finishing in 924th

*Jon Evans proudly shows his marathon medal from the Berlin Marathon. Great run by Jon Evans at the Berlin Marathon. Report by Don Hale.   https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   North Wales Road Runner Jon Evans enjoyed a great run in the popular Berlin Marathon in Germany last Sunday and said he was pleased with both his time and his pacing splits during this prestigious event. This was Jon’s fifth Berlin race, and this time he welcomed good weather conditions and used this marathon as the ideal preparation for the forthcoming Chester marathon.  *Jon Evans is pictured above at the  famous  Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. The veteran endurance athlete completed this interesting but undulating course in just 4 hours and 5 minutes, and he praised the support of his fitness coaches for this performance following a period of heavy training. After the race, as he stood next to the famous Brandenburg Gate, Jon confirmed: “The weather was excellent, no course PB, but v

*Josh Keogh (*above) ran well again at Conwy. Bright and breezy and double the numbers at Conwy parkrun... Report by Don Hale.   https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   It was bright and very breezy last Saturday at the Conwy parkrun, which was in stark contrast to the previous week’s rather soggy 5k course with continual rain, and these much-improved conditions obviously proved quite an attraction with almost double the previous attendance. And it was another promising teenage athlete,  James Smith  (Menai T&F) who stole the show with another impressive performance as the first male runner home in just 17 minutes and 24 seconds to win his SM18-19 age category. Quite remarkably, this was his sixth victory at Conwy! Visiting runner  Brian Corley  (Bushfield Joggers) finished 2nd on his debut in 17.47, and he won his MV45 cat, with  Aled Hughes  claiming the 3rd spot, whilst winning his MV35 cat, and he was just six-seconds adrift of Aled in 17.53.  Holly C

*Nicola Wylie (above) won her age cat at the Ellesmere Port parkrun Other club race results: from around  the UK and beyond.. *Birchwood:  Three NWRRC members took part in the Birchwood 10k race on Sunday.  Kelly-Marie Alford  and  Cai Roberts  ran together again with Kelly finishing in 156th place in 50.46 and the 7th F35 athlete, with Cai sharing the same time and just one place behind.  Mandy Owen  also continued her return to fitness with another determined run in 56.13 and 220th place. *Pictured (*above l-r) Mandy Owen, with Kelly Alford and Cai Roberts. *America: Jon Evans  continued his American adventure last weekend and returned to the  Theodore Roosevelt Island DC parkrun  in America where he celebrated a great new course PB of 22.55 to win his MV55 age cat, marking a 27-second improvement to his time from last week and finishing in 7th place overall. *Jon Evans (*above) celebrated a new course PB at his American parkrun. *Hemel Hempstead: Stuart   Culverhouse  completed a to

*Richard Eccles (*above left) with Jon Evans. Both athletes claimed great new PBs last Friday night at the very fast and high calibre Mid Cheshire 5k race. Road running duo hit top form at Mid Cheshire 5k race. Report by Don Hale.   Two North Wales Road Runners competed in the Mid Cheshire 5k Spring race last Friday night and both claimed incredible new PB times within a quality field of top athletes. This star-spangled event attracted 747 international, elite, and club runners from across the UK, with many simply intent on recording personal best times over this exceptionally fast course. And the race pedigree was proven by the first twenty-seven runners all dipping under 15-minutes. Just one second separated the first three finishers, with  David Devine  (Liverpool Harriers) the race winner in 14.19, with  Cameron Bell  (Hallamshire Harriers) 2nd in 14.20, and  James Knockton  (Trafford AC) 3rd in the same chip time of 14.20. NWRRC members  Richard Eccles  and  Jon Evans  enjoyed sup

*Troy Kettle ( above) and pictured  crossing  the line at the Meerbrook 15k race won the North Wales “Best Young Athlete of the Year" award. Report by Don Hale.   NWRRC runner Troy Kettle has won the “Best Young Athlete” of the year award following a superb performance for the North Wales County team in the Inter-Counties match at Meerbrook. Student Troy made his debut in the 15km race and excelled in the famous orange and green strip and knocked five minutes off his previous time at the open race in Staffordshire in 2019, this time finishing 27th overall in 69 minutes 49 seconds, and helping his team secure the runners-up spot. *The overall competition winners for the Men were Shropshire with 20 pts, with  North Wales  2nd with 29 points, Staffordshire 3rd with 36 pts, Cheshire 4th with 74 pts, and Derbyshire 5th with 84 pts. This included:  2. Ryan Davis 52:44; 3. Scott Nixon 52:47; 8. Joel Gomes 54:27; 16. Phil Pumford 57:35; 24. Jez Brown 62:04; and 27.  Troy Kettle 69:49. *Fo

*Harry Driscoll (*above) led the Road Runners home at Conwy parkrun. Report by Don Hale. Photographs by Steve Jeffery.   Harry Driscoll was the first club man home once again for NWRRC at the Conwy parkrun last Saturday, which had depleted numbers due to festive demands, and the aftermath from a succession of storms and challenging conditions. Despite all the problems and a cool, breezy morning, on a wet and part debris riddled course, the organisers worked hard to ensure that the safety of runners and volunteers was paramount and celebrated with 146 finishers enjoying their weekly 5k dash. Teenager  James Smith  (Menai Track and Field) was the 1st finisher and won his SM18-19 age cat with an impressive new PB of 17 minutes 5 seconds, with  James Coleman  2nd in 17.54. In addition, popular local runner  Nic Brook (Eryri Harriers) was another man in fine form, and he also celebrated a new course PB in 18.04 in 4th place. Harry Driscoll  led a team of eleven NWRRC members, and he was one