Don Hale Blog

*Pictured above - Sarah and Ben Hudson after completing their run. Sarah and Ben Hudson completed the Trimpell 20-miler in their ultra season build up, and as preparation for the Boston  Marathon... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Ultra distance veteran athletes Sarah Ferguson Hudson and her husband Ben continued with their amazing training exploits last Sunday morning by competing in the Trimpell 20-mile race. At the time of writing, the full results had not been confirmed, but this popular pair turned in some excellent performances once again, with Ben running home in 2 hrs 57 minutes, and Sarah in very close pursuit in 3 hrs and 3 seconds. After the race Sarah confirmed:  “The event was not chipped timed, and they have not put the results out yet, but yesterday’s lovely Trimpell 20 went all along the river/estuary at Lancaster. It was a great little race for Spring marathon training.  “Not quite the times we wanted but being at 11.00am,...

Ultra athletes Ben and Sarah Hudson quit the rat-race to enjoy some extraordinary new adventures in North Wales   Special Coast and Country feature: This is the first of a new series of special features looking at the life, careers, hopes and ambitions, of many talented and dedicated athletes and sports people in North Wales.   Introduction by Don Hale.   https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com This feature highlights the extraordinary life and careers of popular husband and wife couple, Ben and Sarah Hudson, who are both keen runners and obviously love a challenge, both in life and in athletics, and regularly take part in varied events ranging from parkruns to marathons, to long-distance and ultra races, often raising thousands of pounds for charities. They gave up the rat-race in London a few years ago to move to North Wales, where they quickly created a thriving local business in Betws-y-Coed, before opting to enjoy some exciting new adventures in this stunning region, a...

North Wales 5k track championships at the Deeside Stadium. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.wekshmastersathletics.co.uk The North Wales Regional 5km track championships will be staged at Coleg Cambria on Friday 4th April (evening). Age-categories are under 20, senior, 35-39, 40-49, 50-59,60-69 and over 70, for both men and women.  On the night there are also some other non-championship races and field events: javelin, high jump and long jump;  *See full details at :   https://www.welshathletics.org/.../north-wales-endurance...   *To enter (closing date is 30th March at 23:59) go to: https://wales.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2025/GBR/nwend25/ OTHER CONTACT DETAILS: amy.edwards@welshathletics.org

*Pictured above - action from a previous Orme fell race. Great Orme Fell Race is back to its regular spot. Plus details of the Joe Brown Tuesday evening midweek series of Fell Races. Report courtesy of Mike Blake. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Fell race organiser Mike Blake has just confirmed that the Great Orme Fell Race will now return to its normal spot on May 13th, following reports that it may have had to be postponed. Mike said this week: “Please note that d ue to popular demand the Orme Fell Race is back in its normal spot thanks to Gavin Gog. This means that the Northerner's only have to travel south once as far as the Llanberis Valley to get the five counters in, while the southerners only have  to go as far north as Y Fron, to get their 5 counters in. ” Mike also confirmed details of the other Joe Brown   – Tuesday evening – midweek Fell Race fixtures for 2025 , and again he stated: “Ok folks, time to mark your wall planners, 1st April will soon be her...

*Carla and Martin Green enjoyed some good results at Wrexham. Good performances by the Road Runners at the Village Bakery Wrexham half-marathon. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Martin Green led the North Wales Running team home at the Village Bakery half marathon race at Wrexham last Sunday with a very impressive display just days after returning from a family holiday. Martin , who now has dual registration with  Meirionnydd RC , recorded a fast time of 1.14.06, in 72nd place overall, out of 1,834 entrants, and he won his M50 age cat.  Will Evans  was another athlete in top form, and he was thrilled with his new PB time of 1.25.34 in 33rd place, whilst Martin’s wife  Carla Green  finished 3rd in her F50 cat in 506th place, and the 47th female, in 1.31.19. Karl Morris ran his fastest time since 2019 in 726th place in 1.39.33, and *Pictured (*above left), Will Evans, with Adam Lemalle, and Cheryl Frost with Kay Hatton, all took part in...

*Pictured above - Steve Bozier with a crowd of runners at the start. Tough challenge for the Road Runners at the final Coed y Brenin Winter Trail Race... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Eight North Wales Road Runners competed in the tough Coed y Brenin 7-mile Winter Trail Race last Saturday and recorded some excellent results amongst the 449 finishers. This final event included some challenging terrain with some stunning beauty and was run along single tracks and footpaths through the  Coed y Brenin Forest Park , which left a sting in the tail! Benjamin Brummit  led the NWRRC team home in 36th place in 57 minutes and 7 seconds, and it was a close encounter for  Sion Thomas  and  Steve Bozier , with Sion 81st in 63.43, and Steve 86th in 64.17. And it was a similar story for  Steve Poupart  and  Rob Haines , with Steve finishing in 117th place in 67.37, with Rob just one place and seven-seconds adrift. Dave Jones  al...

*Pictured above (l-r): Ben and  Sarah Hudson with Mike Hayton. Road Running trio at the Ruthin 10k.   A trio of NWRRC members competed in the Ruthin 10k road race on Sunday and the pick of the team was Sarah Hudson who was 34th overall, the 3rd female finisher, and she was also 2nd in her F40 age category in 47.37.  And to add some extra icing to Sarah’s performance, she finished just ahead of her husband  Ben , who was 37th overall, and 5th in his M40 cat in 48.08, whilst master veteran  Mike Hayton  enjoyed another good run, and he was 102nd, and 4th in his M70 cat in 63.24. Sarah Hudson later confirmed:  “Great fun this morning running the “lumpy” Ruthin 10k, and over the moon to have come 3rd lady in 47.37, and to beat Ben!”   *Kevin Higgins also ran in the 5k race and he finished in 50th place in 28.48 in his first race since last September due to injuries.

*Richard Scamans (*above), was the first NWRRC member back at Conwy. Almost tropical at Conwy parkrun after weeks of freezing conditions...plus other results... Report by Don Hale,   There was a good mix of travelling club and social runners at Conwy parkrun last Saturday for a half-term encounter, with temperatures appearing almost tropical at just 4 degrees, following a long period of freezing conditions and strong winds. Iain Burgess  celebrated another outstanding performance as the first finisher overall on this usual puddle-filled 5k course in just 18 minutes and 35 seconds, with debutant  Ewan Gibb  ( Saltaire Striders ), pressing Iain all the way home in 19.19, whilst  Jack Callaghan  ( Betsi Runaways ), was 3rd in 19.43. The first female finisher  was SW20 athlete  Llio Owen  (15th overall) in 21.38, with SW30  Elisha Price  (33rd), and the 2nd female in 23.40, and VW40  Claire Kelly  was 3rd (38th), in 24.02. The...

*Pictured above - the race leader Rhys Jones being chased by the pack, and (*below), the massed range of hundreds of runners provided a spectacular sight. The Nick Beer 10k proved a huge success for runners and charities... plus a unique photo special on a very cold day. *Report and main photos by Don Hale.  Additional photos by John Hatton, and Hannah Griffith. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk *Many of the marshals and volunteers are shown ready for action. The 33rd Annual Nick Beer Memorial 10k race proved another huge success for event organisers Always Aim High, the 744 finishers, and for a host of local charities, despite the bitterly cold weather and a blustery wind around the Great Orme. Rhys Jones  ( Rhedwyr Hebog Runners ) led from start to finish around this tough and very challenging course, and he ran home along Llandudno promenade to win in just 33 minutes and 9 seconds, but he was pushed all the way by rivals  Simon Cole ...