Don Hale Blog

 *Will Williams (*above) enjoyed a good run at Newborough Forest. New Year’s Day results from Newborough and Somerset. *Pictured above - Steve Mason and Tom Aindow. *Newborough:   Will Williams  and  Steve Mason  from NWRRC took part in the New Year’s Day parkrun at Newborough Forest last Wednesday morning. Will finished well in 5th place overall in 20.04, and he won his VM50 age cat, whilst Steve enjoyed a more leisurely walk around the course, and he was 338th in 55.07. *The 1st finisher at Newborough was JM15-17 teenager  William Delamere  in a fast time of just 17 minutes and 11 seconds, with SM25 athlete  Dean Horrell  2nd in 18.58, and SM30  Oscar Hardy  3rd on his debut in 19.11. * Anna Drinkwater  (Eryri Harriers) was the 1st female finisher (4th overall), and she won her SW25 cat in 19.55, with  Emma Alofs  (Cybi Striders), 2nd (13th overall), with a new PB of 21.05, whilst JW11-14 youngster  Lucy Dela...

SPECIAL FLASHBACK FEATURE:  When Conwy parkrun beat Covid and reached the World Cup Final. Exclusive report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Last Saturday, Conwy parkrun and hundreds of similar parkruns across the UK, fell victim to Storm Darrah, with event organisers quickly taking the essential and important decision to cancel for the second time in the past three weeks. This temporary lull in busy parkrun and local running events however, reminded me of the torrid time of Covid, which struck in 2020, and continued for much of the next 18-months, with a long series of events postponed. This was a time however, when due to restrictive circumstances, Chester parkrun officials introduced a unique and innovative online competition to try to find the most popular parkrun globally, with a special  World Cup of Global Tourism  event, encouraging parkrun participants and their supporters, to vote online for their favourite location. The response was extraord...

*Ben and Sarah Hudson are pictured (*above) after their double marathon. Liverbird Double Marathon challenge for Ben and Sarah over New Year... plus other festive race results. Report by Don Hale.   North Wales Road Runners Ben and Sarah Hudson celebrated the New Year in their own unique style by competing in the Liverbird Double Marathon on Merseyside. Both events, well organised by GB Ultras, included the full marathon distance run on consecutive days, with the first race held on New Year’s Eve, quickly followed by the second race on New Year’s Day. The ultra-enthusiastic pair braved gales, and heavy rain, during their first encounter which followed an out and back lapped course from the Merseyside Police Club at Aigburth, Liverpool, and followed a relatively flat course adjacent to the windswept River Mersey.  Despite the conditions and this gruelling challenge, they were both pleased with their day one results, with Ben finishing 19th overall, and he was 3rd in his M4...