Don Hale Blog

*Martin Green (*above far right) leads the pack at the Penrhyn Castle parkrun. Parkrunners beat the wind and rain to record some great PB times...NW results round-up... Report by Don Hale. Photos by Michael Finnie. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Heavy rain and wind played a key role at most of the NW parkruns last Saturday with many courses reporting flooding and sections of heavy going, yet they still attracted numerous club and mixed ability entrants from far afield. With the  Newborough Forest parkrun  cancelled, this probably swelled the numbers at both the nearby  Penrhyn Castle and Nant Y Pandy  events, with numerous debutants recording some excellent PB times despite the challenging conditions *Penrhyn:  (*pictured right - John Hatton and fellow volunteers at Penrhyn).  There was a very good turn-out of some 243 entrants at the  Penrhyn Castle parkrun  with  Adam Jones  the first man home in 16.29, and  Rhodri Owen ...

*Flashback to a previous start at Penrhyn Castle parkrun Plenty of newcomers and good times despite wet and windy parkruns...round up of NW results. Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   Despite a sudden change in the weather including some blustery winds and intermittent showers, it still failed to deter plenty of newcomers to various North Wales parkruns, where once again many excellent times and PBs were recorded. The ladies though took most of the plaudits around the region last Saturday morning with plenty of fast finishers, and at both  Nant y Pandy , and at  Llangollen , visiting female athletes dominated the top three positions.  Visitor  Sarah Evans  was the first female finisher at Penrhyn Castle, and there was an interesting battle for second and third places at Nova, Prestatyn, where partners and Eryri Harriers clubmates,  Nic Brook  and  Gemma Moore  raced nip and tuck, with Nick eventually finishing second ove...

*Gwennan Charlton (*above) competed well in the Llandudno Triathlon. Road Runner and all-round athlete Gwennan Charlton  took part in the  challenging  Triathlon on Llandudno Promenade and around the Great Orme on Sunday but she seemed slightly disappointed with her swim result after a slight mishap.  She explained: “I took a wrong turn in the swim and probably added an extra 100-200m. It really threw me off! When it came to the bike, I had nothing left in the tank for loop 1, after that mare of a swim.” I don’t think Gwennan though should be too hard on herself, as her results looked quite promising despite an unfortunate mishap, including: - 750m swim in 25 minutes 37 seconds, T1 2.51, 16.95K bike ride 60.00, T2 0.58, 5k run in 30 minutes 52 seconds. Well done Gwennan! *  Cai Roberts  and his partner Kelly Marie Alford are pictured (*above) with their finishing medals after completing the Cardiff half-marathon. Kelly Marie Alford  and  Cai ...

*Kay and Cheryl (*pictured above) starred for the Road Runners at a blustery Conwy parkrun Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   It was a cool and blustery morning at the Conwy parkrun, yet the event still attracted two-hundred people of mixed ages and abilities, and from all parts of the UK for another exciting 5k community event. Traveling athlete  Robin Stacey  (York Acorn RC) was the first man home overall with a new PB on his course debut to win his MV30 age cat in just 17 minutes and 23 seconds. He was followed by Road Runner  Mark Jessett  who won his MV35 cat in 18.03, with local youngster  Alfie Shiland  (Colwyn Bay AC) 3rd, and once again impressing in 18.23.  *Mark Jessett (*above) finished in  second  place at Conwy. The Ladies race was won by another travelling athlete,  Lou Osborn  (Ambleside AC), who was 10th overall in 20.35, but Road Running duo  Kay Hatton  and  Cheryl Frost  took ...

Great running from Steve Mason (*pictured above) at Conwy Parkrun but two teenagers led the way in hot conditions... Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   It was another hot, dry, and dusty race at Conwy parkrun last Saturday where a considerable number of visiting athletes ensured it was a fast pace at the sharp end with two teenagers eventually claiming their share of glory over this challenging 5k course. Visiting youngsters  Harri Kendall  (Manchester Metropolitan University AC) and  Morgan Kendall  finished in 1st and 2nd positions respectively, with the two SM18-19 athletes dominating the event from start to finish.  Harri also claimed a new PB of 17 minutes 47 seconds, with Morgan recording 18.06, followed by  Osian Griffiths , the 1st SM30 in 18.35. The 1st Lady runner was  Hailey Fletcher  (Sedbergh School RC) in 20.38. The event attracted over 200 runners with many also preparing for local endurance events. North ...