Don Hale Blog

*Pictured above just before the start of the Penrhyn Castle parkrun last Saturday are many members of the - Conwy on tour - contingent of runners. Conwy parkrunners on tour at the Penrhyn Castle ...plus other results... Report by Don Hale.  Photos courtesy of Michael (Pat) Finney, and Gwyn  Williams. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com With Conwy parkrun being out of action for about 14 weeks, a large group of over 30 members – and calling themselves 'Conwy on tour' - took part in the Penrhyn Castle parkrun, with another party attending the Nova event at Prestatyn. The conditions were ideal last Saturday morning with bright sunshine and a slight nip in the air, and at Penrhyn some 300 mixed ability athletes enjoyed the challenging and hilly course, which included two large laps and two small laps of the spectacular grounds and woodlands. One of the Conwy run directors,  Gwyn Williams (*pictured right) , who also ran and helped to rally the touring team commented: “Fantastic ...

Storm Bert was the only winner as various parkruns and local events hit - but Steve, Martin, and Harry beat the weather. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Storm Bert was the only winner last weekend as heavy rain and gale force winds forced the postponement of numerous sporting events, and in particular some fell and trail races, plus a host of popular parkruns across the area. Planned parkruns at Nova Prestatyn, Penrhyn Castle, Newborough Forest and Conwy, to name but a few, were all cancelled on either Friday night, or early Saturday morning, on essential health and safety grounds, to help protect both volunteers and many hundreds of participants. At Penrhyn Castle  they announced on Friday afternoon: “Unfortunately owing to the weather forecast we’ve been informed that parkrun is cancelled this Saturday.” And the same applied at the  Nova Prestatyn  venue, which is run along the promenade, when they confirmed: “...

*Will Evans (*above), was the first NWRRC member back at Conwy. Fast times at Conwy parkrun despite hard, dry, and bumpy conditions...plus reports from runners at Nova parkrun. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   It was hard, dry, and very bumpy, at Conwy parkrun last Saturday as some 239 mixed ability entrants from varied parts of the UK recorded new personal best times (PBs), over this picturesque but challenging 5k course. North Wales Road Runners  entered ten members, with  Will Evans  finishing 4th, and he won his VM40 age cat in 20.01, but he was only three-seconds ahead of his talented young club colleague  Harry Driscoll,  following a lively final dash. Harry though claimed the second spot in his SM20-24 age seemed satisfied with 5th place overall. *Harry Driscoll (*above left), with Jami Tharme, and Joe Culverhouse. Jamie Tharme  was 3rd in his VM45 cat in 32nd place in 22.33, with promising y...

*Some of the NWRRC team members at the Nova parkrun at Prestatyn, (l-r), Mike Hayton, Rob Fryer, Mark Mason, Rachel Morris, Sion Thomas, Gwennan Charlton, Stuart and Joe Culverhouse, and Jonathan Kettle. Victory for Jonathan Kettle at the Nova parkrun at Prestatyn during club championships. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Jonathan Kettle led a team of ten North Wales Road Runners home at the Nova parkrun at Prestatyn last Saturday, with a superb victory as part of their club championships. Making his debut on this flat and fast course, Jonathan won his MV45 age cat and finished in 1st place overall with an excellent time of 17 minutes and 48 seconds. He was followed by visiting MV35 athlete  Ian Higgins  (Telford Harriers) with a new PB of 18.19, and SM30 runner  Jamie Betts  (Prestatyn RC) in 18.52. The event attracted 162 runners with seven athletes all dipping under...

*Master veteran runner Peter Armstrong won his M70 age act at Rhyl 5k Fast and furious running at the Welsh Athletics 5k race at the Marsh Tracks in Rhyl. Report by Don Hale. Photographs by Steve Jeffery.   It was another fast and furious 5k Welsh Athletics race at Rhyl’s Marsh Tracks last Sunday afternoon, which was again run in very warm and humid conditions. The race, which was the third in a special series of four events, attracted a wealth of high-quality male and female athletes, and both the men’s and women’s events recorded incredibly fast times, with the first seven men dipping under 19 minutes, and the first seven women finishing under 22 minutes. North Wales master veteran runners  Peter Armstrong  and  Don Hale  were the only NWRRC representatives due to several fixture clashes, but both recorded season’s best times, and both won their respective age categories.  Peter enjoyed a very good run and finished 15th overall in 23 minutes 2 second...