Don Hale Blog

Mark Davies bravely completed the Conwy half-marathon. Special report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Former fell and mountain champion racer Mark Davies put in a tremendous display of true grit and determination last Sunday as he tackled the gruelling Conwy half marathon, barely two years after receiving life-threatening injuries as a hit and run victim. Mark is an award winning multi-athlete who has spent all his time since the accident trying to re-build his life and his body after such horrific injuries and has gradually been able to take part in some local parkruns. Although a long way from his previous fitness regime, he decided to try and gradually increase his training mileage over recent months with the aim of running the Conwy half to help fundraise for Headway, the brain injury charity association, that has helped him to partially recover from his ordeal. Mark bravely ran the 13-mile plus route from Conwy Quay to Llandudno and then around the Great Orme and back t...

*Pictured above - some members from NWRRC are shown near the start. Nearly 4,000 runners tackled the Conwy half-marathon. Report by Don Hale . Photos by Pat Finnie and others. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 Conwy half marathon attracted  nearly 4,000  mixed ability athletes from all across the UK to a most challenging race from Conwy Quay and then around the Great Orme and back ,  and despite  a cold  and often blustery  wind , many still recorded some excellent times. Crowds lined the majority of  the route and they were aided by numerous partially closed roads, which helped to create a tremendous carnival-type party atmosphere en-route.  Andrew Davies  (Malden Harriers) was the eventual winner of this prestigious race well organised by RunWales, in just 1 hour 8 minutes and 56 seconds.  He was followed by  Harry Lupton  (Liverpool Harriers) in 1.13.00, and  Matthew Crehan  (St Helens) in 1.13.57.  In 4th pl...

*Gwen Charlton (*above left) with Kevin Higgins and Kevin Slattery at the Abergele races last weekend. Quality competition at the Abergele 5k and 10k races. Report by Don Hale.  donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   There was a massive turn-out of over 500 quality athletes for the Abergele 5k and 10k races held on the town’s promenade on Sunday, which was well organised by RunWales. Despite some wind and rain, both events attracted a wealth of elite, club, and social runners and the 5k race set a hot pace with the first 15 finishers all dipping under the 20-minute mark including the first two female athletes! And just 20-seconds separated the first six finishers! In the 10k race, the first 14 athletes ran under 40-minutes, with some close times between the top six places, and the first female athlete was almost three minutes ahead of her nearest rival. The first finisher overall at the 5k event was  Huw Gwynn  (Eryri Harriers) with a good time of 16 minutes and 37 seconds,...

 *Pictured above - many members of the NWRRC team at the Caernarfon half marathon last Sunday. Wet and windy at Caernarfon for the half marathon championships... Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025   There was a good entry of more than six hundred elite, club and social runners at the Caernarfon half marathon last Sunday, which was staged in unusually wet and windy weather but saw the top male and female athletes retain their titles. This event was also part of the  North Wales Regional Half-Marathon Championships , and it also attracted many top athletes from all around the UK, and it was well organised by RunWales. Tomos Roberts  (Meirionnydd RC) was the overall winner in 1 hour 11 minutes and 26 seconds, with  Chris Pownall (Cybi Striders) second in 1.15.42, and  Steffan Sayer  (Menai T&F), third in 1.15.45. *The first female finisher was  Emma Alofs  (Cybi Striders) in 1.27.49, and  Eleanor Ashcroft  (Denbigh H...

*Pictured above - the start of the Caernarfon 10k race last Sunday. Course record smashed at the Caernarfon 10k race. Report by Don Hale. Photos courtesy of Lesley Goodson, Chris Yorke and Mick Hall. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com *Some members of the NWRRC team at the Caernarfon 10k (l-r): Back row - Mike Hayton, Ben Hudson, Rob Fryer, and Stuart Culverhouse, and (front row) - Carla Green, Kay Hatton, Cheryl Frost and Sarah Ferguson Hudson.   The conditions were perfect last Sunday as a star-studded line up of elite and top club runners at the Caernarfon 10k race set a fast pace right from the start, with the course record later smashed during an exciting event, which also included an Inter-Counties championship match. Race organiser  Chris Yorke  from  RunWales  confirmed: “Well done to everyone who completed in today’s Caernarfon 10k. Wow what a race on this super-fast 10k course! The top 3 runners all broke the course record! with  Swansea Harrier ...