Don Hale Blog

*Richard Eccles (*pictured above) ran  well at Market Drayton and he has celebrated another call-up for Wales. North Wales Road Runners on their travels...other race results and round-up: *Market Drayton: Richard Eccles  enjoyed another positive run at the Market Drayton 10k last Sunday finishing in 32nd place overall in 38.31, and he also won his MV55 age cat. And Richard has also confirmed his worthy selection for the Wales team v England in the half-marathon international fixture within the Chester half-marathon race on 21st May. *Will Williams (*above) with another PB at the Alderley Edge 10k *Alderley Edge: Will Williams  seems to go faster with every race, and fresh from his dual 5k successes from last week, Will set a new 10k course PB at Alderley Edge on Sunday, finishing 44th overall out of 1,399 runners in a fast chip time of 36.51, and he was also 2nd in his MV50 age cat. After the event, he was obviously delighted with his result and confirmed: “I was chuffed to get under 3

*Runners on the road during the Snowdonia Marathon (l-r) Kelly Alford, Cai Roberts, Mandy Owen and Vicky Taylor. Road Runners battled the course and weather at Snowdonia Marathon....plus other race results & news. Report by Don Hale.   Ten members of North Wales Road Running Club completed the gruelling Snowdonia Marathon last Saturday despite battling a very tough course and some extremely challenging weather conditions that included driving rain and gusty winds, with two other runners forced to drop through injuries and sheer exhaustion. Ben Hudson was the first club man  home  and he   finished in 263rd place in 3.53.35, and  John Dalzell , also had an excellent run in 3 hours 56 minutes and 21 seconds. He was closely followed by Karl Morris in 303rd place in 3.57.56, and this was Karl's 7th running of this event. And colleague Sarah Ferguson Hudson, another top endurance and ultra- distance  athlete was  the 46th female finisher, and 326th overall, in 4.00.31.  Stuart Culv

*(PICTURED ABOVE): The NW Road Running team at Lake Vyrnwy (*back row l-r), Sue Smith, Kevin Higgins, Ben Hudson, Stuart Culverhouse, and John Dalzell, and (*front row), Nicola Wylie, Mandy Owen, Kelly Alford and Sarah Hudson. Fast times by Road Runners at Lake Vyrnwy half-marathon - plus other race results... Report by Don Hale.   Nine Road Runners tackled the revised Lake Vyrnwy half-marathon last Sunday with many athletes amongst the 800 plus entrants celebrating superb times in near perfect conditions. Endurance star  John Dalzell  was the first club man home in 122nd place in 1 hour 28 minutes and 36 seconds, closely followed by  Stuart Culverhouse , who was thrilled to go sub-90 minutes after his 37th attempt, finally finishing in 125th place in 1.28.47.  Ben Hudson  also had a good run out and finished in 158th place in 1.32.33, but his wife  Sarah Hudson  was the outstanding star of the team knocking an amazing nine-minutes off her previous best time. Sarah later admitted that

*Some of the highly successful Road Running team at the Caernarfon 10k and North Wales championships last Wednesday night. Six gold medals for the Road Runners at Caernarfon 10k championships. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   It was another great turnout of talented runners at the midweek Caernarfon 10k race last Wednesday night, which attracted nearly two-hundred entrants for the main race, and the inclusive North Wales championships. Run on a bright, sunny, and humid evening, and heading out towards the harbour and the magnificent ancient Castle, a large number of elite and top club runners soon battled for glory on this undulating course, with the eventual winner  Adam Jones  (Eryri Harriers) finishing in 33 minutes 19 seconds, and just 20-seconds ahead of rival  Scott Nixon  (Cardiff AC) in 33.39, with  James Yarwood  (Abergele Harriers) in close pursuit, and only another 7-seconds adrift in 33.46. The Road Runners  turned out in force again for this second major NW c

*Pictured (above) Ben and Sarah Hudson, who are preparing for two ultra-challenges to help fundraise for the British Heart Foundation. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery and Sarah Hudson.   Betws-y-Coed bed and breakfast owners Ben and Sarah Hudson are planning to run two ultra-marathon challenges during 2022 to help raise essential funds for the British Heart Foundation and in memory of Sarah’s late father. The couple, who are both keen endurance runners and members of North Wales Road Runners, intend to tackle both the 50-mile and the 100-mile events in Chester next year, and have only recently returned from a spell of warm weather training in Cyprus, where they also took part in the Cyprus Marathon. *Ben Hudson pictured during a race at the Marsh Tracks in Rhyl. *Sarah Ferguson Hudson (above) in action during an endurance race. Sarah unfortunately lost her father in October and said that he too was a former athlete and now hope to cover some of the same picturesque routes t

*Ben and Sarah Hudson pictured in the sun before the Cyprus downpour. Report by Don Hale. NWRRC Husband and wife team Sarah and Ben Hudson expected a run in the sun during the Cyprus marathon but instead faced a constant downpour and were thankful to avoid being struck by lightning! Despite the unexpected and very soggy conditions Ben still recorded his second fastest marathon time finishing 77th overall out of 238 visiting runners in 3 hours 39 minutes and 47 seconds, whilst Sarah continued her excellent form and said she was over the moon to just dip under the four-hour barrier. *(Pictured left) Ben ran his second fastest marathon despite the very wet conditions, and (*below) sheer joy for Sarah after recording a sub-4 marathon time. Sarah finished in 121st place overall, and she was the 14th female athlete in a superb time of 3.58.47. Afterwards, she confirmed: ‘Cyprus marathon done and dusted. North Wales you have been “out rained,” and I was relieved not to have another close enco