Don Hale Blog

* *Pictured above - crime fiction author Sarah McDonald Special Coast and Country Author Spotlight Feature. Welcome to another new author feature in conjunction with Amazon. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: North-West author – Sarah McDonald. JUSTICE: A Detective Inspector Thomas Marsden Thriller by S.J. McDonald.    *This book is now available on Amazon:   https://amzn.to/3CF6nF1 Published by North Wales based firm:  www.bookpublishing4u.co.uk   Sarah McDonald lives in the North-West of England with her childhood sweetheart and husband of many years, Ian, where they are surrounded by their unconventional and extremely loving family. She has had a varied and productive career in the NHS spanning a total of 36 years, achieving senior roles in both nursing and   management. As an avid reader herself, she has always loved books and in particular crime fiction.  So, following retirement, it seemed a logical step for her to call upon her vast experiences in the creation of exciting new books for others to

*Pictured above - many members of NWRRC at the start of the half-marathon. Six podium places for the Road Runners in the tough Conwy half-marathon... Report by Don Hale. Photos by John Hatton and Lesley Goodson. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   There was a great turn-out of some thirty-one North Wales Road Runners amongst a massive entry of nearly 3,000 mixed ability athletes, who took on the mighty challenge of the Conwy half-marathon last Sunday. Described as one of the toughest half-marathons in the country, and following a picturesque but extremely tough course from Conwy Castle to Llandudno and around the Great Orme, some six members claimed podium places, including one age cat victory, two second places, and three third places, in addition to claiming numerous PBs. Martin Green  who has dual registration for both NWRRC and  Meirionnydd RC , had a fine run after finishing 9th overall with a chip time of just 1 hour 17 minutes and 3 seconds, and he was 2nd in his M50 age cat.  Jo

*John Hatton (*above left), with Sharon Buckley at the Conwy half-marathon. Proud moment for athletics coach John Hatton and a popular former community midwife Sharon Buckley. It was a proud moment this weekend for athletics coach, MC and promoter, John Hatton as he saw his new running protegee  Sharon Buckley – a well-known former North Wales midwife - cross the finish line at the challenging Conwy half-marathon with a remarkable time. John, who is heavily involved with North Wales Road Runners , Conwy parkrun , and is also a keen supporter and promoter of a host of charity events, confirmed: “Over the last 6 months I have been training Sharon, who is 60, to run her first half-marathon which she did today in 2.34.17, which is a fantastic achievement. “Sharon was a highly respected midwife in North Wales, and at one time she received an award as the top midwife in the Betsi Cadwalader Health Board for her dedicated service to the community.” *John Hatton was on hand last Sunday morning

*Pictured above - some members of the North Wales regional team. Three Road Runners ran well in the Inter-regional cross-country champs at Newtown. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Three North Wales Road Runners competed well in the Inter-regional cross-country championships at Dolerw Park, Newtown, last Saturday, and each recorded some excellent times, with one member even winning a prestigious team medal. Cheryl Frost, Kay Hatton  and  Steve Gardner  were selected to represent the  North Wales regional team  in the Senior Women and Senior Men’s Masters races, following some promising results in recent NW Cross-country league meetings.     *Steve Gardner (*above left), with Cheryl Frost and Kay Hatton. And at the weekend   Cheryl  formed part of a successful five-women squad that packed well and clinched the 3rd team spot in the Senior Women and Master Women’s race, finishing 105th overall, and she was the 5th team counter, winning

*Pictured above - team manager Bernie Jones (*front left) with some members of the Welsh team at the Belfast races. NW Road Running duo performed well for Wales at the British & Irish International Cross Country championships in Belfast. *North Wales Road Runners Will Williams (*above left) and Karen Butler. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk North Wales Road Runners Will Williams and Karen Butler competed well in the British and Irish Masters International Cross-Country Championships at the Billy Neill Country Park, Dundonald, near Belfast last Saturday. Will performed well in his MV50 age cat on a rather hilly and challenging course despite only just recovering from injury and seemed satisfied after finishing 29th overall in thirty-three minutes and one-second. And plaudits were also given to NWRRC member  Karen Butler  who finished 16th in her VW65-75 age cat (24th overall) and she was the1st Welsh veteran athlete in this section

  *Pictured above - Harry Driscoll (red vest),with Tony Price-Jones. Wild, wet, and windy with a bumper set of visitors at Conwy parkun...plus other results. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   It was back to the usual wild, wet, and windy weather conditions at Conwy parkrun last Saturday morning, as another bumper entry tackled the challenging 5k course from the RSPB Nature Reserve. Many visitors travelled from far afield and utilised the parkrun as a pre-race warm-up for the Conwy half-marathon set for the following day, so consequently this popular event attracted a large number of travelling club and social runners. *Steve Roberts (*above left), with Stuart Culverhouse, and Don Hale. North Wales Road Runners  entered ten members, with some just taking it easy in preparation for either cross-country races, other events, or the half-marathon date.  Harry Driscoll  ran well again in 20th place overall, and he was 3rd in his SM20-24 ag