Don Hale Blog

*Pictured above - Will Williams celebrated a new 10k PB. North Wales Quartet performed well at the Colshaw 10k. Report by Don Hale https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Four members from North Wales Road Runners competed in the Colshaw Hall 10k race last Sunday in near perfect conditions and celebrated some excellent results. Will Williams  hit top form again and recorded a superb new PB, but he was just seven-seconds adrift of his estimated target, finishing in 95th place out of 1,137 entrants in 36 minutes and 7 seconds, and 5th in his VM50 age category. After his event, Wiil said:  “A massive PB, though I thought I had dipped under 36 minutes. Not quite, but next time, I think I will get it!” Carla Green  also enjoyed a good run as the 48th female finisher and 320th overall, with a good time of 43.07, whilst  Kay Hatton  claimed the 5th spot in her VW60 cat in 47.51, and master veteran  Mike Hayton  was 852nd and 5th in his VM70 cat in 1.07.32. ...

*Pictured above - the start of the NW 5k championship race at Llanrug. (*photos courtesy of Will Ash (Bill Scriven). Fast times and NW championships medals at the Llanrug 5k midweek race...results and medal winners. *Report by Don Hale.  *All photos courtesy of Will Ash (Bill Scriven). https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   There was a very good entry for the Llanrug 5k race in midweek with some fast times recorded over a challenging course with the first 17 athletes all dipping under 18 minutes. This well organised event was also run in conjunction with the  North Wales Regional 5k championships  and overall it attracted over two-hundred elite, club, and varied ability runners from across the area and beyond. Gwion Roberts  (Meirionnydd RC) was the overall race winner in 16 minutes and 7 seconds, with Gwion’s club colleague  John Davies  2nd in 16.44, and  Dave Bus Hughes  (Eryri Harriers) 3rd in 16.59. The first three female finishers all repre...

* Ben and Sarah Hudson at the Runcorn Jubilee Bridge half-marathon. NWRRC trio took part in the Runcorn Jubilee Bridge races. Report by Don Hale https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   NWRRC members Ben and Sarah Ferguson Hudson took part in the Runcorn Jubilee Bridge half marathon race last Sunday, with clubmate Kevin Higgins competing in the associated 10k event. The races started and finished on the Silver Jubilee Bridge, which strands the River Mersey and the Manchester Ship Canal. The Hudson duo used this event as a warm-up for some forthcoming ultra-distance races and they both seemed pleased with their results despite some blustery winds and rain at times.  Ben finished in 216th place out of 741 entrants, in 1 hour 45 minutes and 5 seconds, whilst Sarah also ran well, and she was 367th overall in 1.55.00. After her race Sarah admitted:  “We had all the weathers today. It was hot and humid at the start, and then it got really windy, and during the last mile we had sidewa...

  *Penrhyn course marshall Dougie Graham (*above) at the Penrhyn Castle parkrun. Hot and breezy for runners in a variety of weekend events. Report by Don Hale. Penrhyn photos by Michael Finnie. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   It was another hot and breezy weekend for athletes last weekend with a wide variety of events to consider including several local parkruns, an international Shrewsbury 5k, and both Manchester and Chester half marathons, to name but a few. The various local parkruns continue to thrive with many hundreds of local runners tackling courses across North Wales, with many boosted by ‘Conwy on Tour,’ members each week. *Penrhyn Castle parkrun  enjoyed a good turn out of some 359 entrants, with visitor  Mark Hobbs  (Micky Morris Racing Team),  celebrating as the first man home in a very close finish on his course debut in 17 minutes and 55 seconds, and bizarrely, he shared the exact same time over the line as  Malachy Bromham , with tee...

*Pictured above - Martin and Carla Green at the 5k international Masters race. North Wales athletes starred for Wales against England Masters Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   A large number of North Wales based athletes formed part of the Welsh Masters team that competed at the Shrewsbury 5k Running Festival last Saturday against England Masters. Meirionnydd RC  had two members in the top ten finishers including  Rhodri Owen , who was 3rd overall out of 331 elite runners in 14.57, with  Tomos Roberts  7th in 15.11, and former  NWRRC  member  Martin Green , a top veteran, now with his new first claim club, also enjoyed a great run in 53rd place in 16.53.   *Will Williams (*above left), with Cheryl Frost and Karen Butler. North Wales Road Runners  had five members involved with the famous red vest, and they all recorded good times with  Will Williams  104th in 18.12,  Steve Gardner  140th in ...

*Pictured above - Emma Vadhesha and Sarah Ferguson Hudson. Sarah and Emma tackled the hot North Downs 50k ultra race in style... Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Ultra-distance and endurance athlete Sarah Ferguson Hudson and her friend Emma Vadhesha competed in the North Downs 50k race last Saturday and despite the hot weather, they completed their gruelling challenge in style. NWRRC member Sarah (*pictured right), later explained: “It was very hot and hilly. It eventually took us 7 hours and 50 minutes, but the scenery was stunning around the North Downs. Who knew it was so hilly down South? I ran with my lovely friend Emma, who got me into running in the first place.” Sarah confirmed that she normally runs in her ultra races with her husband Ben, but he is still recovering from injury and explained: “Ben’s ankle is definitely on the mend, and we have booked into the Jubilee half-marathon in a couple of weeks, so he is hoping to improve on his time from...

Cool and breezy, but a very busy Bank Holiday for parkrunners. Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   The Nova parkrun at Prestatyn welcomed just over 300 mixed ability athletes to this popular venue last Saturday on a cool and breezy morning. The first three finishers were all debutants and visitors to the Nova course, with Lewis Morris ( West Cheshire AC ), celebrating his first trip with a fast time of just 17 minutes and 11 seconds.  He was closely followed by a couple of visiting members from Shrewsbury AC , in Paul Aston, who finished 2nd in 17.29, and JM15-17 junior, Toby Aston, who claimed the 3rd spot in 18.40, whilst another promising JM15-17 junior included Colwyn Bay youngster Iwan Roberts, who ran well in 4th place with a new course PB in 18.45. The 1st female finisher was Eve Manifold (21st overall), from Prestatyn RC in 21.53, with Jess Jaques 2nd (29th), on her debut in 22.26, and then quite surprisingly, Sarah Buckley and Alex Buckley fr...

*Pictured above - the start of the Penrhyn Castle parkrun last Saturday. Penrhyn was the King of the Castle for popular parkruns Report by Don Hale. Photos courtesy of Michael (Pat) Finnie. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   The Penrhyn Castle parkrun was one of the most popular local events again last Saturday morning, with 256 visiting club and social athletes enjoying the picturesque but undulating 5k woodland trail course, despite a very cool and blustery wind. Young  Andrew Moore  won his SM20 age cat with an outstanding display in just 17 minutes and 8 seconds, and he was over a minute ahead of his nearest rival  Luke Hilliard  (Elswick Harriers) on his debut in 18.21, with teenager  Aidan Thomas  3rd in 18.30. The 1st female finisher was SW25 athlete  Anna Drinkwater  (Eryri Harriers), in 19.26, who was 6th overall, with  Laura McKenzie  (Betsi Runaways), 2nd (27th), in 22.54, whilst  Elen Jones  claimed the 3rd spo...