Don Hale Blog

Welsh Masters Athletics track and coaching session at Tonypandy. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk WMAL are going to stage their first Masters track session with coaching at Tonypandy track on 20th May. Meet at 10am for a warm-up. The spring group will be taken by Eric Oram, and the middle distance group by Brett Davis, then retire to a nearby café afterwards.  

*Pictured above - Ben and Sarah Hudson at their latest marathon  race. Ben and Sarah tackled their 26th marathon on Tyneside. Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   Ben and Sarah Hudson took part in the challenging Newcastle and Gateshead marathon last Sunday – which was their 26th marathon! Ben finished in 3:48:59 and Sarah in 4:10:29, and 3rd in her age cat.  After her race , Sarah confirmed: “Such a cool weekend exploring Newcastle… including the Newcastle and Gateshead Marathon, our official marathon number 26.  "No where near my fastest (or my slowest for that matter) and it was certainly a little toughie with some interesting weather thrown in for good measure, but I loved it all the same.”  

*Pictured above - Steve Gardner smashed another record at The North Wales Endurance  open meeting at Deeside last weekend. (Photo by Bill Scrivens). Steve Gardner smashed the record at the NW 1500m steeplechase open race... Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   NWRRC veteran and team GB athlete Steve Gardner competed in the North Wales Endurance open race meeting at Deeside last Friday night and recorded a new personal best time of 5 minutes 22 seconds and smashed the record in the 1500m steeplechase race. Steve confirmed: “There were no medals awarded as this was just an open meeting. I ran with the girl's as the barrier height for them is the same height as V60 male at 76.2cm, the barrier height for men is higher, and I finished 2nd overall. “I  raced on Friday night and achieved a new PB, which just dipped under my previous best of 5.23.83, which currently stood as UK V60 All Time best performance.  “Whilst V60 steeplechase cham...

*GOG Triathlon super-vet Liz Evans (*above) at the Conwy parkrun. Bright and breezy for plenty of visitors at North Wales parkruns...results and reports from the region. Report by Don Hale. Conwy photos by Michael Finnie. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog There were plenty of visitors and first timers at the Llandrillo yn Rhos parkrun last Saturday where a variety of mixed ability athletes and walkers celebrated some bright sunshine on a cold and windy morning. The first three finishers were all visitors, but they each recorded some excellent debut times with  Oliver Bernstein  the first man home in 16 minutes and 59 seconds, followed by fell runner  Michael Corralles  second in 17.25, and  Patrick Connors  (Lordshill Road Runners) in 17.29. *Pictured above left - Iain Burgess, with Nic Brook There were some great performances too by local athletes  Iain Burgess,  who was 5th with a new course PB on 17.35, and second in his VM40 a...

*Pictured above - junior parkrunners and officials at Conwy last Sunday. Egg-citing medals and Easter eggs for youngsters at Conwy Junior Parkrun.. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog There was a massive turn-out of some 117 enthusiastic youngsters at the Conwy Junior parkrun on Easter Sunday, where some special medals provided by sponsor John Hatton, together with Easter eggs donated by the Paysanne Restaurant, were handed out to the children. John later confirmed: "I bought 75 medals all engraved, so now I have to purchase a load more to give out next week, plus will have to post some. Also the Paysanne Restaurant donated 108 Easter eggs, but we ran out of them. I was a little stressed out last year at Easter, and never imagined a turnout like today."

Another update on the Dublin trip on Saturday April 11th from Dave Munday, who runs the parkrun North Wales website... Quite a few people now booked on the ferry, different groups doing different Dublin parkruns, just for info St Anne’s is cancelled, Darndale is also cancelled for Saturday, thats 2 that are close to the port. Please see below this was one of the six closest to the ferry port and one that was suggested as a possible for this trip. The plan is still to get your parkrun done, get plenty of photos and post up on the parkrun group, so far some people are doing Fairview, Father Collins and Malahide so plenty of choice and then if you want to meet up for drinks or food, we are heading to the Church Cafe in the centre of Dublin. Details on previous post of Location and timing. Still places available on the ferry to Dublin, if you fancy joining us please get booked on the ferry is just £12 return Holyhead to Dublin. Everyone Will be made welcome to join the group. *Further deta...

Course problems continue for volunteers at Nant y Pandy parkrun on Anglesey... Information and photos courtesy of Nant y Pandy officials. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog We're missing you at Nant y Pandy parkrun but unfortunately, what was supposed to be a 4 week closure to repair our zig-zag bridge, has become a more complex project and we don't know how long it will take before we can resume our event in Llangefni.   As you can see from the photos, it is possible to get out to the lake, but it is far from an accessible path, so if you're planning a 'not parkrun', please take care! We were directed to a notice in the car park this morning warning that the main path to the railway bridge (Richard's marshal point 3) will be closed Monday-Friday 7:30am until 5:30pm from 10th April until 20th June. Whether this is connected to the repairs we are waiting for we are unclear at the present time. Nant y Pandy parkrun and Nant Y Pandy 5k Your Way, M...

    *Pictured above - The start of the Easter parkrun on Conwy Cob Bumper Easter attendances at North Wales parkruns. Report by Don Hale. Conwy photos by Michael Finnie. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   There was a bumper Easter Saturday holiday attendance of 623 mixed ability runners and walkers at the Llandrillo yn Rhos parkrun, and most of the other NW events also reported some similar and excellent numbers, and fast finishing times. At Rhos, the entrants were welcomed by a team of hard working volunteers dressed in Easter Bunny style outfit, and the first eighteen finishers quite amazingly all dipped under the 18-minute mark, with just a few seconds separating the first three runners, including debutant  Sam Ashton  the first man back in 17.12, with fellow debutant  Drew Darlington  second 17.16, and  Jeremy Pena  third with a new course PB in 17.58.  *Eleanor Ashcroft  was the first female finisher (33rd ove...