Don Hale Blog

*GOG athlete Andy Brazier (*above) at the Conwy parkrun. GOGs ran well at Conwy parkrun and at the RunWales Loyalty 10k despite the weather... Report by Don Hale. Eight GOG Triathlon members ran in the Conwy parkrun last Saturday morning and claimed seven podium places including three age category wins. Josh Keogh ( NWRRC), claimed his 10th win at Conwy and his 5th consecutive victory, finishing in 17 minutes and 32 seconds, which was some 27-seconds ahead of teenage rival  James Smith  (Menai Track & Field), who was 2nd in 17.59, and  Osian Griffiths,  3rd in 18.35. For the Ladies  Anna Drinkwater  (Eryri Harriers) was the 1st female runner home in 7th place overall in 20.47, and  Ella Grundy  (Colwyn Bay) finished 2nd, and in 19th place overall in 22.49, with  Cheryl Frost  (NWRRC) 3rd in 23.09. Despite a freezing cold day and a waterlogged and puddle-filled course, all the GOG runners still recorded some excellent times especially considering the challenging conditions with  And

*Lizzie Irvine (*above) in top form at Conwy parkrun. GOG athletes ran well at Conwy parkrun. Report by Don Hale.   Seven GOG Triathlon runners competed in the Conwy parkrun last Saturday and collected three podium placings including two first place finishes in their respective age categories. Lizzie Irvine  led the GOG team home in 26th place and she also won her VW35 cat in 22.49 and claimed the 2nd female finisher spot.  Steve Owen  was 39th in 23.57, with  Nicola Tomlinson  53rd and won her VW40 age cat in 25.38. Katie Harvey finished in 88th place overall and came 3rd in her VW50 cat in 28.38, with  Dimitri Pitton  96th in 29.18.  Sarah Ellwood  had a good run in 115th place in 31.16, whilst  Dinah Hazeldine  finished well in 141st place in 39.53. *The event attracted 150 runners of all ages and mixed abilities on a cold but clear day with  Josh Keogh  (NWRRC) the first male runner back with a PB of 17.01, with club colleague  Martin Green  second in 17.56 and  Matthew Baker  thir

Llandudno prom Santa Dash success as hundreds of people enjoyed a 5k charity run and children's race... Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery. Hundreds of runners, children, and dogs took part in the children's fun run and the 5k Santa Dash along Llandudno promenade last Saturday morning which also raised plenty of funds for local charities. Starting on North Shore by the pier, entrants journeyed down the pier before dashing down towards the paddling pool and the RNLI base before returning to the finish. As this event was not listed as a competitive race, the organisers confirmed that although there was an electronic timer at the finish, there were no chip times recorded. *Rob Fryer from NWRRC (*above) at the finish of the Llandudno Santa Run and (*below) Josie Davies with her young dasher who sprinted around the course.

GOG runners competed at the Whitford cross country fixture and at Conwy parkrun. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   Several GOG Triathlon members took part in the North Wales cross-country league fixture at Whitford, and in the Conwy parkrun last Saturday. Six male athletes recorded good results in the senior men’s race and three ladies also excelled in the senior women’s event. Daniel Willings (*left)   was the first GOG home in the male race finishing 57th in 31.22, with  Andy Jones  85th in 33.34 . Steven Owen  was 117th in 36.03, and  Neil Vicars-Harris  finished just eight seconds adrift of his colleague in 118th place in 36.11.  Simon Blain  also enjoyed a good run in 128th place, with  Chris Bennett  134th in 39.22. Stephanie Conway  was the first female GOG athlete home in the senior Ladies race, finishing in 81st place in 27.15, and it was a close contest for veteran runners  Elizabeth Evans  and  Ann d’Alburquerque  in the F70’s age cat, with Elizabeth eventually

*Paul Garstang was one of many GOG runners at the half-marathon. Good day out for GOG members at Conwy half-marathon. Reports by Simon Roxburgh and Don Hale.   GOG Triathlon club enjoyed a good day out at the Conwy half-marathon with twenty-two athletes involved and claimed several PB times and a deserved age cat podium place . Dan Wellings  was the first GOG runner back finishing 31st overall with an impressive PB of 1:24:58 and he finished 5th in his age group . Other results included:   Mark Davies  1:29:04 ;  Paul Garstang  1:32:57 and 3rd in his age  cat;  Chris Beardmore 1:36:31;  Andy Jones  1:37:28;  Rob Price  1:38:31, and a great new PB by 4 mins!   Steven Owen  1:39:33;   Chris Morris 1:39:45 ;  Paul Algieri  1:41:47 ;  Tom Simpson  1:43:28 ;  Lizzie Irvine  was the first female GOG home with 1:45:59 ; Nicola Tomlinson  1:54:01 ;  Phil Tracey  1:56:11 ;  Paul Martin  1:57:47 ;  Tony Phelan  2:04:26 ;  Scott Garner  2:04:26 ; Tom Bancroft  2:05:53 ;  Paula Stevens  2:07:27 ; 

*NWRRC athlete Josh Keogh was the first man home at Conwy parkrun. Six of the best for the Road Runners at Conwy parkrun. Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   North Wales Road Runners celebrated nine podium places including six of the best age category winning times at a bright and sunny Conwy parkrun last Saturday morning. Josh Keogh  gave the club a great start with an outstanding performance to finish as the first athlete back home to win his SM30 age cat in just 17 minutes and 14 seconds.  The talented fell runner led a team of eleven club members over another puddle-filled 5k course which also greeted a wealth of fellow runners from across the UK, who had travelled to make a special weekend of competition including the Conwy half-marathon the following day. Many of the parkrun finishing times probably reflected the preparation needed for the tough challenge around the Great Orme just 24-hours later. *Steve Mason (*above left) with Will Williams. Josh  was follow

*Simon Cole set a new course record at an American parkrun last week. GOG star  Simon Cole  set a new course record last week at the Merry Meeting parkrun at Maine in the USA with a superb time of just 16 minutes and 43 seconds. * Ann  d'Albuquerque (*above) has been selected to represent Wales this weekend. Two GOG runners selected for Wales at BMAF international cross country race in Dublin next weekend. Report by Don Hale.   Two GOG athletes have been selected to represent Wales in Dublin at the BMAF Master’s Cross Country International next Saturday 12th November.  Geran Hughes  will compete in his MV 50-54 age cat, whilst  Ann d’Alberquque  will run as a MV70-74 veteran. This will be the 33rd running of this spectacular International cross-country event and returns after a two-year break due to Covid-19 restrictions. The selectors have also included many well-known and experienced runners including Martin and Carla Green from NWRRC, Gemma Moore and Maggie Owen from Eryri Harri

*Llinos Davies from GOG Triathlon crosses the finish line at the Snowdonia race. GOG Triathlon runners packed well at Snowdonia Marathon with mixed emotions for two experienced veteran athletes. By Don Hale and Simon Roxburgh.   The Snowdonia Marathon has twice been voted the UK’s best marathon, and this time it saw another strong entry from GOG Triathlon members with some impressive finishing times despite the challenging weather conditions, and for two inspirational veteran runners, it also included some rather mixed emotions! * Ann  d'Albuquerque  (*above left) with Neil Vicars-Harris at the Snowdonia race. Super vet  Ann d’Alburquerque  probably shed tears of joy after completed this gruelling race and then finding out that she was the 1st F70 age cat winner in 5.19.44. After the race Ann admitted it was a tough but enjoyable race, saying: “After initial rain we had a lovely long dry spell, but the winds and rain returned for the last four miles of mostly muddy trail.” And for

Elizabeth Driscoll (*pictured above) tackled the Cascais Ironman race in style. Report by Don Hale.   It proved to be a happy landing for RAF Air Traffic Controller Elizabeth Driscoll as she successfully navigated her way around the tough Cascais Ironman 70.3-mile course in Portugal last weekend. The experienced North Wales Road Runner who in everyday life has a very responsible role at RAF Valley on Anglesey, tackled three gruelling challenges, which included a difficult 1.2-mile swim, a 56-mile bike ride, and a 13.1-mile run, and all carried out in very hot conditions. *Elizabeth Driscoll (*pictured above) on the finish line after her race. Elizabeth eventually completed the event in 6 hours 33 minutes and 36 seconds and finished in 1,619th place overall, and she was the 262nd female and claimed 14th place in her F55 age cat. This proved to be an incredible performance by this popular endurance athlete who first set her heart on completing this race whilst on secondment last year in