Don Hale Blog

*Jonathan Kettle (NWRC) finished third at the Conwy parkrun last week. Wet and windy parkruns - but they still attracted plenty of tourists...full results round-up... Report by Don Hale donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2025 It was another wet and windy day for most North Wales parkrunners last Saturday morning, yet it still failed to deter a wealth of keen visitors and participants to many a ‘splash and dash’ 5k course. Conwy was no exception where 225 hardy entrants braved the elements and the waterlogged riverside route to record some exceptional times given the circumstances. The first runner home at Conwy however, remained unknown at the time of writing, but there was just six-seconds between the second and third finishers, which included visitor  Jonty Brown  (Buxton AC) on his debut in 18 minutes and 13 seconds, with  Jonathan Kettle  (NWRRC) third in 18.19. Visitor  Beatrice Cordingley  (Sale Harriers) was the first female finisher (7th overall) with a new P...

*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...

*Pictured above - Jonathan Kettle one top form at Chester. Superb PB for Jonathan Kettle at the Chester half-marathon. Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   North Wales Road Runner Jonathan Kettle returned to action at the weekend with a superb performance and claimed a new course PB despite the heat at the Chester half-marathon, finishing 23rd out of 6.539 other runners. After his race he confirmed:  “The Chester half-marathon may have not been my fastest, but I was pleased with a course PB of around one minute, and I didn’t expect it at all.  “I said to someone before the race that you have to go hard enough to risk blowing up to know what you really have on the day, and today I did that, and I didn’t blow up, absolutely loved the pain of the race.”   *Stuart Culverhouse (*above left), with Helen Hannam and Adam Lemalle. Jonathan was one of eight NWRR members who faced the hot dash at Chester and master veteran  Kevin Slattery  was ...

*Pictured above - a group of athletes from Dalzell Runners shown outside the Llandudno Bay Hotel, who are one of the sponsors for the club. Two athletes from Dalzell Runners have passed their Run Leaders course thanks to Cartrefi Conwy... Two enthusiastic athletes from Dalzell Runners have recently passed their Run Leaders course and have thanked Cartrefi Conwy – an independent not-for-profit registered landlord - for their support and sponsorship . *Athletes from Dalzell Runners (*above), are pictured with other local clubs and individuals, who gathered to pay tribute to the memory of John Dalzell, the inspiration for the formation of this club. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Dalzell Runners was formed following the loss of well-known local athlete John Dalzell. This is a brief summary from one of the group’s coaches, and organisers, Tony Price-Jones, confirming the true spirit of a growing community running group, and introduces  two newly qualified Run Leaders.  * ...

*Pictured above - Jonathan Kettle who was the first NWRRC member home. Another fast and well attended event at the Conwy parkrun swamp! Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   It was another good turn-out at Conwy parkrun last Saturday due to a large number of visiting athletes, but the conditions underfoot were horrendous once again, with another swamp-like 5k course for the 300 plus entrants. Despite the waterlogged and challenging route, the first twelve finishers all dipped under the twenty-minute mark, with SW20 runner  Andrew Moore  the first man home with a new PB of 16 minutes and 27 seconds. The second placed finisher was visitor VM40  Aaron Saxton  (Manchester Tri Club), who was pleased with his debut time of 17.41, with fellow VM40 athlete  Frazer Slade  3rd with another PB of 17.52.  The first two female runners were both teenage visitors, with JW15-17  Cara Scott , the first lady in ...

*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 M5...