Don Hale Blog

*A great London Marathon debut and a new PB for Steve Bozier. North Wales marathon runners provide welcome boost for charities...report from London, Chester and Chester Metric, Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery, John Hatton, and others.   Marathon mania affected a host of North Wales runners last weekend with some superb performances at the London Marathon, and at both the Chester Metric and Chester Marathon events, with many athletes recording personal best times over the full 26.2-mile distance. NWRRC had two runners in the mass London Marathon race, and one master veteran member who completed the event virtually on Llandudno promenade.  Steve Bozier  (*pictured above) ran an incredible time on his debut in the capital and claimed a massive 41-minute PB to finish in the official time of 3 hours 2 minutes and 4 seconds amongst more than 40,000 runners, with so many obviously delighted to be able to run in London and were fundraising for essential charitable causes following

Ian Turner’s virtual London Marathon charity run for "Breast Cancer Now" on Llandudno promenade this Sunday October 3rd… Report by Don Hale.   North Wales Road Runner Ian Turner will be running his charity marathon challenge of 26.2 miles along Llandudno Promenade this Sunday October 3rd - beginning at about 8.30am onwards – and welcomes any donations and support. The master veteran athlete is running this incredible distance as part of the Virtual London Marathon 2021 - and he is fundraising for  Breast Cancer Now. Ian (*pictured above) has set a potential target of £1,000 and donations can be made via his JustGiving page. He says he has undertaken this challenge in support of his partner Anna, who is a survivor of  Breast Cancer Now , admits the charity needs urgent funding. He confirmed: ‘Income for “ Breast Cancer Now ” has suffered greatly because of the pandemic, and they need to raise vital funds if they are to continue to help and support people with breast cancer, bo

*Helen Hannam completed a successful charity marathon   Helen celebrated virtual London Marathon charity debut Report by Don Hale North Wales Road Runner Helen Hannam celebrated her marathon debut in style last Saturday in what she described as the ‘hardest day of her life,’ bravely running 26.2 miles for charity in the virtual London Marathon. Helen had hoped to run her first race at this distance around the streets of the capital but due to Covid-19 restrictions, she had to plod the roads and cycle routes around her Llandudno home, backed at times by the generous support of several club members. Facing warm and breezy conditions, together with a challenging route from Abergele, and running via Colwyn Bay, Penrhyn Bay, West Shore, Llandudno Junction before eventually finishing on Llandudno Promenade, the popular athlete finally completed her arduous task in 5 hours 36 seconds. Helen particularly praised the backing of colleagues Marina Abed, Nicola Wylie Davies, Llinos Davies, Ell Jay

  NEW – Running for Fun By author, sports writer, and award winning journalist, and former investigative reporter, and editor Don Hale - An amusing look back at his early running and football career – with fitness tips and advice. This short book was originally published in 1986. *The early days from a jogger to a marathon runner (drawing by the late Norman Taylor) NEW RUNNING FOR FUN by Don Hale  Without doubt it is one of the most amusing and yet fully informative books ever written about running. It explains the enthusiasm of the FUN & SERIOUS RUNNER ...    PUBLIC REACTION TO THIS MASTERPIECE: -   * I found that I couldn't put the book down - Foreman at the glue factory. * My own performers were anxious to get their teeth into it - Lion Tamer. * A very useful item, the section on leg injuries was most interesting and it has now stopped my sideboard from wobbling - DIY Enthusiast. * My wife and I both rushed for a copy at the same time – there was nothing else to swat the fly