Don Hale Blog

*Thumbs up from NWRRC member Will Williams in the green vest. North Wales athletes raced the ‘Magic Triangle’ for Euro glory at the prestigious Pulford 10k race... Report by Don Hale. Photos courtesy of John Hatton. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com *Pictured above - the Pulford 10k race winner Logan Rees at the finish line.   A large number of North Wales athletes competed within a massive entry of over 600 elite runners last Sunday at the Pulford 10k, which was a qualifying race for the European Championships. Formerly known as the Cheshire Elite 10k, this prestigious event was staged on the legendary Pulford loop, known in running folklore as ‘The Magic Triangle,’ and is considered to be one of the fastest routes in the UK, and measured to World Athletics standards. The race was a high-quality event and consequently it attracted a star-studded entry and included some of the top runners in the country, who competed against each other in order to bid for international selection. De...

*Carla and Martin Green enjoyed some good results at Wrexham. Good performances by the Road Runners at the Village Bakery Wrexham half-marathon. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Martin Green led the North Wales Running team home at the Village Bakery half marathon race at Wrexham last Sunday with a very impressive display just days after returning from a family holiday. Martin , who now has dual registration with  Meirionnydd RC , recorded a fast time of 1.14.06, in 72nd place overall, out of 1,834 entrants, and he won his M50 age cat.  Will Evans  was another athlete in top form, and he was thrilled with his new PB time of 1.25.34 in 33rd place, whilst Martin’s wife  Carla Green  finished 3rd in her F50 cat in 506th place, and the 47th female, in 1.31.19. Karl Morris ran his fastest time since 2019 in 726th place in 1.39.33, and *Pictured (*above left), Will Evans, with Adam Lemalle, and Cheryl Frost with Kay Hatton, all took part in...

*Pictured above - Will Williams celebrated another positive run. Conwy parkrunners back in action on a waterlogged course after several postponements... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Nearly three-hundred mixed ability athletes took part in the Conwy parkrun last Saturday following a series of postponements due to the weather and severe water problems but faced a very cold breeze and a waterlogged 5k course on their delayed 10th anniversary. Martin Green  was the first  North Wales Road Runner  home, although he also represents  Meirionnydd Runners , due to his dual registration. He finished 7th overall in 17 minutes and 59 seconds and won his VM50 age cat. Will Williams  finished 13th overall and he was 3rd in his VM50 cat in 19.48, with  Sion Thomas  31st in 22.15, and 2nd in his VM40 cat, whilst  Daniel Hennell  enjoyed a good run in 71st place in 25.40.    *Sion Thomas (*above left), with Daniel Henn...

Storm Bert was the only winner as various parkruns and local events hit - but Steve, Martin, and Harry beat the weather. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Storm Bert was the only winner last weekend as heavy rain and gale force winds forced the postponement of numerous sporting events, and in particular some fell and trail races, plus a host of popular parkruns across the area. Planned parkruns at Nova Prestatyn, Penrhyn Castle, Newborough Forest and Conwy, to name but a few, were all cancelled on either Friday night, or early Saturday morning, on essential health and safety grounds, to help protect both volunteers and many hundreds of participants. At Penrhyn Castle  they announced on Friday afternoon: “Unfortunately owing to the weather forecast we’ve been informed that parkrun is cancelled this Saturday.” And the same applied at the  Nova Prestatyn  venue, which is run along the promenade, when they confirmed: “...

*Pictured above - Michael Finnie - back on track at the Indoor 60m race. Veteran track sprinter Michael Finnie won his age cat at the Indoor 60m dash ...plus other race results. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   NWRRC veteran track athlete Michael Finnie won his M65 age cat at the North Wales Indoor Open 60m dash at the Deeside Indoor Athletics Centre at Coleg Cambria, Deeside, last Saturday. He braved the challenging weather conditions en-route caused by Storm Bert, to take part in the sprint event, and he was just a fraction of second down on his previous best time, but said he was still pleased with his fine result of 11.23 seconds. After the event, he admitted that unfortunately the road conditions had restricted the number of competitors, but confirmed: “Not bad, since I haven’t been able to train much due to weather and flu the past week. I think I was a quarter of a second slower than my best.” Michael is hoping to improve...

*Pictured above - Will Evans and his daughter Molly at the Manchester race. Success for North Wales athletes at the Manchester half-marathon...plus other results...including Harry's Abbey Dash success... https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   A North Wales trio of Martin Green, along with Will Evans and his daughter Molly, travelled to Manchester on Sunday to compete in the city’s popular half-marathon race along with about 24,000 other athletes, and recorded some excellent PB times! Martin, ( *pictured right ), who now has dual club registration with Meirionnydd RC, finished well as the 75th male athlete overall in 1 hr 13 mins and 4 seconds and won his VM50 age category.  After the event he confirmed:  “I went flat out for a championship time, and I was on track till around 6/7 miles then dropped off the pace unfortunately, but no complaints, enjoyed the block, took the race on but unfortunately not quite good enough on the day.” Will Evans ...

*The Welsh Masters team pictured (*above) at the Mid Cheshire Summer 5k race (Photo courtesy of team manager Bernie Jones). Four Road Runners wore the red vest of Wales in the Mid Cheshire 5k International race...plus other results. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Four North Wales Road Runners represented their club and country last Friday night at the Mid Cheshire Summer 5k race, with another three club members also competing as worthy individuals. In a star-spangled event, which attracted almost 1,000 top club and elite athletes over this fast and flat course, the quality of the entries from all around the UK, was confirmed by the first forty-six runners all dipping under 15-minutes.  Martin Green, Jonathan Kettle, Steve Gardner, and Karen   Butler  were amongst a Welsh party of 51 top runners who proudly wore the red vest of Wales against a strong England team, with some other athletes wearing the prominent ...