Don Hale Blog

*Some NWRRC team members at the Holyhead 5-mile race and NW championships. Medals galore for Road Runners in North Wales 5-mile Championship race at Holyhead. Report by Don Hale. Photographs by Steve Jeffery and John  Hatton.   The Holyhead Breakwater 5-mile race attracted a talented mix of over one-hundred elite and club runners for another exciting event following a three-year absence due to Covid-19 restrictions. Well organised by Kevin Clark and his team at Cybi Striders as part of the Holyhead Festival and run over a challenging out and back course from Newry Beach, this year’s race was additionally selected as part of the North Wales championships, and despite some breezy conditions along the long Breakwater barrier, many athletes still recorded some excellent times, and won prestigious medals. The overall race was won by  Alex Poulston  (Wirral AC) in 26 minutes 51 seconds, with  Sam Gunning  (Cybi Striders) 2nd in 27.06, and  Ian Edwards  (Eryri Harriers) 3rd in 28.03.  The fir

*(Above) Ladies race winner and half-marathon record breaker Carla Green. Carla Green was 1st Lady and smashed North Wales record at Rhyl half marathon. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Mike Smith.   North Wales Road Runner Carla Green was the first female finisher at the Rhyl half-marathon last Saturday and celebrated her return from injury by smashing her age category record over this distance.  Carla set a new NWRAC ‘all-time best’ record by completing the sun-drenched and breezy course in just 1 hour 28 minutes and knocked a minute and a half off an impressive record that had stood for more than ten-years! This popular event attracted over 250 quality athletes and the ultra-flat promenade route encouraged everyone who was intent on claiming new personal best times.  The race was eventually won by local athlete J ames Yarwood  (Abergele Harriers) in 1.13.52, with  Daniel Hopwood  2nd in 1.15.41, and  Carl Aveyard  (Shrewsbury AC) 3rd in 1.17.52. *Male and female race winners (*above) C

The Road Relay Championships return to Llandudno Promenade in April 2022. Report by Don Hale. Photo by Steve Jeffery. The North Wales Regional Road Relay Championships will be back in action again this year on Llandudno promenade, offering unique race opportunities for local athletic clubs and mixed ability runners aged from under 11s to seniors, including master veterans aged 70 plus. Organised by race directors John and Kay Hatton from NWRRC, in conjunction with  Paul  Brooks and the North Wales Regional Athletics Council, this exciting event will be held on Saturday 23rd April, following a two-year absence due to Covid-19 restrictions. The first race will start at 11am and will follow a 1km outward route starting along the promenade opposite Venue Cymru to the Cenotaph, and for the majority of runners as identified below, it will involve individual athletes running laps back and forth of either 2k or 4k, dependent upon their respective age categories, as part of a three-person relay

*Family members and recipients of the Hall of Fame awards are pictured (back row l-r): Paul Brooks, the secretary of the NWRAC, Bernard Harris, Gareth Hughes, Mark Dunn, Kerry Woolrich and Rob Ross; and (front row l-r), Llinos Williams, Denise Harris and Debbie Ross. North Wales athletics’ officials honoured at special “Hall of Fame” Induction ceremony. Report by Don Hale. Photographs by Don Hale and *Paul Brooks.   Many long serving and distinguished officials, both past and present, from the world of North Wales athletics were awarded prestigious “Hall of Fame” trophies last week in recognition of their many years of dedicated service to the sport. In a special Induction ceremony staged last Friday evening at the Eirias Park Sports Stadium in Colwyn Bay and organised by the North Wales Regional Athletics Council (NWRAC), eight nominees and/or their family members were presented with awards to acknowledge their generous voluntary support. Paul Brooks, the secretary of the NWRAC, who w

Personal best time for Carla Green in Welsh 5k test race Report by Don Hale. All photographs courtesy of Paul Brooks.   Carla Green continued with her excellent form last weekend and knocked more than a minute off her previous personal best (PB) time during the welcome resumption of the “live” Welsh 5k series of races on the Marsh Tracks at Rhyl. The North Wales Road Runner finished as the 8th female athlete, and she was 2nd in her respective F45 age category on this popular lapped course held last Saturday afternoon as part of a special Welsh Athletics test event. The race, originally targeted at elite runners, attracted a host of high-quality athletes from across Wales, and the results naturally reflected the high standard of entrants. For the ladies, despite Carla enjoying a great run in 19 mins 9 seconds, the race was won by Carol Parsons (Cheshire Dragons) in 17.49, with Emma Crowe (Deeside AC) 2nd female finisher and the 1st F45 runner in 18.00, with Tracy Rogers (Buckley AC) 3rd