Don Hale Blog

Bronze medal for Jonathan Kettle at tough Anglesey Trail half-marathon. Report by Don Hale.   Three NWRRC athletes took part in the Anglesey trail races last Sunday with Jonathan Kettle winning a deserved bronze medal in the tough half-marathon race after finishing 3rd in this prestigious and challenging event. *A bronze medal for Jonathan Kettle at the Anglesey half-marathon. Jonathan  fought a keen battle throughout with the eventual winner  Russell Bentley  (Eryri Harriers) and  James Logue  to claim a welcome place on the podium. The winning time was 1 hour 18 minutes and 18 seconds, with James recording 1.24.29, and Jonathan 1.28.30, and 2nd place in his MV40 age category. After the race Jonathan commented: ' What a stunning route and even though it makes racing tough when  there  is no one close to race, but good for the head even if the body is suffering.' *Jonathan Kettle at Newborough in the Anglesey half-marathon. (*Photo by Steve Michael Lyall). *Steve Bozier (*pictu

*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

Podium place for Steve Bozier at Snowdonia Epic Trail 10k race - and a great team effort. Report by Don Hale.   Five club runners took part in the highly challenging Snowdonia Epic Trail 10k race last Sunday in the rain where Steve Bozier enjoyed an exceptional run to claim a podium position as the 3rd placed finisher. *Steve Bozier put in a great performance to finish 3rd in the Snowdonia Trail race and he is pictured (*top of page) and (*above centre) in the white top appearing as a giant on the start line. Steve ran an amazing 48 minutes 53 seconds, and he was also 2nd in his respective age category. The race also recorded some other notable team performances from  Dave Spofforth ,  Liz Driscoll ,  Hannah Griffiths , and  Samantha Williams , with a couple of the members only recruited at the last minute. *Some good running from the ladies at the Snowdonia Trail race (pictured l-r), Hannah Griffith, Sam Williams and Liz Driscoll. *Another excellent  result  for Dave Spofforth (*pictu

*Steve Bozier (right) descending the Orme with Richard Scamans STEVE COMPLETES ULTRA-MARATHON AROUND THE ORME FOR MUCH LOVED FISHERMEN Report by Don Hale North Wales Road Runner Steve Bozier battled strong gale-force winds and freezing hail showers to complete a gruelling six-laps of the Great Orme at Llandudno last Saturday to help raise funds in the search for three much loved local fishermen. Steve Bozier (third from left) with Richard Scamans, Lesley Goodson, and Karl Morris Steve, a popular local bus driver and keen endurance athlete from Llandudno, mastered about 33-miles (53.39 kms) and over 1,000 meters of climb, during his ultra-marathon run, supported by club colleagues, in his bid to help pay for an intensive search by deep sea experts to locate the missing fishing boat  Nicola Faith  and her crew of three. The boat disappeared suddenly at the end of January, and Steve, who is a long-time family friend of one of the missing men, Ross Ballantine, felt he needed ‘to do somethi

                                          *Steve Bozier (photo by Mark Edwards). Steve plans Orme ultra-marathon to help fund search for missing fishermen Report by Don Hale. Endurance athlete Steve Bozier intends to run at least five gruelling laps of the Great Orme next weekend in a bid to help raise funds towards essential equipment needed in the search for three missing crew members of the fishing boat  Nicola Faith . *The missing fishing boat pictured previously at her home port in Conwy Steve, from Llandudno, who is member of North Wales Road Running Club, said: ‘I am going to run at least five laps of the Orme to complete a marathon distance, but it’s going to be a tough one. I know it’s four miles from toll to toll, so I’m aiming for five laps, and if enough money is raised, I might even go for six laps. ‘The extra lap would make this an ultra-marathon  challenge, which is completely unknown territory for me. It will be extremely difficult, but worth it to help the families fin

Spanish runners claim North Wales vests during club challenge They say the camera never lies, and at first glance it would appear that several members of North Wales Road Running Club have abandoned the current freezing temperatures to enjoy some welcome Spanish sunshine…but rest assured Covid restrictions have NOT been ignored, and the photographs simply relates to members of the Fondistes Running Club, near Barcelona, who proudly wear the vests of their rivals after claiming prizes from the recent International relay challenge. Pictured (above and below), members of the Fondistes Running club in Spain. Members of the Spanish athletic club should have come to Wales last summer for a friendship exchange, but plans were suddenly curtailed due to the worldwide pandemic.   NWRRC club chairman Kevin Slattery therefore organised a 5k inter-club relay at the end of last year, with mixed gender and ability teams representing both clubs. The event proved a huge success with forty athletes taki