Don Hale Blog

*Pictured above - Martin and Carla Green at the 5k international Masters race. North Wales athletes starred for Wales against England Masters Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   A large number of North Wales based athletes formed part of the Welsh Masters team that competed at the Shrewsbury 5k Running Festival last Saturday against England Masters. Meirionnydd RC  had two members in the top ten finishers including  Rhodri Owen , who was 3rd overall out of 331 elite runners in 14.57, with  Tomos Roberts  7th in 15.11, and former  NWRRC  member  Martin Green , a top veteran, now with his new first claim club, also enjoyed a great run in 53rd place in 16.53.   *Will Williams (*above left), with Cheryl Frost and Karen Butler. North Wales Road Runners  had five members involved with the famous red vest, and they all recorded good times with  Will Williams  104th in 18.12,  Steve Gardner  140th in ...

*NWRRC athlete Gwen Charlton (*above right), heads towards the finish line at the London Marathon. Some personal stories by North Wales athletes in the London and Manchester Marathons... Special Marathon’s sporting feature: Introduction by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   This is a brief sporting spotlight featuring a number of the many North Wales based athletes who took part in last weekend’s London or Manchester Marathons, with a few even overcoming personal tragedies in order to compete, and most also raising some much-needed funds for local charities. It would be impossible of course, to mention everyone who took part, but this article will at least give a voice to some key individuals who have made a determined effort with hard training throughout the winter to ensure they were ready to start and finish one of the most gruelling races ever, over 26.2 miles.  This is a summary of their personal challenges: Fast time at London for Martin Green. Martin Green, ...

*Pictured above - Sarah and Ben Hudson after completing their run. Sarah and Ben Hudson completed the Trimpell 20-miler in their ultra season build up, and as preparation for the Boston  Marathon... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Ultra distance veteran athletes Sarah Ferguson Hudson and her husband Ben continued with their amazing training exploits last Sunday morning by competing in the Trimpell 20-mile race. At the time of writing, the full results had not been confirmed, but this popular pair turned in some excellent performances once again, with Ben running home in 2 hrs 57 minutes, and Sarah in very close pursuit in 3 hrs and 3 seconds. After the race Sarah confirmed:  “The event was not chipped timed, and they have not put the results out yet, but yesterday’s lovely Trimpell 20 went all along the river/estuary at Lancaster. It was a great little race for Spring marathon training.  “Not quite the times we wanted but being at 11.00am,...

MY FINAL MEDIA REPORT FOR NORTH WALES ROAD RUNNERS. Special note from Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com This is my final post and newspaper report for North Wales Road Runners after about 8 years of extensive coverage and publicity. This is a copy of my report in the NW Weekly News today, including a good story about the controversy concerning the new cycle track at the RSPB Nature Reserve, that will affect the Conwy parkrun for about 14 weeks, and may even put the future of this popular event into jeopardy. My thanks to all the club members for their support. I will continue to write about athletics and other sports and business features on my blog, but this is my sign-off from NWRRC. Thanks.

*Pictured above - NWRRC veteran track athlete Steve Gardner. Steve Gardner recorded two new PBs against the new ‘Coe and Ovett’ at British Champs... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   North Wales Road Runner Steve Gardner recorded two new personal best times on the track last weekend at the British Masters championships against the new ‘Coe and Ovett’ pair of elite racers. Steve, who is a top Welsh Master, and an international veteran track athlete, smashed his previous times in the 800m and 1500m races, and he is almost certain to have broken the previous 800m Welsh record, yet to be verified. After his busy weekend, he confirmed:  “I have just got home from the BMAF Championships held at the Lee Valley Indoor Stadium, which is the culmination of the Indoor season for me.  “I competed in the 800m on Saturday finishing in 4th place in my V60 age category in a new personal best (PB) time of 2.19.14, and I suspect that this may be a new Welsh V60 re...

*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 - Steve Bozier with a crowd of runners at the start. Tough challenge for the Road Runners at the final Coed y Brenin Winter Trail Race... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Eight North Wales Road Runners competed in the tough Coed y Brenin 7-mile Winter Trail Race last Saturday and recorded some excellent results amongst the 449 finishers. This final event included some challenging terrain with some stunning beauty and was run along single tracks and footpaths through the  Coed y Brenin Forest Park , which left a sting in the tail! Benjamin Brummit  led the NWRRC team home in 36th place in 57 minutes and 7 seconds, and it was a close encounter for  Sion Thomas  and  Steve Bozier , with Sion 81st in 63.43, and Steve 86th in 64.17. And it was a similar story for  Steve Poupart  and  Rob Haines , with Steve finishing in 117th place in 67.37, with Rob just one place and seven-seconds adrift. Dave Jones  al...

Open meeting invite for Welsh Masters athletes at T&F event in Swindon in April. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk Welsh Master Athletics have received an invitation from Swindon Harriers to all their members to take part in track and field events in Swindon next April. Swindon Harriers are hosting its Mark Cawte Open Meeting on Sunday 6th  April 2025, *see link below, please pass on to your club members and any other people who you know might be interested. Track events, 80m, 150m, 300m, 600m, 1000m, 3000m & 300m Hurdles. Field events, High Jump, Long Jump, Shot Put, Discus, Hammer, Javelin & Pole Vault.   Roster Athletics · Mark Cawte Memorial Open Meeting   Regards, Kieran Golding Swindon Harriers Officials Secretary