Don Hale Blog

*Steve Gardner won two gold medals at the North Wales championships. Two gold medals for Steve Gardner in the North Wales track championships. Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   Team GB and Welsh International track star Steve Gardner won two prestigious gold medals in the North Wales Track & Field championships last weekend. The experienced and highly versatile veteran athlete, who has recently celebrated continued success in both steeplechase track events, and at top Sprint Duathlon races, was delighted to win his MV60age category in both the 800m and 1500m events. After his races Steve confirmed:   “I competed in the  North Wales Track and Field Outdoor Champs at Treborth  yesterday.  The meeting was for athletes of various ages, however, the younger athletes far outnumbered the Masters’ contingent. “I competed in the 800m consisting of mixed gender and age range finishing in 6th place overall in a time of 2.21.64. A ...

*Pictured above - the start of the Conwy parkrun on the Cob. Numbers boost at Conwy parkrun and at many other parkruns. Report by Don Hale. Photos courtesy of Michael (Pat) Finnie. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   The postponement due to varied reasons of four North Wales parkruns last weekend provided a boost to the numbers at Conwy parkrun, and a few other local events last Saturday morning, plus the improved weather conditions. Iain Burgess  was the outstanding first finisher at  Conwy  with a new course PB in 18.09, and  Robert Evans  (NWRRC) was next in 18.46, with  James Williams  (Lymm Runners) third in 19.04.  *Iain Burgess (*above left) was the first finisher at Conwy parkrun, with Gemma Moore, the first female finisher, and Elin  Jones, who finished third with a PB. *The ladies event was also a close fought contest with  Gemma Moore  (Eryri Harriers) eventually claiming the top spot (5th overa...

*Pictured above - Steve Gardner smashed another record at The North Wales Endurance  open meeting at Deeside last weekend. (Photo by Bill Scrivens). Steve Gardner smashed the record at the NW 1500m steeplechase open race... Report by Don Hale. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   NWRRC veteran and team GB athlete Steve Gardner competed in the North Wales Endurance open race meeting at Deeside last Friday night and recorded a new personal best time of 5 minutes 22 seconds and smashed the record in the 1500m steeplechase race. Steve confirmed: “There were no medals awarded as this was just an open meeting. I ran with the girl's as the barrier height for them is the same height as V60 male at 76.2cm, the barrier height for men is higher, and I finished 2nd overall. “I  raced on Friday night and achieved a new PB, which just dipped under my previous best of 5.23.83, which currently stood as UK V60 All Time best performance.  “Whilst V60 steeplechase cham...

*Steve Gardner - pictured above and below - at the British Champs where he was representing Tim Tri Cymru. Double boost for Welsh Master  Steve  Gardner with two new international Team GB dates for Sprint Duathlons in 2027. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog Welsh Master and track star Steve Gardner has just been selected to represent Team Great Britain in his MV60 age category at two major international Sprint Duathlon Championships during next year following his success at some prestigious recent events. This week, he confirmed:  “It’s been an exceptionally good few weeks lately. Within the last half hour, I have received an email confirming that I have qualified to represent Great Britain - age group team in the World Sprint Duathlon Championships in Edmonton Canada 2027 following my performance at the British Sprint Duathlon Champs at Oulton Park recently.  “And just seven days earlier, after winning the V60 age group at the Scottish Sprint Duathl...

Good mix of varied ability athletes at a busy Rhos parkrun - plus NW results round up... Report by Don Hale. Conwy photos by Micheal Finnie. * *Steve Gardner is pictured right. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   It proved to be another bumper turn-out at the Llandrillo yn Rhos parkrun last Saturday with a generous mix of top junior and senior club runners, plus numerous first timers, social runners and walkers. Six out of the first ten finishers at  Rhos  were debutants, including many talented youngsters, all testing their paces against each other.  Surprisingly though, in a sprint finish, VM35 athlete  Aled Hughes  (GOG Triathlon) eventually claimed the top spot with a new course PB in 17 minutes and 11 seconds, whilst JM11-14 youngster  Finlay Potter  (Warriors Pentathlon & AC) finished just two-seconds behind Aled in 17.13, and  Craig Connor  (Chester Tri-Club) took the third spot, and he was only another f...

    *Pictured above - Jonathan Kettle (NWRRC) received his MV50 age cat award. Trawsfynydd Lake race in support the South Snowdonia Mountain Rescue Team. Report by Don Hale. Lake photos by John Hatton. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog   Over two hundred athletes helped to raise thousands of pounds for the South Snowdon Mountain Rescue team on Sunday by competing in the North Wales SSSART Trawsfynydd 8.5-mile race around the Lake. This popular annual event combined a challenging, undulating, yet picturesque road and trail course through the (Eryri) Snowdonia National Park from near Blaenau, Ffestiniog, and attracted numerous experienced fell and trail runners from across the UK.   *The first finisher at the Snowdonia multi-terrain race was Stefan Sayer (Menai T&F) pictured left, with the first female athlete Lydia Sharpe, and Carla Green (NWRRC) Steffan Sayer  (Menai Track & Field) was the first finisher overall after recording an excell...

*Event organiser Dave Munday (*second from the right) with his North Wales group at the Father Collins parkrun near Dublin last Saturday. North Wales parkrun group trip to Dublin report from Saturday 11th April 2026... Special update from Dave Munday – the trip organiser - and the editor from parkrun North Wales. donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog *Flying the flag (*above) for North Wales with a group including people who have competed all the regional parkruns, and (*below right) Andrew and Nan Roberts pictured at the Malahide parkrun. It was an early start as the ferry left Holyhead at 4a.m! The smiling faces from the parkrun tourists started to arrive and we were all in high spirits as we boarded the ferry and found somewhere to get our heads down for a few hours’ sleep, before we arrived in Dublin at 7am . Different groups were heading to different parkruns with Fairview, Father Collins and Malahide being the main three that people were heading towards. I was with a...

*Pictured above - flashback to a previous start at the Llandrillo yn Rhos parkrun. 10,000th finisher milestone possible at Rhos this week? donhaleblog.blogspot.com/2026 coastandcountry.blog Report by Dave Munday, the organiser of the parkrun North Wales Facebook site.   As you all know this site is about promoting the 17 North Wales parkruns and especially the stats and figures that they produce. One thing other regions flag up is milestones on overall attendances since the parkrun started. In North Wales our highest overall attendance is Conwy parkrun with 111,614 finishers, it was such a shame that this site was not going for the 100,000th finisher, as that would have been great to capture that, and who was it that crossed the line, I will work it out and contact the Conwy parkrun team. This year, we will have different parkruns hitting different milestones and I will post up on here. The 1st one could be this weekend as  Y Promenâd parkrun, Llandrillo-yn-Rhos...