Don Hale Blog

*Pictured above - North Wales Road Runner Steve Gardner with his M60 gold medal at the Cardiff Indoor Arena. Gold medal winners at the Welsh Masters 3000m championships at Cardiff...plus January indoor updates. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk Brett Davis, a director of WMAL has just confirmed the gold medal winners and results from the various 3000m championship races for both male and female athletes from last Sunday at the Cardiff Indoor Stadium. North Wales Road Runner  Steve Gardner  made the long journey south once again to record an excellent time in his veteran M60 age category in a time of 10 minutes and 37 seconds to claim a new PB. After his event Steve, who deservedly struck gold, later said : “ I competed at the 3000m champs in Cardiff yesterday, and I was very pleased with my performance in a time of 10.37, which was a new pb for me, 25 seconds faster than my previous outdoor time set earlier in the year.  ...

Welsh Masters Sprint events confirmed for 26th January at Cardiff Indoor Centre...and see details for 12th Jan meeting. Introduction by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk URGENT UPDATE:  It has now been agreed and confirmed by Welsh Masters Athletics officials that the forthcoming meeting in Cardiff at the National Indoor Athletics Centre on 12th January will include the 800m and 1500m championships. *Also, please note:   Brett Davis ,  a Director of   Welsh Masters Athletics Limited, has confirmed some important updates to other varied indoor meetings: * The 800m and 1500m events on the  12th January  are available to enter now. * Sprints will now be included with the meeting on the  26th January. Brett Davis, has additionally confirmed this week:  Hi all,  I’ve had the nod that the sprints meet on 26th January  is due to go live this week (or later based on previous go live dates). Having seen th...

*Pictured above - Martin and Carla Green at Conwy parkrun. Cold, wet, and windy at Conwy parkrun - with tributes paid to fallen athlete Rob Porter. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   It was back to the cold wind, rain, and numerous puddles on the Conwy 5k parkrun course last Saturday as two-hundred mixed ability athletes returned following a few weeks of stop, starts, and cancellations due to various storms. This week’s event also paid tribute to former regular parkrunner Rob Porter , who sadly lost his life whilst taking part at a similar event at Conwy almost exactly 5-years ago. North Wales Road Runners  entered thirteen members with  Martin Green  leading the team home in 6th place overall, and he was 2nd in his VM50 age cat in 19.32, but it proved a real battle of Wills for the next placings with  Will Evans  and  Will Williams  in close pursuit, and they finished just a few seconds and in c...

The Lions Club of Llandudno's Boxing Day Sea Dip... No online but you can enter on the day. Report by John Chambers. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com **URGENT UPDATE: Online entries for this year's Boxing Day Dip have NOW CLOSED, but you can still enter on the day, but please arrive early as it looks to be a record year for entries. Last year, 200 Dippers took to the water and raised thousands for many good causes. We hope to match that number of Dippers again. You can pre-register for the Dip by following the link below and filling out the form. We will then email you with the preregister form, Dip rules and sponsorship forms. You can raise money for the Lions Club of Llandudno or you can raise money for your favourite charity. https://forms.office.com/r/kL1KgnYgAw However, you can register on the day from 10am. The Dip takes place at 11:30am promptly so get registered early. This is a Dip not a swim so each Dipper will get a certificate for there efforts but there are priz...

British Masters Indoor Pentathlon/3000m/open events Urgent update: Thank you for the prompt response from many people but we still need more. The survey closes at 9 am tomorrow morning.   https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com Dear Masters Athletes, Our indoor meeting at Sheffield has become a regular fixture in the BMAF winter season in recent years but it always a challenge because it is much more expensive than Lee Valley.  This isn't critical if we get good turnout but after making a provisional booking the venue for 26 January we have delayed making a final decision by various resourcing issues. This week is now the crunch time to confirm the event is going ahead.  We need a large turnout to make it financially viable, but we are very reluctant to cancel it. The facilities there are superb and there nothing comparable within 160 miles. If all goes well this year, then we can sure as we can be to continue with it each year thereafter.   *Please use this link to re...

SPECIAL FLASHBACK FEATURE:  When Conwy parkrun beat Covid and reached the World Cup Final. Exclusive report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Last Saturday, Conwy parkrun and hundreds of similar parkruns across the UK, fell victim to Storm Darrah, with event organisers quickly taking the essential and important decision to cancel for the second time in the past three weeks. This temporary lull in busy parkrun and local running events however, reminded me of the torrid time of Covid, which struck in 2020, and continued for much of the next 18-months, with a long series of events postponed. This was a time however, when due to restrictive circumstances, Chester parkrun officials introduced a unique and innovative online competition to try to find the most popular parkrun globally, with a special  World Cup of Global Tourism  event, encouraging parkrun participants and their supporters, to vote online for their favourite location. The response was extraord...

*(Above): Bernie Jones (centre) with award recipients Duncan Longley, Mike  Davis, Dave Hughes and Roger Harrison-Jones. George Nixon was not present. Five long serving members of Prestatyn Running Club recognised at festive lunch .    A total of over 200 years of involvement in athletics by five members of  Prestatyn Running Club were recognised at a pre-Christmas lunch.  The club is unique throughout the region in having so many long serving  members who are still active, and tribute to their remarkable record was  paid by Bernie Jones , secretary of the North Wales Cross-Country Association  at an event at the Eagle and Child, Gwaenysgor.  Welsh Athletics meritorious awards for at least 15 years' service were  presented to former club chairman Mike Davis and to the current post-holder  Duncan Longley.   Duncan joined the club in the mid-1990s and has filled a variety of roles,  including chief marshal at regional ...

Menai Suspension Bridge is back in the race! Report by Don Hale & Emma McIntyre. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Following numerous sporting problems caused by successive storms across North Wales in recent weeks, we can now confirm something positive and uplifting with news that the ever-popular 2025 Jones o Gymru Anglesey Half Marathon & 10k, will again include the famous Menai Suspension Bridge next March. This announcement is an exciting and welcome update for hundreds of runners, and especially for local charities and fundraisers, as for the first time in three years, the iconic  Suspension Bridge  will be back as a key attraction within the race route!  Now in its 14th year, this much-loved event has historically started at the famous Menai landmark, attracting runners from across the country, and beyond, to this stunning starting line.  However, since October 2022, essential maintenance work temporarily removed the Bridge from the course, yet n...

CONWY PARKRUN:  Unfortunately due to the forecast conditions tomorrow (*Saturday 7th December), we will be cancelling this weekend. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com

*Pictured above - The prolific South Yorkshire author Mac Mckechnie. Special Coast and Country Author Spotlight Feature Welcome to another new author feature in conjunction with Amazon. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Star-Bound, The Red Kite and Seasons of Faith.   Published by North Wales based firm:   www.bookpublishing4u.co.uk   *Mac Mckechnie is a prolific writer who has already published several fascinating books  including  his new science fiction book - STAR-BOUND, plus his  compilation  book SEASONS OF FAITH, and an interesting children's book - THE RED KITE, and says he many other  thrilling  sci-fi projects in the pipeline. Read Mac’s fascinating new book - Star-Bound - now available on Amazon via this link:   https://amzn.to/4eVKVZN   ABOUT THE AUTHOR : Mac Mckechnie. *Read Mac’s fascinating new book - Star-Bound - now available on Amazon via this link:   https://amzn.to/4eVKVZN Mac Mckechnie lives in Barns...