Don Hale Blog

*Pictured above and below - some exclusive photos by John Hatton at Conwy. CONWY PARKRUN COULD SOON BE BACK ON TRACK  Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com Conwy parkrun could soon be back on track.    North Wales athletics official and popular event organiser John Hatton, who is also the MC at the Conwy parkrun, enjoyed a unique site visit to view the ongoing construction work to the riverside path from the RSPB Nature Reserve to the Bridge, and understands that it may soon re-open to the public! The parkrun was suspended earlier this year to help accommodate essential work on a new cycle track towards Betws-y-Coed which covers a section of their course. He has now been advised by a construction manager that it should all be tarmacked, fenced, and finished in time for the Deganwy Dash at the end of May, and currently it all seems to be slightly ahead of schedule. John confirmed: "I had full site visit this morning of the pathway. It looks really good...

*Stuart Culverhouse (*above left), with his son Joe and daughter Sophia at the Nova parkrun at Prestatyn last Saturday morning where they all won their cats. Unique family hat-trick of parkrun age cat wins at Nova...plus other results... Report by Don Hale. Penrhyn photos by Michael Finnie. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com     It was a unique family hat-trick of age category victories for NWRRC veteran Stuart Culverhouse, together with his son Joe, and daughter Sophia at the Nova parkrun at sun-drenched Prestatyn last Saturday. Junior  Joe  finished 10th overall and he won his JM11-14 age cat with an impressive time of 20.38, whilst his dad  Stuart  just one place and seven-seconds behind Joe, and he won his VM50 age cat in 20.46, with  Sophia  also enjoying another good performance in 109th place in 30.05, and she won her JW15-17 age cat. After the parkrun Stuart admitted:  “My f irst run post marathon and my legs still felt heavy. Great to ...

*Gold medal winners - father and son - Dave and Steve Gardner. Another golden haul of championship track & field medals for father and son at North Wales event. Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   Father and son veteran athletes Dave and Steve Gardner added a further two gold medals each to their impressive collection, following some excellent performances at the North Wales Track & Field Championships held last weekend at the Treborth Track near Bangor. Super vet  Dave Gardner  improved on his previous efforts in his VM85 age category and may have set potentially new Welsh Masters Athletics records in both the shot and javelin events, whilst his son  Steve Gardner,  also enjoyed tremendous success and struck gold as an MV60 runner in the 400m and 800m races. After their events, Steve confirmed:  “ My Dad and I competed in the NW track meeting yesterday in lovely sunny conditions with little wind, coming home with two gold m...

To Spot a Leopard:  The latest novel by celebrated author Wilfred Summers . *Now available on Amazon as a paperback book.  This is a link to Amazon:  https://amzn.to/4m85JCa   Special Book review: To Spot a Leopard by Wilfred Summers. Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com About the Author. Wilfred Summers (*pictured below), was born in Liverpool and as a two-year-old he was taken into the care of the National Children’s Home. Coincidentally with WWII he was cared for at Ballacloan, the NCH Home in Ramsey, Isle of Man.  On VJ Day he had just been sent to Nottingham for secondary education, and later moved to Highbury in London where he trained as an electrician. At 17 he was reunited with his mother and introduced to younger siblings; on his 21st birthday he joined the Royal Air Force and served in Singapore as an Aircraft Engineer.  However, the tropical heat adversely affected his health, and he was shipped back to Britain and rec...

 Sp ecial book review:  MUCKERS by Eamon Kavanagh: Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   *Now available on Amazon as a paperback print version, an ebook, and also as an audio book.  These are the links:    This is a very interesting book about a real local character and a former Man City player who has survived some tough times throughout his challenging career. *Paperback :  https://amzn.to/44qjVA9 *Ebook:  https://amzn.to/4d8ztup *Audio book on Amazon and Audible:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DXTZJ9T7#   MUCKERS by Eamon Kavanagh:   This is the true and often dramatic life story about a very popular northern lad, Eamon Kavanagh, from the busy market town of Bury, and it follows his numerous ups and downs over many decades, including his early career as promising young footballer with Manchester City, which unfortunately became marred following abuse from a trusted football coach. MUCKERS highlights how he so...

*Ultra runners Ben and Sarah Hudson (*above) in the MK half-marathon race. North Wales trio tackle Milton Keynes marathon races. Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com Three North Wales based runners competed in the Milton Keynes marathon and half-marathon events last Sunday, and they all recorded some good times. Stuart Culverhouse  (*pictured right), opted for a the full marathon and he set a new PB marathon time of 3 hours 38 minutes and 4 seconds, and after his race he confirmed: “A new PB by around 1 min 50 secs. It could have been better. I hung on to the 3:30 pacer for a while, but my legs gave up with 4 miles to go. Still really happy, even if I can't get up off the floor as I type this.” Ultra runners Ben and Sarah Hudson ran in the half-marathon race with Ben shaking off an ankle injury to finish in 1 hour 51 minutes and 58 seconds, whilst Sarah’s time was also very good in 1.53.47.  What made their times even remarkable was the fact that b...

*Pictured above - Paul Stroud and his son Leo are shown in the Tower race. The Tokyo Tower Climb: A distinct and unique challenge! Introduction by Don Hale.  This report includes a unique and exclusive   account of how ex-pat and enthusiastic  veteran runner and language teacher  Paul Stroud, tackled the famous Tokyo Tower Climb in Japan last  December - and is now all set to do it all again with his son and daughter in June! Ex-pat Paul Stroud is a prolific author and an excellent language teacher who originally hails from Brighton in the UK. He is also an enthusiastic runner, and a keen football fan, and now lives and works in the thriving Japanese city of Tokyo.  Paul moved to San Francisco when he was just 22, then relocated to Tokyo when he hit 40. He worked in a typical language school from 2000-2008 before going his own way and eventually opened the current family-owned language school with his wife Marie.  In August this year, they will ce...

Cool and breezy, but a very busy Bank Holiday for parkrunners. Report by Don Hale.  https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com   The Nova parkrun at Prestatyn welcomed just over 300 mixed ability athletes to this popular venue last Saturday on a cool and breezy morning. The first three finishers were all debutants and visitors to the Nova course, with Lewis Morris ( West Cheshire AC ), celebrating his first trip with a fast time of just 17 minutes and 11 seconds.  He was closely followed by a couple of visiting members from Shrewsbury AC , in Paul Aston, who finished 2nd in 17.29, and JM15-17 junior, Toby Aston, who claimed the 3rd spot in 18.40, whilst another promising JM15-17 junior included Colwyn Bay youngster Iwan Roberts, who ran well in 4th place with a new course PB in 18.45. The 1st female finisher was Eve Manifold (21st overall), from Prestatyn RC in 21.53, with Jess Jaques 2nd (29th), on her debut in 22.26, and then quite surprisingly, Sarah Buckley and Alex Buckley fr...