Don Hale Blog

*Ben and Sarah Hudson pictured in the sun before the Cyprus downpour. Report by Don Hale. NWRRC Husband and wife team Sarah and Ben Hudson expected a run in the sun during the Cyprus marathon but instead faced a constant downpour and were thankful to avoid being struck by lightning! Despite the unexpected and very soggy conditions Ben still recorded his second fastest marathon time finishing 77th overall out of 238 visiting runners in 3 hours 39 minutes and 47 seconds, whilst Sarah continued her excellent form and said she was over the moon to just dip under the four-hour barrier. *(Pictured left) Ben ran his second fastest marathon despite the very wet conditions, and (*below) sheer joy for Sarah after recording a sub-4 marathon time. Sarah finished in 121st place overall, and she was the 14th female athlete in a superb time of 3.58.47. Afterwards, she confirmed: ‘Cyprus marathon done and dusted. North Wales you have been “out rained,” and I was relieved not to have another close ...

   *Harry Driscoll was the first club runner home at the Conwy  Parkrun. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   Conwy parkrun returned to action again following the intervention of Storm Arwen the previous Saturday, but numbers were down due to a clash with other fixtures and a cold blustery wind. The event was won by tourist Ben Hague (Rotherham Harriers) in a PB of 17 minutes 9 seconds, and his club colleague Tammy Hague, also won her VW35-39 age cat in 23.03 and was the 2nd female athlete. Nic Brook (Eryri Harriers) had a great run finishing in 3rd place overall, and the 4th place was taken by international long-distance traveller Bernabe Sanchez Naffziger (Singapore Shufflers) in 19.08. North Wales Road Runners  entered nine athletes amongst the 164 finishers and  Harry Driscoll  was the first club man home finishing 5th overall in 19 minutes 22 seconds to win his SM20-24 age category, and  Sean Butler  was another cat winner of h...

*NWRRC athletes Lesley Goodson (*left) and Sarah  Ferguson Hudson. Report by Don Hale. Photographs by Sarah Ferguson Hudson & Steve Jeffery.   Race organisers from the Betws y Coed Trail Challenge events had to call in a determined group of volunteers and supporters last Saturday morning to help clear the course following the aftermath of Storm Arwen, and ongoing weather problems, which had left dozens of fallen trees blocking or restricting several planned routes. *Pictured (above and below) some fallen trees blocked the 5k course. The exceptional gales, heavy rain, and dangerous conditions on Friday night and during the early hours of Saturday morning provided trail officials with a nightmare scenario, but within hours a team of athletes and supporters cleared the way for five out of the six races to go ahead. Initially organisers stated: ‘ Thanks to everyone that has been in touch this morning, the weather here is fine, and we have no snow. We’ve been up on the routes a...

*Jonathan Kettle (*above) set a hot pace around the freezing 16-mile race circuit at Oulton Park, Cheshire, last Sunday morning. Report by Don Hale.   Jonathan Kettle set an incredibly hot pace around the freezing cold Oulton Park racing circuit on Sunday morning to easily win his 16-mile endurance race which formed part of the final events schedule for the 2021 Running Grand Prix promotions. The event held at Little Budworth, Tarporley, included a variety of six different distance races ranging from a 5k to a full marathon, but the talented North Wales Road Runner soon hit top gear in his preferred distance race and adopted cruise control around each of the gruelling six-laps of this famous and undulating course before dipping under the chequered flag. Jonathan deservedly claimed 1st place overall, despite the bitterly cold and windy conditions, and he also claimed another podium placing after winning his MV45 age cat in 1 hour 36 minutes and 36 seconds.  And quite remarkably...

*Carla and Martin Green both won their age categories at Conwy Records smashed despite cool and blustery conditions at Conwy half-marathon. Report by Don Hale. Photo’s courtesy of Mick Hall and NWRRC members. Records were smashed and many North Wales athletes celebrated prestigious age category wins at the re-scheduled Conwy half-marathon last Sunday despite cool and very blustery conditions. And it was a particularly close-run contest amongst the elite athletes with many of the top six positions constantly changing places as they battled their way from Conwy Castle and back via the Great Orme, with 17-runners dipping under 80 minutes over a very challenging course. Gary Priestley  (Salford Harriers) eventually claimed an overall victory with a tremendous display to win the race in 1 hour 10 minutes 28 seconds, and he was more than a minute clear of second-placed  Michael Young  (West Cheshire AC) in 1.12.12, with  Tom Roberts  (Meirionnydd RC) just 20-seconds a...

Troy Kettle performed well on his debut for North Wales team. Report by Don Hale.   Promising young Road Runner Troy Kettle (*pictured above top) made his debut for North Wales last Saturday in the tough Inter-Counties challenge race staged within the Meerbrook 15k in Staffordshire. Student Troy made a very impressive start to his representative career and helped the county team to claim the runners-up spot against some quality opposition. The NWRRC athlete finished 27th overall in 69 minutes 49 seconds. Troy’s talented father, and a highly respected top athletics coach, Jonathan Kettle remarked: ‘ Well Done to Troy  o n his debut race for the North Wales team in the toughest race I know. Fantastic running!’ *Road Runner Troy Kettle made his debut for  the  North Wales County team in the Meerbrook 15k last weekend. He is shown (*back row - top right). Photo Paul Brooks. *The overall competition winners for the Men were Shropshire with 20 pts, with North Wales 2nd wit...

*Karl Morris (*above) performed well in the Pen Llyn Ultra run over 37.5 miles. Tough running at Pen Llyn Winter Ultra event. Report by Don Hale.   Three NWRRC endurance athletes competed in the gruelling Pen Llyn Winter Ultra trail race last Saturday.  Run over a challenging and undulating 37.5-mile course out and back from Pwllheli golf club, with over 5,000 ft of elevation, the event attracted 218 intrepid starters and 129 hardy finishers. Local runners included  Marc Davies  finished 14th overall and he was the 12th U50 cat in 6 hours 35 minutes 37 seconds, and  Karl Morris  was 33rd and the 26th U50 runner in 7.08.56, with  Jon Dalzell  67th overall and the 40th U50 cat in 7.55.18. After the race, Karl Morris confirmed ‘A great route with a fair-few climbs. I ran a strong race – all 37-miles of it! Thanks to Huw Williams and all the team for putting on a great race.’ And his colleague Jon Dalzell described the event as ‘brutal.’ *The race win...