Don Hale Blog

 *Kelly-Marie Alford and Cai Roberts in Heaton Park Deserved podium place for Kelly at Heaton Park half-marathon Report by Don Hale. North Wales athletes Kelly-Marie Alford and her partner Cai Roberts crossed the English border to Heaton Park in Manchester on Sunday to take part in a “live” half-marathon event where Kelly claimed a deserved age-related podium place. In a popular race that would still be prohibited in Wales due to current Covid-19 restrictions on running events, Kelly battled the weather and a series of challenging hill climbs to earn a silver medal position as 2nd in her F35 age category. The half-marathon was part of a welcome three-race programme, including both a 5k and 10k, and recording nearly 800 finishers in total  Despite a lack of endurance training and race fitness, both Kelly and Cai, who were representing NWRRC, ran well and enjoyed their first major race competition for over a year, with Kelly running home in 2 hours 8 minutes 39 seconds.  She was less tha

Parkrun will not resume on 5 June after fewer than half of its venues approved the return of the 5km runs. The community event was suspended in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.   Organisers need a significant number of landowners to give permission for races to return to avoid overcrowding at the mass participation event. Parkrun UK says it hopes to resume all 5k events across England on 26 June, with a decision to be made on 11 June. Although more than 250 events do have landowner permission to return, this falls far short of the critical mass needed to prevent overwhelming those that have been given the go ahead," a statement read. ‘Opening a small subset of Parkruns is not viable.’ It added that a number of landowners had "responded positively" to resuming at a later date. Culture secretary Oliver Dowden, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and World Athletics president Lord Coe has  backed the return  of the event. There are 729 different locations across the UK h

An open letter from World Athletics President Sebastian Coe in support of Parkrun. As much as I have always felt that sport is an incredible force for good, I know that it also provides an opportunity to heal: to make us better. Coronavirus has left us with deep physical and emotional scars. I have been inspired by the ingenuity and creativity of so many people over the course of the pandemic. Individuals and communities finding hope, laughter and positivity in the darkest of times. But there is no escaping the fact that the events of the past twelve months have been devastating in so many ways. Of particular concern to me is the fact that inequalities in health and wellbeing have been exacerbated. We desperately need to find ways of getting fitter, stronger and more resilient. And we need to do it in a way that embraces and includes as much of the population as possible. As we tentatively look forward, and take those first steps back to normality, grassroots sport can, if we let it, o

Helping Conwy Sports Clubs Report by Don Hale Sport Conwy is trying to identify any local sports clubs who may be in search of financial support, advice, or generous assistance, to help improve and develop the welfare of their club and membership. First set up in 1996, this organisation is run by volunteers and has a prestigious track record in supporting local clubs through its Coach Education programme, and its talented Athlete Programme, whilst promoting them through its website, and within their bi-annual “Stopwatch” publication.   Sport Conwy secretary, and Conwy Council officer, Caroline Jones explained: ‘We would really like to increase the reach of Sport Conwy. We have established a cohort of clubs who affiliate year on year, however, we know there are many more clubs out there in Conwy who could also benefit from the organisation.  ‘It would be great to hear success stories from clubs - grant successes, club developments, and any athlete successes, as all are featured in our o

*NWRRC relay runners with RNLI officials on Llandudno prom North Wales athletes raise funds and run the miles for RNLI Mayday appeal Report by Don Hale. Photographs by Steve Jeffery Four mixed teams of athletes from North Wales Road Runners enjoyed a relay run in the sun last Sunday on Llandudno Promenade as they helped to raise funds for the RNLI as part of their Mayday Mile appeal. *Josh Keogh recorded the fastest mile on the day for the RNLI relay For many of the twenty-one runners, this was their first competitive “live” run for about fifteen months, and thankfully the cool, windy, and rainswept weather of recent days disappeared for a couple of hours to allow everyone to thoroughly enjoy the occasion. Despite this necessary time absence from major events due to Covid-19 restrictions, several club runners still recorded PBs (personal best times), and the event included members aged from 16-70 years of age. *(Above) partially sighted runner Daniel Owens with Carla Green and (below)

Llyr worked hard for success at Ely Duathlon Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts flew the flag for North Wales last Sunday when he competed in the Ely Duathlon and claimed 3 rd   place in his respective age category. The event held near Cambridge in England, which contrary to Wales, allowed entrants to enjoy a live performance in both cycling and running activities, meant an early 8am start for the talented athlete and high-calibre rugby union referee. It included two 5k runs and lengthy bike race totalling 36., which Llyr completed in an excellent time of 1 hour 25 mins 50 seconds. The NWRRC runner explained it was very windy on the day, and that his multiple efforts demanded extreme concentration. He said: ‘it was something different for me today, but I was happy with my overall performance and transition. I finished 16 th   out of 150 entrants and came 3 rd   in my 45-54 age cat.’ And he added: ‘I was pleased with my runs – 17 mins 58 seconds for my first effort and in 10 th  place, and 18 mins

Carla Green galloped home at Aintree races Report by Don Hale. Photographs by John Hatton. North Wales Road Runner Carla Green galloped home in style and marked her return to “live” racing last Sunday with a superb performance in the Run Aintree half-marathon, claiming a new personal best (PB) time and also won her F45 age category award. Carla was the 3rd female finisher amidst a high-quality field of nearly 500 mixed entrants and completed her run around a blustery racecourse route in just 1 hour 25 mins 52 seconds, confirming an amazing 5-minute PB. This result also created a cause for family celebration, with her husband Martin finishing 3 rd  in the 5k race. *Members of the successful North Wales Road Runners team at Aintree A strong team from NWRRC travelled over the border to England with nine athletes in the half-marathon, and two more in the 5k race. The event included “live” starts that were socially distanced due to Covid-19 restrictions. This option though remains in stark

LATEST PARKRUN NEWS - 8th May 2021. As we move through the reopening process for parkrun and junior parkrun, we are publishing a UK-specific update every Friday to keep ambassadors, event teams, parkrun communities, and landowners informed on our progress.  5k in England It’s been another positive week as we continue to liaise with landowners for our 5k events in England, and receive more permissions for events to return on Saturday 5 June. At the time of writing we have received full or partial permission from landowners representing 135 events, with 232 in progress, and we’re waiting to hear from landowners for 213 events. We know that landowners have been under incredible pressure for over a year now, and in some cases where we’ve not heard back it may well be due to administrative delays, or incorrect contact details. We’re working hard to get that right. With Saturday 5 June getting closer all the time however, and all parkrun communities requiring certainty around whether or not

Marc tackles Welsh mountains in May snow Report by Don Hale   Keen fell runner Marc Roberts has shared his passion for running in the Welsh mountains with a series of breath-taking personal photographs as heavy snow, freezing temperatures, and blizzards suddenly returned to the peaks again this week despite it being the first week of May. *Marc braves the unexpected blizzards  during  his mountain challenge Marc, who has missed the brutal challenges of competitive races over the past year due to Covid-19 restrictions, seized the opportunity for a hard training session, tackling some of North Wales best known mountain courses. He admitted: ‘It’s the first time I've really ventured up with some snow. It makes the mountains look more majestic in my humble opinion.   ‘Glyderau today from Marchlyn Mawr to Y Garn and back, picking up Carnedd Y Filiast, Mynydd Perfedd and Foel Goch en-route. Some snow showers and reduced visibility for about 15 mins but good otherwise. Strange weather and

North Wales Road Runners returned to live group activities last Tuesday evening as they once again enjoyed active training sessions at West Shore. The group then ran clockwise around the Great Orme. If anyone wants to join in with training sessions organised by Mark Jessett or Kevin Slattery the group meet at 7pm each Tuesday (at present) at the West Shore car park. When normal sessions return for groups of 30 or more are finally approved, following Covid-19 restrictions,  the club will return to Ysgol John Bright at the same day and time.  Kevin remarked: ' Celebrating the start of the return to normality, 12-members, including "new" member (back in the club after quite a few years!) Peter Armstrong , we ran around the Great Orme in cracking evening weather. Many thanks to Kelly  and Vicky for tail-running, and to Mark Jessett for putting the route and covid safety details on the Facebook page.' *See the club website or Facebook page for further details. * Pictured