Don Hale Blog

    *Ben Hudson ran the furthest distance in the relay   Club runners complete 15-hour ultra-challenge in heatwave Twelve hardy athletes from North Wales Road Runners set a blisteringly hot pace during a unique ultra-distance race despite the scorching conditions last Sunday in the Builth and District 15-hour relay challenge. In this third virtual event organised by the ambitious Builth Wells based running club in Powys, where the previous competition attracted about 100 teams, and nearly 2,000 entrants, the aim was to run as far as possible within the permitted time frame, which began at 5am and continued until 8pm. *Steve Poupart enjoyed a good run in the sun The NWRRC team eventually ran a total of 96.12 miles, with Steve Poupart running a one and half hour slot, Ben Hudson a two-hour run, and Helen Hannam completed a remarkable two and a half-hour trot from 2.30pm, at probably the hottest part of the day. *Helen Hannam ran for the longest time Rachel Morris also made a welcome come

Latest Parkrun updates globally - from Parkrun HQ Provisional date of 10th July set for Wales Last weekend saw 700 events take place across seven countries, with more than 62,000 participants enjoying the magic of free, community-led, outdoor, social physical activity opportunities. It is so encouraging to see these events welcomed back by local communities, and to see our  COVID-19 Framework  in action and working well. This COVID-specific framework sits alongside individual local risk assessments, and was developed last year to document the necessary changes and mitigations volunteers at a local level need to be aware of and follow when delivering parkrun events whilst Coronavirus is still in circulation.   Reassuringly, more than 14,000 events at over 800 locations have now been delivered in accordance with this framework, with over 250,000 different people walking, jogging, running and volunteering more than 1.5 million times. We support track and trace in every region we operate i

GOG Athletes performed well at World Triathlon championships at Roundhay Park   Report by Don Hale.   Ten members from the North Wales based GOG Triathlon Club formed a strong team at Leeds last weekend during the AJ Bell Festival of Triathlon, which was part of the World Championship series. Events were staged over hilly and challenging routes on both Saturday and Sunday at the scenic Roundhay Park, and in near perfect weather conditions. The GOG squad were pitched amongst about 4,000 competitors, including both amateur and elite athletes, and were able to gain valuable experience, and to even share the unique atmosphere at this prestigious blue carpet, multi-event finish.                                         *Angharad Lewis In the Saturday Sprint race , which involved a 750m swim, an 18.5 kms cycle race, followed by a 5k Run;  Si­mon Hick   was the first club man home in 1.28.41 , with  Caitlin Owen the 1st GOG lady to finish in 1.38.04 , closely followed by  Amelia Roberts   in 1

Rohan’s relay boost for Children’s Cancer Charities Report by Don Hale. Photographs by Steve Jeffery. Athletes and supporters of North Wales Road Runners had fun in the sun last Sunday as they competed in a special 5-mile relay challenge on Llandudno promenade in aid of CLIC Sargent, and Leukaemia in Children charities. Some twenty-six runners took part in this unique fundraising event in memory of an extraordinary young student, Rohan Ingley, and included five teams of four, plus a guide, each completing 1.25 miles (2k), and one team of five “virtual” runners each running a mile. The weather too proved a hit for all the runners, and a host of supporters and sponsors, with the relay bathed throughout in bright, and very warm sunshine.  The race, organised by club officials John Hatton and Carla Green, with essential timekeeper Liz Driscoll, proved to be a real fun occasion, with many runners recording PB’s over this unusual sprint distance.  The winning team was Team 1, who completed t

Personal best time for Carla Green in Welsh 5k test race Report by Don Hale. All photographs courtesy of Paul Brooks.   Carla Green continued with her excellent form last weekend and knocked more than a minute off her previous personal best (PB) time during the welcome resumption of the “live” Welsh 5k series of races on the Marsh Tracks at Rhyl. The North Wales Road Runner finished as the 8th female athlete, and she was 2nd in her respective F45 age category on this popular lapped course held last Saturday afternoon as part of a special Welsh Athletics test event. The race, originally targeted at elite runners, attracted a host of high-quality athletes from across Wales, and the results naturally reflected the high standard of entrants. For the ladies, despite Carla enjoying a great run in 19 mins 9 seconds, the race was won by Carol Parsons (Cheshire Dragons) in 17.49, with Emma Crowe (Deeside AC) 2nd female finisher and the 1st F45 runner in 18.00, with Tracy Rogers (Buckley AC) 3rd

BOOST FOR NICK BEER 10K RACE FOLLOWING LIFTING OF OUTDOOR SPORTS RESTRICTIONS IN WALES Report by Don Hale. Most photographs by Steve Jeffery.   **NEWS FLASH: Welsh Athletics award Nick Beer 10k a race certificate (9/6/21). The popular Nick Beer 10k road race re-scheduled for Sunday July 18th received a welcome boost this week, when the Welsh Government finally lifted a number of Covid-19 restrictions, to allow more people to both attend and compete in outdoor sports events. Race directors, John and Kay Hatton, say that in view of this welcome boost, they remain extremely confident that this year’s event will now go ahead as planned with a ‘live’ run starting and finishing on Llandudno promenade.  Entries remain open for this major race which always  attracts hundreds of runners from across the UK, and beyond, to enjoy the scenic splendours of a challenging course around the Great Orme.  Starting and finishing opposite the Imperial Hotel and now at the REVISED START TIME OF 10am, this w

Josie runs over 100 miles for cancer skin charities Report by Don Hale. Endurance runner Josie Davies has just completed a gruelling 100.7 miles fundraising challenge for melanoma and skin cancer charities. North Wales based runner Josie has braved a variety of mixed weather over the past month or so during her runs but remained determined to raise as much money as possible for a cause very close to her heart. She was relieved however, to finally finish the job, and later confirmed: ‘That’s it all done. Over 100 miles completed in May for   Melanoma Focus   and   SKCIN  Charities to raise the awareness of melanoma and skin cancer. Thank you to everybody whose sponsored me so far. ‘I am forever grateful as we really need to make people more aware of the devastation of this horrible disease which can just creep up on you when you least expect it. Also PLEASE protect your kids out there and not just in the beautiful weather like today and cover them up. ‘And just today whilst running the

Llinos completes her 727-mile fundraising challenge for the RNLI Report by Don Hale North Wales athlete Llinos Davies has just completed her ultra-marathon task of completing her 727-mile target for the RNLI as part of their Mayday mile fundraising challenge. The popular GOG Triathlon endurance star swam, cycled, walked, and ran the distance for this worthy cause and welcomed the brief extension of the programme till last weekend 31st May. Llinos proudly explained: ‘I had hoped to raise £1 for every mile but never expected this total distance since 3rd   May. It’s been a total blast. I’ve been out in all weathers, hail storms, rain, wind and sunshine. ‘Thank you to everyone who has donated, and I managed to raise £150 and together GOG Triathlon have raised over £500 for the RNLI. And thank you to all my friends who have accompanied me on these quests. We have had an amazing time. ‘I think the highlights must be hearing a cuckoo, and seeing an Osprey, together with great views of a Red

Jonathan strikes gold at Gateshead half-marathon   Report by Don Hale. Gateshead photographs by Mick Hall.   Jonathan Kettle celebrated a great run in the sun last weekend and claimed a gold medal podium position in his respective age category, whilst finishing 10th overall, in the prestigious Gateshead half-marathon. The North Wales Road Runner won his notable award after crossing the English border again and performed well despite the heat, amidst a quality field of almost eight-hundred athletes. It was a close-run contest however, with Jonathan narrowly winning his age cat title in 1 hour 18 minutes 36 seconds, and he finished just 12-seconds ahead of an M45 rival, Steve Middleton. *Jonathan Kettle won his age category in the Gateshead half-marathon Braving the long journey and very warm conditions, Jonathan admitted: ‘It was hot and lumpy but good fun. It was a fantastic race, and great to see my good friend and amazing photographer Mick Hall. I was smiley at the start then suffere

*Rohan Ingley (third from left) with (l-r) with his mother Aradhana, sister Shreya,  and  his father Sanjay KEEPING ROHAN’S LEGACY ALIVE Charity relay run by club members as a tribute to an extraordinary student   Report by Don Hale   North Wales Road Runners will be hitting the fundraising trail again next month in a bid to raise money for Children’s Cancer Charities, and as a tribute to an extraordinary teenager, Rohan Ingley, who tragically lost his life to cancer in 2018. The enterprising members were determined to continue with their valuable charity support after a popular 5-mile race planned at Deganwy during June was postponed for the second year running due to continued Covid-19 restrictions. Club officials therefore have opted for a special relay event to be staged on Llandudno promenade on Sunday June 6th (10am) - for club members only - and including mixed teams of three athletes running a split of 1.66 miles for each leg, to match the 5-mile target. All proceeds from this