Don Hale Blog

Sad loss of former Swansea Harrier and WMAA secretary Jonathan Kersting... Message from Mel James at Welsh Masters Athletics. Hi Don,   I have received the sad news of the passing of a previous WMAA secretary   Jonathan Kersting , on April 12th. Jon was secretary around the millennium time, alongside the great John Collins and Ken Bray.   He competed for  Swansea Harriers  and WMAA within the B&I Cross Country International and many other masters events. I received this info from Ken Bray's daughter Yvonne, (Bullen) It was Jon's wife that informed her. I will attempt to find out more info, ASAP.  Regards, Mel James, Welsh Masters Athletics.  

Kinmel Bay (3) Vs CPD Cerrigydrudion (2) at Y Morfa leisure centre 20/04/24. Match report 20 April 2024, by team manager Alex Craig, and photos by Barry Griffiths. Today was Kinmel Bay’s final league game of the season in what can only be described as a mixed bag season winning 12 drawing 4 and losing 8.  Kinmel Bay’s management team of Leon Field Andy Thomas and Alex Craig set out their goals at the start of the season and have fell just short of what was predicted; however, a cup final win next week will leave the club in a great position going into next season.  Today's game was always going to be hard for the Bay starting with a minutes silence for our GK Ash Lavender Uncle, we were also missing a number of regular players out due to different reasons.  We started with a mix of first team players and Reserve players, but don't take anything away from the lads who stepped up they did not disappoint one bit today. We went into the game with just 13 players available.   We got

*North Wales Road runner Mal Preece (*above) at the London Marathon. Mixed emotions but a great experience for athletes at the London Marathon...plus other results and updates... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Seven North Wales Road Runners competed in the televised London Marathon last Sunday amongst a mass participation of some 50,000 runners, who raised tens of thousands of pounds for various worthy charities, with many athletes recalling mixed emotions and personal best times! Mal Preece  was the first NWRRC member home with an excellent time of 3 hours and 20 minutes, and he celebrated following a great new PB time. Afterwards he confirmed:  “Very pleased with a new six-minute PB. I ran my first marathon back in 2011 at Chester, and to date I’ve knocked 20 minutes off that time. Looking to chip away my latest PB again next year with GFA time. My goal was to get my qualifying time for Berlin next year, which I achieved. ” *Pic

*Will Williams (*above), was the first NWRRC athlete at Conwy parkrun. Unusually dry conditions at Conwy parkrun boosted the numbers and finishing times... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   North Wales Road Runners only entered nine athletes this week at the Conwy parkrun due to other commitments including the London Marathon the following day, but they still claimed four age category wins and recorded some excellent finishing times. This ever-popular weekly event attracted another bumper attendance with 239 mixed ability runners taking part in this spectacular 5k riverside course, which again proved unusually dry despite mixed weather conditions all week. NWRRC athlete  Will Williams  enjoyed a good result in 2nd place overall and won his VM50 cat in 18 minutes and 36 seconds, with  Stuart Culverhouse  4th, and 2nd in the same cat as Will in 20.21, and  Adam Lemalle  also celebrated another great new PB time of 21.22 and won his VM4

Bute Energy U16’s Cup 23/24 Final @ Newtown 14 April 2024.  KBFC U15 Girls (0) v Cardiff Wanderers FC U16 Girls (4).  Report and photos by Barry Griffiths, the media officer for Kimmel Bay FC. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com Facebook photos include pre-match warm up and post match awards. Great day yesterday (Sunday), two coaches travelled to the final. Our young ladies did us proud, put heart and soul into the competition, and played with maturity, skill and experience as displayed throughout the competition.  This must be so unusual; a small community reaching the final against a team selected from such a large population.   How can I say it without appearing unduly biased but for KBFC every junior player gets to play, its a platinum standard club; operating out of Y Morfa the only sports centre in North Wales managed and funded through voluntary efforts. A memorable day where our team displayed great Character and Courage; an example to all. Brilliant coaching, great support, well

*Martin Green (*above), crosses the finishing line at Colwyn Bay. Great performance by Martin Green to win the Pier2Pier half-marathon...and some other excellent club results... Report by Don Hale. Photos by John Hatton and Dave Jones. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com *The NWRRC team (*above) at Colwyn Bay for the Pier2Pier half-marathon.   North Wales Road Runner Martin Green quickly bounced back to top form last Sunday to win the new Pier2Pier half-marathon race following a close a battle with his club colleague Jonathan Kettle and the third placed finisher Chris Pownall. Martin, who has only just returned to racing following a period of ill health, looked comfortable all the way along this challenging promenade course from the Eirias Park Stadium to Llandudno Pier and back, despite a blustery wind, and dodging the aftermath of storm damage. He was one of ten NWRRC members who competed in this well organised event by RunWales, and he was pleased with his time of 1 hour 17 minutes and