Don Hale Blog

*Josh Keogh (*above) on top form at parkrun and recorded a great new PB. Four successive wins and a great new PB for Josh at Conwy parkrun...plus great win for Kelly Alford, and other results... Report by Don Hale. Most photos by Steve Jeffery.   Josh Keogh made it four wins in a row at the Conwy parkrun last Saturday, and he also recorded a great new personal best time of 17 minutes and 11 seconds. The NWRRC all-rounder continued with his stunning form over fells, road, and parkruns, to celebrate knocking a further three-seconds off his previous best time over this challenging 5k route. Josh also won his SM30 age cat and despite keen competition from visiting rival  Andy Bromley  (Prestatyn RC), and club colleague  Mark Jessett , who similarly recorded PBs, he finally managed to outsprint the pair to claim another impressive victory. *Mark Jessett (*above) finished 3rd at the Conwy Parkrun with a new PB. As usual, the parkrun involved another fast and furious event, attracting 185 var

*(Above) Ladies race winner and half-marathon record breaker Carla Green. Carla Green was 1st Lady and smashed North Wales record at Rhyl half marathon. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Mike Smith.   North Wales Road Runner Carla Green was the first female finisher at the Rhyl half-marathon last Saturday and celebrated her return from injury by smashing her age category record over this distance.  Carla set a new NWRAC ‘all-time best’ record by completing the sun-drenched and breezy course in just 1 hour 28 minutes and knocked a minute and a half off an impressive record that had stood for more than ten-years! This popular event attracted over 250 quality athletes and the ultra-flat promenade route encouraged everyone who was intent on claiming new personal best times.  The race was eventually won by local athlete J ames Yarwood  (Abergele Harriers) in 1.13.52, with  Daniel Hopwood  2nd in 1.15.41, and  Carl Aveyard  (Shrewsbury AC) 3rd in 1.17.52. *Male and female race winners (*above) C

*NWRRC team members at the start of the Llanrug 5k NW Road championship race. Road Runners struck gold at super-fast NW 5k championships at Llanrug... Report by Don Hale.   It was an incredible evening of super-fast running at Llanrug last Wednesday for the North Wales 5k Road Championships, where 130 elite and top club runners competed for prestigious honours.  The eventual race winner was  Ryan Davis  (Wrexham AC) in just 15 minutes and 37 seconds, with  Adam Jones (Eryri Harriers) just snatching 2nd place in 16.13, and he was only four-seconds ahead of  Tomos Roberts (Meirionnydd RC) in 16.17. And quite amazingly, the first twenty-eight runners all dipped under 20-minutes, and the first eight under 17-minutes, with a matter of seconds separating athletes in the top-ten placings. Against this background, many NWRRC members celebrated a record-breaking night of glory, winning a total of seventeen NW championship medals, including five gold, six silver and six bronze!  The twenty-two c

Josh Keogh (*pictured above) claimed narrow victory at Conwy parkrun...plus other race results... Report by Don Hale. Most photos by Steve Jeffery.   There was a good turn-out of both club runners and visitors to Conwy parkrun last Saturday where NWRRC athlete Josh Keogh claimed another narrow victory despite a brave challenge from Colwyn Bay teenager Bryn Woodall. Josh faced a cat and mouse challenge throughout the 5k dash from his exceptional rival and just managed to win the event by two seconds following a sprint finish. He was one of thirteen club colleagues and two juniors with the team also winning five age cat awards. Josh  recorded a time of 17 minutes and 14 seconds and won his SM30-34 age cat, with  Bryn  also winning his own SM18-19 cat in 17.16, followed by another promising young athlete,  Harri Jackson  (Manchester Metropolitan University AC) in 17.50. Fellow Road Runner  Chris Davies  enjoyed another good showing to finish 11th in 19.54 and he was 2nd in his MV35 cat, w

Llyr ApGeraint-Roberts Roberts (*pictured above) qualified for 2023 Euro Duathlon championships in his age group. Report by Don Hale. Llyr ApGeraint Roberts  finished 13th out of 138 competitors in the gruelling  Slateman Duathlon  in North Wales over the weekend and secured an automatic entry qualification for his age group in the Euro 2023 championships. He later admitted: “The toughest duathlon ever. The bike had a 4k climb up Nant Peris Pass and the 2nd run was brutal, severe inclines and a slated shale surface!” *Gethin Wyn Jones  becomes a legend (*pictured above). Gethin competed in the  Slateman Legend Triathlon, Swim, Bike and Run challenge last Sunday. He completed a 93.29k cycle race with 1,420m elevation, in 3 hours 44 minutes, and a 22.46k run with 770m of elevation in 2 hours 42 minutes, and he also swam 1.9m in 42.30 making an incredible total Triathlon time of 7.22.04. Afterwards Gethin said: " So happy to have completed my first ever triathlon and for it to be the

*Richard Eccles (*above) is one of five NWRRC members selected for Wales. Welsh road running team includes five NWRRC athletes for Home Nations races at Tenby in July. Report by Don Hale.   Five members of North Wales Road Runners have been selected to represent Wales at the Road Running Festival in Tenby on 3rd July against top athletes from the Home Nations. The final selection was announced this week by team official Bernie Jones following scrutiny from fellow selectors, who initially welcomed applications from local running clubs and individuals, based on recent or potential performances over varied distances. International event race organisers at Tenby invited teams from the Home Nations of the UK to participate, with up to eight runners permitted in each of the four 10-year age bands, based on the day of the competition. Events include 5k, 10k and half-marathon races. The NWRRC members selected include:  Richard Eccles  M55-64 (5k), and  Cheryl Frost  W55-64 (5k); with  Carla Gr

 *Stuart Culverhouse was the first NWRRC member home at Conwy parkrun. Conwy parkrun welcomed bumper entry to Bank Holiday weekend event - plus other race results... Report by Don Hale. Most photos by Steve Jeffery.   It was an excellent Bank Holiday weekend turn out of athletes at the Conwy parkrun last Saturday where two visiting club runners took the honours by claiming the first and second placings amongst a bumper entry of 230 finishers on a warm but windy morning. Matt Darnley (Bramhall Runners) was the first man home to win his VM40 age cat in 18.34, followed by Richard Gallois (Kingfisher Harriers), who also won his VM45 cat in 18.58, with Chris Morgan taking the 3rd place in 19.07, and he finished 2nd in the same age cat as Richard. The first female runner was Alice Johnston (Les Croupiers), and 1st SW30 cat with a new PB of 19.36 North Wales Road Runners  had several top members missing due to a variety of reasons and entered ten athletes and one junior, but still managed to