Don Hale Blog

*Ann  D'Alburquerque (*pictured above) won a gold medal at Wrexham. Gold for Ann D'Albuquerque as GOG members celebrated a hat-trick of cross-country medals at North Wales champs...plus a hat-trick of age cat wins at Conwy parkrun. Report by Don Hale.   Three GOG triathlon members celebrated last Saturday with a hat-trick of prestigious cross-country medals at the North Wales championships held at Wrexham. Competing in the Senior/Master Women’s event on a cold blustery day,  Helen MacArthur  led the team home finishing 26th overall and collected a silver medal in her W50 age cat.  Helen was followed by  Michelle Farrell  who was 34th in 30.58, and she won a bronze medal in her W40 cat. The main plaudits, however, went to club veteran athlete  Ann d’Albuquerque , who won a deserved gold medal after finishing 1st in her W70 age cat in 34.45.   *This is the link to the provisional results from the North Wales cross country championships at Wrexham:  https://view.officeapps.live.co

*GOG Triathlete Andy Brazier (*above) at Conwy parkrun. Six podium places for the GOGs at a very wet and waterlogged Conwy parkrun... Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   GOG Triathlon members claimed six podium places at Conwy parkrun last Saturday morning including four age category wins and two second places despite a very wet and waterlogged 5k course. Nine club members entered, and  Andy Brazier  led the team back in 22nd place and he was 2nd in his MV55 cat in 22.45. He was closely followed by  Lizzie Irvine  who was the second female finisher, and she won her VW35 cat in 26th place in 23.47, with  Paul Algieri  giving Lizzie a good chase before finishing 27th in 23.56. *Lizzie Irvine (*above left) with Paul Algieri. Andrea Cody  was 46th overall and claimed 2nd place in her VW35 cat in 26.00, with  Nicola Tomlinson  just four seconds behind in 48th place, but she won her VW40 age cat in 26.04.  Liz Evans  was another cat winner in 63rd place overall but finished 1st in

*Carla Green (*pictured above) enjoyed a great win at Tatton Park. Carla Green beat Tyson Fury to the punch with a great victory at Tatton Park 10k race. Report by Don Hale.   North Wales Road Runner Carla Green stormed home to claim the prestigious 1st female prize at the Tatton Park 10k last Saturday and finished almost a minute and a half ahead of her nearest rival – and over eleven minutes ahead of World heavyweight boxing champion Tyson Fury! Carla, who battled with injury problems last season, put in a gritty, and determined performance in very wet and rainy conditions around this spectacular course, and was delighted by her win and her VW50 age category victory in a fast time of 41 minutes and 9 seconds. She finished 23rd overall and didn’t pull any punches, competing against some 550 quality entrants, which included the World heavyweight champion  Tyson Fury , who is 6 feet 9 inches tall, and weighs about 19 stone, together with his boxing brother  Tommy . The celebrity duo use

 *The NWRRC men's team pictured at Wrexham (l-r) Iwan Evans, Josh Keogh, Will Williams, Martin Green, Steve Gardner and Stuart Culverhouse. Martin Green struck gold at North Wales cross country champs, and NWRRC won four top medals.  Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   Ten Road Runners took part in the North Wales cross country championships at Wrexham last Saturday where the combined male and female teams won four impressive medals including one gold, two silver, and one bronze, but just missed out on a few other awards with four close fourth place finishers. Josh Keogh  was the first club man home in the  Senior/Master Men’s race , finishing 5th overall out of 69 quality entrants, and despite recording an excellent time of 31.01, he just failed to collect a medal in 4th place in his SM cat.  Martin Green,  however, was in top form and won a gold medal in his MV45 age cat in 10th place overall in 32.00. His win also marked another unique family double with his wife  Car

* Bryn Woodall  (*in white vest) just ahead of Steve Mason. Top marks to American student Bryn Woodall as he celebrated his 100th parkrun on a very heavy Conwy course... Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   Colwyn Bay athlete Bryn Woodall was the first runner back at a very heavy Conwy parkrun on Saturday, where the talented teenager celebrated another superb result and his 100th parkrun, during a break from his studies and running adventures in America. Bryn also won his SM18 age cat and incredibly, he dashed around this saturated course in just 15 minutes and 38 seconds - which is the third fastest time ever - and he finished the best part of three minutes ahead of his nearest senior rival  Jonathan Kettle  from  NWRRC , who finished 2nd overall in 18.21, with JM15-17 runner  Ciaran Keyworth , 3rd in 18.59.  *Bryn Woodall (*above left) with Jonathan Kettle, who ran very well but had to settle for second place to Bryn. The first female runner was  Kirsty Stevenson  (Stone Ma

*GOG Triathlon members Bryn Phillips (*left) and Steven Owen celebrated a dead-heat at Conwy parkrun with both athletes sharing the same finishing time. Hat-trick of age cat wins for the GOGs at Conwy parkrun. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   Twelve members of the GOG Triathlon Club claimed six podium places including a hat-trick of age category wins at a very damp Conwy parkrun, where the course was near waterlogged following a period of heavy rain. Victoria Cole  was the first club runner home in 21.50, and she also won her VW40 age cat finishing in 31st place overall, and just a second ahead of colleague  Andy Jones  who was 32nd in 21.51.  Andy Brazier  also won his MV55 cat in 44th place in 23.00, with  Billy Thomas  53rd in 23.39. Steven Owen  and  Bryn Phillips  celebrated a very close finish with both athletes sharing the exact same time of 25.27  with a dead-heat in 72nd and 73rd places respectively. And  John Farrell  finished 3rd in his MV55 cat in 88th place i

Entries open for the Nick Beer 10k  memorial race around the Great Orme in Llandudno. Review by Don Hale. Photo by Steve Jeffery.     https://alwaysaimhighevents.com/events/nickbeer10k   Race organisers Always Aim High have taken over the running control of the annual Nick Beer 10k memorial race from North Wales Road Runners who have successfully managed this unique event for the past 23 years.  The new race date of  Sunday 12th February 2023,  with a 12-noon start, has been confirmed for this popular event, but prospective entrants are advised to register their interest as soon as possible. A statement from the organisers, states: “Always Aim High Events are proud to present a new road running event in our race calendar - the iconic  Nick Beer 10k . The event, which is now in its 31st year, has previously controlled by the NWRRC, and we are proud to add this fantastic race to our portfolio under our community events section.  “This is a not-for-profit event which will continue to supp

Bumper turnout at Conwy's New Year’s Eve parkrun. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery. It was a bumper turnout at the New Year’s Eve parkrun at Conwy despite the rather damp conditions, and a very heavy, and waterlogged course. The event attracted 243 mixed ability runners from various parts of the UK, and debutant  Harry Standing  was the first finisher in just 18 minutes and 4 seconds, which was just a few seconds ahead of last week’s teenage age cat winner  Morgan Kendall  aka  Bananaman  in 18.13 and visiting athlete  Jack Cooper  (Trafford AC) with a new PB of 18.21. The first female finisher was  Anna Drinkwater  (Eryri Harriers) in 19.32, with  Amie Bagnall  (Cheshire Dragons) 2nd in 19.44, and debutant  Anna Burt  3rd in 21.41. Ten North Wales Road Runners  were involved in the New Year’s Eve parkrun at Conwy and claimed seven podium placings including five age cat wins.  Josh Keogh  (*pictured above) was the club’s first finisher and made a positive return followin

  Huge crowds and a record number of entrants at Llandudno Lions Boxing Day charity swim and dip. Introduction by Don Hale. Comments by Ian Turner. Top photo by    It was a bright sunny day with a bracing and very cool wind for a record number of colourful costume wearing swimmers and dippers on Llandudno Promenade on Boxing Day morning, who then braved the freezing sea temperatures to help raise thousands of pounds for local and other deserving charities. MC Ian Turner  kept the packed crowds well informed throughout the morning as usual, by updating everyone about this exciting event, which attracted many hundreds of people from miles around just to watch the mad dash into the waters.  It also turned out to be yet another grand occasion that had been sadly missed over the past two years due to Covid-19 restrictions, but this year it certainly returned with a major splash! *Ian Turner (*far right) with Llandudno Lions Club members and fundraising charity officials at the Boxing Day sw

Eight GOGs tackled the Conwy Christmas Eve parkrun. Special report and photos by Don Hale.   Eight members of the GOG Triathlon club took part in the special Christmas Eve parkrun last Saturday and claimed four podium placings including one age cat win, and three second spots. Andy Jones  was the first club runner back in 30th place in 21.50, with  Andy Brazier  next home in 58th place and 2nd in his MV55 cat in 24.03.  Bryn Phillips  also claimed 2nd place in his MV40 cat in 25.45, and he finished 87th overall.  Steven Owen,  however, was hot on Bryn’s heels in 88th place, and both shared the same finishing time. Nicola Tomlinson  won her VW40 age cat in 94th place overall in 26.18, and  Gary Jones  was 102nd in 26.49. Teenage student  Caitlin Owen  made a welcome return from her studies at Cheltenham and enjoyed a muddy but festive run back on home soil in 123rd place in 27.43, and she also claimed the 2nd spot in her respective SW18 age cat, with  Wayne Roberts  finishing 163rd in 3

Bananaman finished ahead of the bunch at Conwy’s Christmas parkrun - plus double win for Stuart and Joe at Ruthin. Special report and festive photos by Don Hale. It was a unique experience at Conwy’s Christmas parkrun last Saturday when Bananaman, aka local athlete and Durham University student Morgan Kendall became the first runner back wearing a bright yellow costume and finished just thirteen seconds ahead of the chasing bunch! The teenage prospect initially dominated the 5k event but in the end nearly let it slip, and only won by the skin of his teeth, as he was pursued by several other similarly talented youngsters, who were enjoying a festive break. The parkrun also turned out to be a very colourful and joyous occasion and attracted 230 runners and walkers of all ages and abilities, with the majority dressed in special Christmas outfits Morgan   Kendall   (*pictured top of page) , won his SM18 age cat with a new course PB of 17 minutes and 36 seconds, with  Matthew Baker  2nd wit