Don Hale Blog

*Jonathan Kettle (*above) enjoyed a  good  result at Lake Vrynwy. Good performances despite a delayed start at the Lake Vyrnwy half-marathon...plus other race results... Report by Don Hale.   https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   North Wales Road Runners entered seven club members in the popular Lake Vrynwy half-marathon last Sunday, which was hit by some unexpected problems, with the start delayed for about 40-minutes due to heavy traffic and parking issues. Despite this unfortunate delay, all the competitors still managed to perform well, and enjoyed the muggy conditions, with a pleasant breeze around the picturesque lake and relatively flat course.  Jonathan Kettle  enjoyed a steady performance, and he was the first NWRRC man home in 1 hour 18 minutes and 18 seconds to finish in 27th place overall. Stuart Culverhouse  was 153rd in 1.32,12, with  Ben Hudson  176th in 1.34.18, and Ben’s wife  Sarah Ferguson Hudson  finished as the 37th female, 214th overal

Carla G reen back to her best at Conwy parkrun - and sprint finish for talented trio. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery.   https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk   Experienced GOG Triathlete Simon Cole took on the challenge against some very fast young students at Conwy parkrun last Saturday morning, and just managed to edge ahead of Harri Jackson and Jack Rigal in a sprint finish to claim the top-spot in just 16 minutes 58 seconds. Harri , who is now representing (Menai T&F), had been the previous victor for the past couple of weeks, but still won his SM20 age cat, but  this  time he had to settle for 2nd place overall, and he was just 12-seconds adrift of the MV40 cat winner, Simon in 17.11, with  Jack Rigal  3rd, and the 2nd SM20 athlete, despite a new course PB in 18.13.  Carla Green  (NWRRC), *pictured right - was back to her best and she was the 1st female runner home, in 17th place overall, in a superb time of 21.15, and also won her VW50

North Wales Cross Country League Some interesting comments about cross-country courtesy of Cybi Striders... https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk Most of us think of Cross Country (XC) as being wet, muddy and one of those PE lessons we used to try and avoid at all costs. However, the NWXC league is quite different (apart from the mud!)  The league runs over 5 events from October to February across North Wales and Shropshire with a variety of clubs in attendance, and runners of all styles and speeds taking part. Whilst there is a club element to the league, the individual competition is the main draw for many runners. Some runners even turn up to be the only club representative in some rounds, especially where they clash with other events! The XC rounds are held on Saturday afternoons; juniors in the morning. The first event starts at 1pm and is the Women, U17 Men and over 65 Men competing over courses of roughly 4 miles. The Senior Men start at 2pm and gener

Murder in the Graveyard Audio Book - a brutal murder and a wrongful conviction - narrated by author Don Hale. True facts finally revealed about a fascinating 50-year-old murder mystery. Order your audio copy via this link:  https://amzn.to/45WpYu3 A gripping true crime investigation into the longest miscarriage of justice in British legal history. In September 1973, Stephen Downing was convicted and indefinitely sentenced for the murder of Wendy Sewell, a young legal secretary in the town of Bakewell in the Peak District. Wendy was attacked in broad daylight in Bakewell Cemetery.  Stephen Downing, the 17-year-old groundskeeper with learning difficulties and a reading age of 11, was the primary suspect.  He was immediately arrested, questioned for nine hours, without a solicitor present, and pressured into signing a confession full of words he did not understand. Twenty-one years later, local newspaper editor Don Hale was thrust into the case. Determined to take it to appeal, as he inve

Welsh Masters records updated to show Jamie Thie's results. Welsh Masters Athletics have just confirmed several updated T&F records set by James Thie at 800m, 1500m, and 3000m in 2014 and in 2019. Some are already on the WMAL and PO10 lists, but for the others, changes are required, and previous holders removed.  The new records and changes are in red.   Chris Pruski.     Event Performance Name Category Club Venue Date 800      1:50.8 Darrell Maynard WMA M35 Abertillery Swindon 1997-08-07 800 1:53.56i  James Thie WMA M35          Cardiff Budapest HUN 2014-03-28 800 1:52.70 Darrell Maynard WMA M40 Abertillery Potsdam GER 2002-08-24 800 1:55.75i Darrell Maynard WMA M40 Abertillery Cardiff 2003-01-12   Event Performance Name Category Club Venue Date 1500 3:46.36 Glen Grant OTH M35 Cambridge Koblenz 1989-08-23 1500 3:47.12 James Thie WMA M35 Cardiff Belfast 2014-07-02 1500 3:54.38i James Thie WMA M35 Cardiff Budapest HUN 2014-03-30 1500 3:51.5 Glen Grant OTH M40 Cambridge Cardiff 1