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*Pictured above - a quartet of NWRRC members at the start of the Conwy parkrun (l-r): Sion Thomas, Adam Lemalle, Dave Jones and Gethin Wyn Jones. Splash and dash course at Conwy parkrun attracted a good turn-out... Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk Conwy parkrun’s popular splash and dash 5k course attracted a good number of club and social runners from far afield last Saturday for the first event of the New Year. Harri Jackson (Menai T&F) was the first runner home on this puddle-filled and waterlogged riverside route in just 17 minutes and 35 seconds, and he finished just eleven-seconds ahead of rival Harty Woodford in 17.46, with Alison Campbell (Sheffield University Cross-Country & AC) snatching 3rd place overall, in addition to finishing as the 1st female athlete with a new personal best (PB) time of 18.04. Harri also won his SM20 age cat, with Harty winning his SM30 cat, and Alison claimed the top spot in her SW30 cat. The 2nd female finisher was Katherine Gregson in 22.38, with Jaeda Goodman (Bourneville Harriers), 3rd on her debut in 22.56. North Wales Road Runners enjoyed a bumper entry of some sixteen runners and the team were led by Steve Mason in 19.38, and he won his VM45 age cat. The club later celebrated four age category victories, in addition to two second, and one third place finish. Will Evans (*above) enjoyed a good performance at Conwy . Will Evans was a close 6th to Steve in 19.51, and he also won his VM40 age cat, with Sion Thomas 15th with a new course PB of 21.37, followed by Dave Jones, who finished 23rd in 22.43. Adam Lemalle (*pictured above). Adam Lemalle was 28th in 23.27, with veteran Martin Green improving each week in 34th spot in 23.43, and he was 3rd in his VM45 age cat. And master veteran Barrie Wells won his VM70 age cat in 45th place in 24.40, with fellow master Don Hale returning to parkrun after a period of ill health, to claim the 2nd spot in the same VM70 cat in 25.36 in 57th place. *Pictured above at Conwy Parkrun - Daniel Hennell and Sarah Jones. Youngster Joe Culverhouse ran with his father Stuart and won his JM11-14 age cat with a good run in 58th place in 25.38, with Stuart just one place and one-second behind him. Sarah Jones and Daniel Hennell also ran the course together, with Sarah finishing 91st in 27.09, with Daniel one place and one-second behind. Helen Hannam had a steady run in 102nd place in 28.00, and Gethin Wyn Jones was 116th in 28.54. Meanwhile, veteran John O’Shea finished in 130th place in 29.43, whist Rachel Morris was 171st in 33.37. Helen Hannam (pictured right): Praise was given to the run director Gwyn Williams, and to all the volunteers and marshals on another challenging day for weather. *This is the link to the provisional results from Conwy: Praise to the photographer Steve Jeffery: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults/

*Ben and Sarah Hudson are pictured (above) after their double marathon. Liverbird Double Marathon challenge for Ben and Sarah over New Year... plus other festive race results. Report by Don Hale. North Wales Road Runners Ben and Sarah Hudson celebrated the New Year in their own unique style by competing in the Liverbird Double Marathon on Merseyside. Both events, well organised by GB Ultras, included the full marathon distance run on consecutive days, with the first race held on New Year’s Eve, quickly followed by the second race on New Year’s Day.The ultra-enthusiastic pair braved gales, and heavy rain, during their first encounter which followed an out and back lapped course from the Merseyside Police Club at Aigburth, Liverpool, and followed a relatively flat course adjacent to the windswept River Mersey. Despite the conditions and this gruelling challenge, they were both pleased with their day one results, with Ben finishing 19th overall, and he was 3rd in his M45-49 age category in 3 hours 49 minutes and 42 seconds, with Sarah running home as the 4th female finisher in a very respectable time of 4.04.25, and she also won her F45-49 age cat! After the first marathon Sarah confirmed: “The marathon went up and down the prom from Otterspool, but it went from fun, to being absolutely horrific every three miles. I was actually the 4th lady in the double marathon. I was not overly pleased with the time, but I was trying to be a little bit sensible with tomorrow in mind. “We came across the other night, and we go back on Tuesday, so we can celebrate New Year tomorrow night instead… although I’m not sure I will be able to walk let alone celebrate. One down, and one to go! It was great fun if a wee bit breezy. Bring on day 2." Sarah also admitted to some fatigue shortly before and after this first marathon, which was not too surprising considering the fact that both Sarah and Ben have recently returned from Spain where they took part in the Malaga Marathon, and just before that, they also ran in the extremely tough Eryri Marathon. On Day 2, Ben and Sarah maintained their excellent form and recorded similar results to New Year’s Eve, with Ben finishing 17th overall in 4 hours 10 minutes and 54 seconds and he was 4th this time in his F45-49 age cat, whilst Sarah repeated her top performance to retain 1st place in her F45-49 age cat, and she was the 4th female finisher once again, recording a good time of 4.15.15. Following the conclusion of the two marathons, Sarah added: “4th lady again for me, and 1st in my age category. Well chuffed with that! It was still cold and windy but not as bad as yesterday, and it stayed dry so I can’t complain!” Kevin Higgins (above), took part in two Liverbird double 5k races. Other results: *Wirral: Kevin Higgins also ran in two unique Liverbird Double 5k trail races, the first on New Year’s Eve, where he finished well in 28.48, and on New Year’s Day he completed the same distance in the second race in 27.47 and he won his M60 age cat. Jamie Tharme (*pictured above) *Newborough Forest: Four members of NWRRC ran on New Year’s Day at the Newborough Forest parkrun, with all recording good times. Will Williams claimed a new course PB of 18.56 in 10th place overall, with Steve Mason 30th in 20.58, whilst Harry Driscoll was 36th in 21.24, and he was 3rd in his SM20 cat, and Jamie Tharme finished 62nd on his course debut in 23.46. *Ruthin: Steve Mason ran on Christmas Day at the Ruthin Memorial playing fields parkrun with his dog Coco. Steve was 65th overall in 25.25, and he was 3rd in his VM45 age cat, with Coco the lead runner and the first canine finisher!

*Pictured above - Welsh Masters Carla and Martin Green at Conwy Parkrun. Personal best times at final parkrun event of the year. Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk It was another good turn-out for the final parkrun of the year at Conwy last Saturday morning where a trio of talented students received full marks for a great tussle, with the first two finishers both claiming new personal best times. Morgan Kendall (Durham City & Harriers AC), hit top form again, and he was the 1st finisher despite battling with the usual puddle-filled, muddy, and near waterlogged 5k course, and he just managed to hold off a determined challenge from rivals James Smith and Harri Jackson, both from the Menai Track & Field club. Morgan won his SM20 age cat with a great new PB of just 16 minutes and 16 seconds, with James 2nd despite a PB of 16.49, and Harri was 3rd in 17.40. They all shared the same age cat, and it was good to note that another promising junior runner, Jack Woodhouse (Neath Harriers), won his JM10 age cat on his debut with a great run finishing 6th overall in 19.31. The event proved to be a very fast dash throughout, with the first eight athletes all dipping under 20-minutes, and there were 211 entrants. Gemma Moore (Eryri Harriers) was the 1st female athlete (7th overall) in 19.46, with Kelly Dicks (Great Western Runners), next home on her course debut in 20.31, and 11th overall, with junior Lexi Dundas 3rd in 20.45, and she also won her JW11-15 age cat, after finishing 15th overall. *Pictured (left) Carla Green. North Wales Road Runners entered eight members and claimed three age cat victories with Steve Mason leading the team home in 14th place overall in 20.46, and he won his VM45 age cat. Adam Lemalle was the next man back, and he finished 53rd in 24.22, with Carla Green 70th in 25.34, and she won her VW50 cat. Veteran Karen Butler ran well in 79th place, and she won her VW65 age cat in 26.00, whilst Martin Green made a welcome return to parkrun with a steady run finishing 96th in 26.46, whilst Helen Hannam claimed 3rd place in her VW45 cat in 127th place in 28.20. Another veteran John O’Shea was 149th overall, and he was 2nd in his VM65 cat in 29.52, whilst Rachel Morris celebrated her 100th parkrun in 181st place in 34.21. After the event, Rachel confirmed: “This was my 100th parkrun. I set a goal to get to 100 parkruns by the end of this year, and I just about scraped it by doing it on the last one of the year but I need to up my running game now, as next year’s goal is the Fire Lighter Ultra 37.5 miles.” Welsh veteran Karen Butler (right): *Other results: Ruthin: Steve Mason ran on Christmas Day at the Ruthin Memorial playing fields parkrun with his dog Coco. Steve was 65th overall in 25.25, and he was 3rd in his VM45 age cat, with Coco the lead runner and the first canine finisher! *Praise was given to the run director and to all the volunteers and marshals on another challenging day for weather. And a special mention should also go to photographer Steve Jeffery; This is the link to the provisional results from Conwy: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults/

New proposals for Welsh Masters Athletics - Winter Indoor event in Swansea. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk Brett Davis, a director of WMAL, has confirmed proposals for a new winter indoor event for next month. This week he explained: "We’re considering holding an indoor field events championship on Sunday 11th February in Swansea. "However WA have been struggling to get sufficient field officials for their events. So this is a call to see how many members would be interested in competing and would also be able to officiate. "Obviously interested in any field officials who wouldn’t be competing too, although aware that they’re less likely to be looking here. Will be using your responses to help judge if this event had a chance of happening. Thanks in advance." Brett Davis, Director, Welsh Masters Athletics Limited.

Welsh Masters Athletics medalists from the recent Old Father Time 5-mile race. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk Brett Davis of WMAL has confirmed the medal details from the recent Old anger Time 5-mile race... This is a list of the WMAL medallists from the Welsh Masters Road Race championships which took place within the Old Father Time 5-mile road race in Cardiff last Sunday. It took place on an extremely windy day with the heavy rain holding off until most competitors had finished. *The full results are on Les Croupiers website. Presentations of medals took place afterwards but only using the subset of the full results that was available at the time. So only to those medallists who were still there and where their result had been processed. I will be looking to get the remaining medals out either by post or by hand. Cheers, Brett Davis, Director, WMAL. OLD FATHER TIME – WELSH MASTERS 5 MILE ROAD RACE MEDALLISTS 31/12/2023: - W35 Bethan                            Butler-Madden              Gold W40 Louise                            Flynn                            Gold Isobel                             Dawson                        Silver W45 Tracey                            Breedon                       Gold Claire                              Bruce                           Silver W55 Joanne                           Hudson                         Gold W60 Julie                               Scholey                        Gold M35 Oliver                              Williams                        Gold Phil                                 Hambleton                    Silver David                              Aubrey                          Bronze M40 Ben                                Butler-Madden              Gold Gary                               Brown                          Silver Robert                            Pritchard                       Bronze M45 James                            Thie                              Gold Niki                                 Puleio                           Silver M50 Huw                               Evans                           Gold William                            Edwards                       Silver Adrian                             Lewis                            Bronze M55 Lee                                 Aherne                          Gold Stephen                          Bartlett                         Silver Ross                               Flanigan                        Bronze M60 Ifan                                 Lloyd                            Gold Michael                           Ramsey                        Silver Jeremy                           Thomas                        Bronze M65 Elio                                 Lepore                          Gold Gary                               John                             Silver M70 Simon                             Partridge                       Gold Geoff                              Wright                          Silver M80 Barrie                             Roberts                        Gold

Chris Pruski from Welsh Masters Athletics has just compiled the final indoor T&F rankings for 2023. They confirm the dates, times, and venues, as to where the records and rankings were achieved. Our thanks to Chris for his hard work in compiling these details. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk *The results are now available on the following link (see below):

Special festive message and updates including the provisional timetable for Indoor champs on Sunday 25th February 2024, from Brett Davis at WMAL. Hi everybody and a happy New Year! Please see attached provisional inter-area timetable from the England Masters Athletics Association, and details of teams entered so far (*below). So it looks like we can now go ahead with selection on this basis. Both team managers will be focussing their minds on team selection in the coming weeks and from my viewpoint I will be trying to establish which men are in the mix and what form they have, so will be grateful for any indications of availability/from, as previously notified (to Brett-Davis1@sky.com). OLD Father Time 5-mile race: Brett also confirmed some details from his performance at the 5-mile race over the festive period. He said: "I took part in the especially windy Old Father Time 5 miler yesterday. Fortunately the rain didn’t put in an appearance until after around an hour after the start although it was a monsoon! "The first 3 in each age group category were presented with a bottle of wine by the organisers plus additional prizes for the overall men’s and women’s winners. I then presented the Welsh Masters 5 mile medalists, but I only had the aforementioned results to go on as the full results will not be available until today. "So although I presented 16 medals (10 golds and 6 silvers), I expect to have up to 16 further medalists once the results are published, plus a possible further one where there was a membership query on the day from a regular competitor who strongly believes his membership is up to date despite not showing on the list Rod gave me. Cheers, Brett Davis. Director, Welsh Masters Athletics Limited.

Conwy Parkrun director Bethan Wyn Roberts (*above centre) with festive members at Conwy . Bumper Christmas turn-out at a very wild and windy Conwy parkrun... Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk It was another bumper turn-out at Conwy parkrun last Saturday morning for the ever-popular Christmas event with nearly three-hundred club and social runners braving the wild and windy conditions over this challenging 5k course. And it turned out to be a dash with a blast for two top young guns who battled for honours with just five-seconds separating 1st and 2nd places. Students Morgan Kendall and Bryn Woodall, who are both back home again in North Wales for the festive break, raced neck and neck throughout, with a near photo-finish on stand-by! Morgan (Durham University Harriers AC) eventually took the 1st finisher place overall in 17 minutes and 15 seconds, and won his SM20 age cat, with Bryn (Colwyn Bay AC), a very close 2nd in 17.20, and he was 2nd in the same age category as Morgan, with veteran Simon Cole (GOG Triathlon) also celebrating a fast finishing time in 3rd place in 17.30 and he won his VM40 cat. North Wales Road Runners only entered thirteen members this week due to other commitments and with several people recovering from festive parties, illness, or injury. Will Williams was the first club man home in 10th place, and he was 2nd in his VM50 cat in 19.18, with Mark Jessett 13th place, and he was 3rd in his VM35 cat in 20.03, with Steve Mason 18th place overall, and he was 2nd in his VM45 cat in 21.11. *Will Williams (pictured above) who was the first NWRRC finisher at Conwy. Jamie Tharme finished 39th in 23.03, whilst Carla Green won her VW50 age cat, in 51st place overall in 23.53, and Daniel Hennell was 62nd in 24.22, and newcomer Sye Channer ran home in 82nd place in 25.28. Veteran Tony Gibson was 98th in 26.27, with Ceri Jones 139th in 29.11, and another male veteran John O’Shea finished in 158th place in 30.10. Gwennan Charlton and her son Edward ran together in 160th place, in 30.17; meanwhile, Hannah Griffith completed the course in festive attire in 167th spot with Stef and Fred in 30.58, and Rachel Morris ran her 99th parkrun in 209th place in 34.42. *Plaudits were also handed to Ian Slattery, the son of the NWRRC chairman Kevin, who ran at Conwy during his festive visit and finished 9th overall in 19.01, and he was 2nd in his VM35 age cat. *Hannah Griffith (above left) with Stef and Fred in costume. *Parkrun officials including run director Beth Wyn Roberts praised the support for this colourful festive event and confirmed: “Thank you to everyone who turned up to run at Conwy Parkrun this morning. It was a blustery one! “And congratulations to some individuals after reaching hugely impressive milestones this morning: Saxon Ridley 100th, Roy Worden 150th, and Keith Tubman 200th. “As always, a huge thank you to all the volunteers who braved the conditions to allow the magic to happen yet again. "There are some local Parkruns available for you to access should you decide to start your Christmas Day with a run. And from all at Conwy Parkrun, we would like to wish all runners and volunteers a happy and peaceful Christmas.” Nadolig Llawen iawn I bawb. *This is the link to the provisional results at Conwy parkrun: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults/

Latest updates regarding the Welsh Masters Indoor T&F Championships on 21st January, 2024. Special report and comments from Brett Davis and Dave Watson at WMAL Brett Davis, a director of WMAL has confirmed some extraordinary updates regarding the 2024 Welsh Masters athletics Indoor T&F Championships. He said: “Due to the demands of the programme and restrictions caused by the timetable challenges, Welsh Athletics were only able to offer us (indoor) championship events at 60m, 200m and 300m. “The middle-distance events are run by the British Miler’s Club, and we await the conditions there when they go live on the BMC website, but they may be elite open only. No field events are championship events due to number restrictions, but individuals can enter, there just won’t be any medals for those events.” And today he added, hot off the press: “I can update now that the BMC is elite only which translates to 1:58 800m, and 4:05 1500m, for males, and 2:20 and 4:50 for females.” The championships will be live via the Welsh athletics website. Another WMAL official, Dave Watson (*pictured above), commented: “After reading all the above with Welsh Athletics and British Milers catering either for elite runners with no field events, and very restricted track opportunities, just shows to me how important Welsh Masters Athletics is in the scheme of things. “I constantly read about ‘Inclusive for all,’ and ‘developing talent,’ but I see little evidence of the support for Welsh Masters athletes, apart from occasional hard-fought gains. “Look how popular the Inter-areas are with Welsh Masters, there's a huge demand from people for that type of event, that would really benefit and give back something to the sport. It just says to me that we have to keep pushing and fighting to promote Welsh Masters Athletics.”

Coach Jonathan Kettle (pictured above front), with the group of festive runners. Athletics Coaches encouraged their runners to complete a Christmas social dash around the Great Orme. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk Popular athletics coaches Jonathan Kettle and Tony Price-Jones, who organise a regular weekly training session on Llandudno promenade, opted to swap their regular evening programme last week, to a special Christmas social dash around the Great Orme. This festive event included dozens of running enthusiasts, mainly from Dalzell Runners, together with mixed members of North Wales Road Runners, GOG Triathlon, and several other local running groups, or individuals, and it’s understood that most runners completed two challenging laps of the Orme, aided by essential head-torches to record a distance of about 11k. After the event, Jonathan and Tony received numerous generous plaudits from the runners for their efforts throughout the year, with Jonathan later confirming: “Running is about people, friendships, support, fitness, and sport! “Personally it’s never about a job or money, so on behalf of myself and Tony, we would like to thank every single runner that has been to just 1 session or 52 sessions this year. “We absolutely love our Wednesday evenings seeing you all put the effort in but also in such a supportive and friendly way to us, as well as every runner there. We are supper proud to have this group of such wonderful people.” Tony also said: “I would like to add to what Jonathan mentioned. What you all have done is just amazing, and I can't thank you all enough. The chats we have had over how far each and every one has come on this year is amazing and makes us feel so proud. What a lovely run around the Orme this evening, so thank you all for making it a great run. Thank you all so-so much. Merry Christmas.”

*Members of NWRRC (pictured above), prior to the start of the Christmas handicap race from West Shore, Llandudno. Blustery winds for Road Runners at club’s Christmas handicap race...plus other results and New Year events...and generous donations to the local foodbank. Report by Don Hale. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk Twenty-five members of North Wales Road Runners took part in the annual Christmas handicap race last Sunday, but they had to battle with cool and very blustery head and sidewinds as they negotiated a challenging four-mile course along part of the Great Orme. Following a tough route out from West Shore and climbing up the Orme to the old WW2 gun sites and past what’s known as ‘Millionaires Row,’ the runners then turned via a further muddy track before returning back to the start. This popular event, well organised by John Hatton, Martin and Carla Green, and a team of willing volunteers and marshals attracted a bumper attendance, which included newcomers and many seasoned athletes. And with runners graded at the start based on their parkrun or 5k times, the handicap race was eventually won by Helen Hannam in 33.02, with Rachel Morris 2nd, and relative newcomer Nia Roberts (Lister) 3rd. The first male finisher was Steve Roberts (4th), with runner-up Steve Mason (5th), and Richard Scamans the 3rd male, (6th overall). The first three finishers (above) in the NWRRC Christmas handicap race (l-r): Rachel Morris, Helen Hannam and Nia Anna. The final finishing position: 1 Helen Hannam, 2 Rachel Morris 3 Nia Anna, 4 Steve Roberts, 5 Steve Mason, 6 Richard Scamans, 7 Mark Mason, 8 Hannah Griffith, 9 Gwennan Charlton, 10 Samantha Williams, 11 Sarah Jones, 12 Dave Jones, 13 Daniel Hennell, 14 Cheryl Frost, 15 Kay Hatton, 16 Tony Gibson, 17 Iwan Evans, 18 William Evans, 19 Don Hale, 20 Carol Moss, 21 Karl Morris, 22 Steve Poupart, 23 Sion Thomas, 24 Gethin Jones, 25 Mike Hayton. *Club entrants later donated various tins and other essential goods to the local foodbank as part of their regular festive support. Message from Martin Green: "Another donation gratefully received from Ty Hapus Community Resource Centre & Foodbank from North Wales Road Runners Club after our annual Christmas handicap race. Huge thanks to all that donated and also a big thank you for all the volunteers at Ty Hapus for their invaluable help for the community. (*see photo below). *Pictured above - Organisers of the Ty Hapus Foodbank gladly accept some generous donations from members of the North Wales Road Running Club following their Christmas handicap race. Other result: *Prestatyn: Stuart Culverhouse finished 4th at the Nova parkrun at Prestatyn on Saturday with a good run in 20.38 and he won his VM50 age cat.

*Jonathan Kettle (above) was the first runner home at Conwy parkrun. Wild, wet, and windy at Conwy parkrun, and tribute to former athlete... Report by Don Hale. Photos by Steve Jeffery. https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk Ten North Wales Road Runners entered this week’s wild, wet, and windy Conwy parkrun, which included 146 club and social runners who negotiated the usual rather soggy, and waterlogged riverside course, and they all paid tribute to a former athlete. Jonathan Kettle was the first runner home overall in a fast time of 17 minutes and 50 seconds to win his VM45 age cat, and he led back a talented team that collected five first-placed age category victories, in addition to one second and one third placing. Will Williams finished 5th overall and he also won his VW50 cat in 19.08, with Stuart Culverhouse 12th, and 3rd in his VM50 cat in 20.45. Jamie Tharme was on form again and he finished 19th in 22.08, and 2nd in his VM45 cat. *Stuart Culverhouse is pictured above at a very wet Conwy. Carla Green also continued her rapid progress and won her VW50 age cat in 24th place overall, and she was the 3rd female finisher in 22.39. Karl Morris was pleased with 51st place in 24.37, and he won his VM40 cat. And Tony Gibson made a welcome return to parkrun with a solid performance in 67th place in 26.24, whilst Gwennan Charlton finished 95th in 29.18. Tony Gibson (above) made a welcome return to parkrun. Meanwhile, master veteran Mike Hayton won his MV70 age cat with another good run finishing 95th in 30.40, with Rachel Morris 120th in 34.27. Carla Green (above) - back to her best with another good performance. *Jonathan Kettle (NWRRC) finished 1st in 17.50, with SM30 debutants Harty Woodford and Ben Grayson (Eden Runners), claiming the 2nd and 3rd male places in 17.55 and 18.24, respectfully. And Harty certainly gave Jonathan a scare with a determined challenge and finished just 3-seconds adrift. Anna Drinkwater (Eryri Harriers) was the 1st female finisher in 20.00, with Naomi Wilson 2nd on her debut in 22.09, whilst Carla Green (NWRRC) was 3rd in 22.39. *Praise was given to the Conwy run director Gwyn Williams and to all the volunteers and marshals on such an awful morning, and Gwyn also paid tribute and helped to celebrate the life of parkrunner Andy MacDonald, who sadly passed away this week. He told fellow runners: “Andy was taken far too soon, but he crammed so much joy, fun, laughter, and love into his life. “I’ve had a few people who knew him come up to me to commiserate today, and they all mentioned what a lovely guy he was, genuine, warm, and always good company. Rock on Andy lad, you will be missed.” *This is the link to the provisional Conwy parkrun results: https://www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults/