Conwy parkrunners back in action for 10th anniversary following postponements

Report by Don Hale

https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com

Nearly 300 mixed ability athletes took part in the Conwy Parkrun last Saturday following a series of postponements due to the weather and severe water problems but faced a very cold breeze and a waterlogged 5k course on their delayed 10th anniversary.

Martin Green was the first North Wales Road Runner home, although he also represents Meirionnydd Runners, due to his dual registration. He finished 7th overall in 17 minutes and 59 seconds and won his VM50 age cat.

Will Williams was 13th overall and 3rd in his VM50 cat in 19.48, with Sion Thomas 31st in 22.15, and 2nd VM40, whilst Daniel Hennell enjoyed a good run in 71st place in 25.40.

Master vet Don Hale won his VM70 in 26.29 in 89th place, and narrowly finished ahead of club colleague Hannah Griffith, who was 91st and 3rd VW50 in 26.32, and Daniel Owens ran the challenging course with this week’s guide Graham Burke. Daniel was 99th in 27.02, with Graham just one second and one place behind.

Gwennan Charlton ran with family members, and she was 138th in 29.02, and 3rd VW35, with veteran John O’Shea 188th in 32.10.

Mark Davies had a steady run in 216th place in 34.24. Rachel Morris included the parkrun within her marathon training plans, and finished 243rd in 37.38, whilst veteran couple, Sue and Mike Smith, returned as tail-walking volunteers, and recorded times of 56.40.

The 1st finisher overall at Conwy was SM20 athlete Andrew Moore with a new PB of 16.38, with SM18, Martin Sunderland (Woking AC), 2nd on his course debut in 16.44, and Ed Slaughter (Porthcawl Runners), finished 3rd with a new PB in 16.59. There were 13 runners who dipped under the 20-minute mark, with 296 finishers.

The 1st female finisher was SW20 athlete Emily Hanlon (10th overall), with a new PB of 18.55, and VW50 Alison Green (Pensby Runners), was 2nd (20th overall), on her course debut in 21.26, with VW35 and fellow first-timer Eleanor Lambert (St Albans Striders) 3rd in 22.11.

Praise was given to the run director Bethan Wyn Roberts, and to all the volunteers and
marshals. This is a link to the provisional parkrun results:
https://www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults/

Other running results:

Newborough: Harry Driscoll, who like Martin Green, now has dual registration with Meirionnydd RC, finished 12th at the Newborough Forest Parkrun on Saturday, with an excellent time of 20.11, and was 3rd SM20.
Pwllheli: Ben and Sarah Hudson took part in the limited entry Hafan Pwllheli Parkrun last Saturday over the challenging golden sands, with Ben working as a marshal and Sarah, the volunteer tail walker. The pair later jogged back from the turn point, and Ben won his VM45 cat in 49.11 in14th place, whilst Sarah was 3rd VW45 in 49.17. There were only 15 entrants.

Welsh Masters record breaking trio receive awards

Report by Don Hale
https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com
http://www.welshmastersathletics.co.uk

Three Welsh Masters veteran athletes received official certificates this week to confirm they have recorded some new national records at recent track and field events.

The roll of honour includes two North Wales Road Runners in father and son athletes Dave and Steve Gardner and David Williams from the Guildford and Godalming club.

Dave celebrated a new record in the indoor shot putt competition held at Coleg Cambria, Deeside, on January 11 this year, with an impressive throw of 7.26m to win his M85 age cat, whilst his son Steve competed at the National Indoor Athletics Centre in Cardiff on 12th January, and he won his M60 cat in the 800m indoor track race in 2 minutes 20.89 seconds.

David Williams was another worthy winner in the 1500m track race at Tooting Bec last summer on 31st August 2024, with an excellent time of 4 minutes 49.13 seconds, and Chris Pruski from WMAL also added that David bettered this record a further three times last year.

Menai Track and Field Athletic Club saved from closure

Report by Don Hale

The Menai Track & Field Club looks as though it has finally been rescued from the threat of closure following an urgent appeal, which began last November, when member Georgina Seguin first raised the issue and appealed for support.

Georgina, an active Menai club athlete who participates in the North Wales cross county league fixtures, originally explained that the club, with over 170 juniors and about 20 seniors, faced closure due to a lack of willing volunteers and officials.

She was keen to hear from people with any ideas to help save the club, to come forward as soon as possible, and also mentioned a need to fill several committee roles.

Her appeal was also supported by Bernie Jones, secretary of the NW Cross-Country League.

And this week, Georgina has provided some positive news, which she hopes will be fully ratified shortly at the club’s AGM and confirmed: “Just to give you a quick update on Menai. It’s been tricky to fill roles but luckily Barry Edwards has come forward as the potential new chair, and we have managed to split some other roles into smaller jobs, which is great news. We hope this will finalised at the AGM. Many thanks for your support.”