Future of Conwy Parkrun in doubt?
Report by Don Hale
https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com
Doubt now hangs over the future of the popular Conwy Parkrun following news that a new Welsh Cycle route will cut through a large section of the existing 5k course, with extensive construction work expected to start about March 8 and lasting for at least 14 weeks.
This new route, to also include the building of two new bridges and a proposed cycle route through to Betws-y-Coed, will now mean a complete closure to the public of the river trail from the RSPB Nature Reserve to the railway bridge and prevent access to Conwy Cob.
This affects the start and finish of the Conwy Parkrun, which attracts over 300 athletes each Saturday morning, and it will also stop walkers, dog walkers, current cyclists, and runners from using this stretch.
This venue was previously voted as runner-up in an online World Cup voting competition during Covid.
Local parkrun supporters are now worried about maintaining an interest for the runners and volunteers over such a long period, with athletes likely to attend other parkruns.
This multi-million-pound Welsh Government scheme will also hit visitors to the RSPB site, with a large proportion of the existing car park soon to be used by heavy machinery.
John Hatton, from NWRRC, and the MC at parkrun, but speaking in a personal capacity, said he was concerned about this imminent closure plan and the future of the event, and explained how hard it can be keeping a team of volunteers involved every week.
He also confirmed that he has asked the Parkrun HQ in London about temporarily moving the start of the event onto the Cob, yet still retaining the 5k distance, and including much of the same course, but admitted that they failed to support his idea, and seemed dead against any alterations to the existing and approved parkun route.
Their logic however, seemed to puzzle many runners and volunteers, and even me, as their HQ has already and quite controversially eliminated numerous course records, and individual age category records, and became embroiled in a transgender fiasco, whilst saying that parkrun is not a race, but they still retain timings and individual age cat results.
Steve records two PBs against new ‘Coe and Ovett’ at British Champs
Report by Don Hale
https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com
North Wales Road Runner Steve Gardner recorded two new personal best times on the track last weekend at the British Masters championships against the new ‘Coe and Ovett’ pair of elite racers.
Steve, who is a top Welsh Master, and an international veteran track athlete, smashed his previous times in the 800m and 1500m races, and he is almost certain to have broken the previous 800m Welsh record, yet to be verified.
After his busy weekend, he confirmed: “I have just got home from the BMAF Championships held at the Lee Valley Indoor Stadium, which is the culmination of the Indoor season for me.
“I competed in the 800m on Saturday finishing in 4th place in my V60 age category in a new personal best (PB) time of 2.19.14, and I suspect that this may be a new Welsh V60 record pending confirmation.
“And on Sunday I competed in the 1500m, and although finishing in 8th place, I knocked 11 seconds off my previous PB finishing in a time of 4.56.51. The race was won by Robert McHarg in a phenomenal time of 4.20, closely followed by his close friend Andrew Ridley in 4.21.
“Rob broke the World V60 mile record 2 weeks ago, then Andrew further improved the world record in the following race on 12th February. The commentator at this weekend’s event likened their rivalry to the era of the famous Seb Coe and Steve Ovett.”
Great Orme Fell Race back to normal
Organiser Mike Blake has confirmed the Great Orme Fell Race will now return to its normal spot on May 13th, following reports that it was likely to be postponed.
Mike said this week: “Please note that due to popular demand the Orme Fell Race is back in its normal spot thanks to Gavin Gog. This means that the Northerners will only have to travel south once as far as the Llanberis Valley to get the five counters in, while the southerners only have to go as far north as Y Fron, to get their 5 counters in.”
He also confirmed details of the other Joe Brown, Tuesday evening, midweek Fell Race series of fixtures for 2025, and stated: “It’s time to mark your wall planners, the 1st April will soon be here, and thanks to Catherine Casey, Joe Brown Shops have agreed to support the series once again, and it will follow the format of previous years.
“And as is the norm, Joe Brown vouchers will be for the series winners, best 5 results out of the 12 races and still £2 per race or £20 for all 13 races. The last counting race as introduced last year will be Aber with Llanberis being a celebration of the series, still have prizes on the night for each cat followed by the series presentation, there will also be a £10 voucher for those who have done all 12 races and not won a category prize.”
Another fast and busy event at the Conwy Parkrun swamp!
Report by Don Hale
https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com
It was another good turnout at Conwy Parkrun last Saturday due to a large number of visiting athletes, but conditions underfoot were horrendous once again, with another swamp-like 5k course for the 300 plus entrants.
Despite the waterlogged and challenging route, the first 12 finishers all dipped under the 20-minute mark, with SW20 runner Andrew Moore first man home with a new PB of 16 minutes and 27 seconds.
The second placed finisher was visitor VM40 Aaron Saxton (Manchester Tri Club), who was pleased with his debut time of 17.41, with fellow VM40 athlete Frazer Slade 3rd with another PB of 17.52.
The first two female runners were both teenage visitors, with JW15-17 Cara Scott, the first lady in 19.59, and Lucy Davey (City of York) claimed 2nd spot and shared the same age cat as Cara on her debut in 21.19, with SW20 Llio Owen 3rd in 22.01.
North Wales Road Runners were back to near full strength this week and claimed three age category wins amongst their 13 members, and also welcomed Jonathan Kettle back to form and parkrun, and he was 5th overall with a good time of 18.48, and won his VM50 cat.
Adam Lemalle took 33rd place in 22.19, with Richard Scamans 43rd in 23.06. Veteran Steve Roberts won his VM60 cat in 24.05 in 56th place, and master vet Don Hale also won his VM70 cat in 92nd place in 26.37.
Jamie Tharme struggled with a back injury, and was 96th in 26.57, whilst master vet Mike Hayton had a good run in 130th place in 29.13, and was 3rd VM70.
Another veteran, John O’Shea, finished 3rd VM65 in 183rd place in 32.39, with Mark Davies 185th in 32.57.
Elizabeth Driscoll was 226th in 36.44, and Hannah Griffith ran with her dog in 251st place in 39.24, whilst veterans Sue and Mike Smith ran together in 58.11 in 289th and 290th
This is a link to the provisional results from Conwy, and praise was given to the run
director and to all the volunteers and marshals.
https://www.parkrun.org.uk/conwy/results/latestresults/
Other result:
Penrhyn: Super veteran Sandy Johnston won his VM75 age cat at the Penrhyn Castle Parkrun last Saturday with a steady performance of 24.32 in 57th place.