North Wales runners recall their dramatic marathon experiences

Introduction by Don Hale

https://donhaleblog.blogspot.com

This is a special feature about some North Wales based athletes who took part in last week’s very warm London or Manchester Marathons, with a few even overcoming personal tragedies in order to compete and raise much-needed funds for local charities.

It would be impossible of course, to mention everyone who took part, but this article gives a voice to some key individuals who made a determined effort to start and finish one of the most gruelling UK challenges covering 26.2 miles.

This is a summary of their personal challenges:

Martin Green

Martin, who holds dual registration as a top athlete with Meirionnydd RC and NWRRC, had a tremendous run in London and recorded a superb time, especially considering the very warm conditions.

After his race Martin confirmed: “I probably have the same story as everyone else tbh, it was warm even at the start, so the result was probably about five minutes slower than I was hoping for, but so long as you try your best, that’s all you can ever do, so just happy to finish in the end.

“My time was 2:36:03, which is around 5 minutes slower than usual so all in all it’s actually a decent performance taking everything into consideration.”

Josie Davies and Rhian Roxburgh

It was an emotional day at the London Marathon for local club athletes Josie Davies and Rhian Roxburgh following a recent personal tragedy, which tested the duo to the limit, both physically and emotionally, whilst also raising funds for the ‘Happy Faces’ charity appeal.

This is a personal account of their determined efforts:

Josie Davies: “Wow what a weekend of emotional high and lows. TCS London Marathon once again did us proud, but what a day!

“Firstly, I want to thank my lovely sis-in-law Rhian Roxburgh, who God knows how, kept me focused through all the emotional pain throughout the 26.2 miles, the heat was brutal and zapped us from the start.

“It was so tough mentally and physically, but we did it and Gef would have been proud.

“Thank you to our besties Mandy and Charlie Owen, who surprised me around Mile 9, I had no idea they were coming, and I was an emotional wreck, so lovely to have our Nikki, Dan and the gang at the end.

“I felt I just wanted to thank everybody for all the donations and support I’ve have been shown; I could not have got through all this over the last few months without you all especially getting to the end of 26.2 miles.”

Rhian Roxburgh: “It was an emotional day, Josie Davies did a remarkable thing, she was amazing. It was tough for her especially, with it being her first marathon without Gef for 18 years. He was there in spirit, and it was what kept her going throughout.

“The crowds were amazing all the way around. So proud of you Josie! I want to thank everyone who has sponsored us, we have raised £2,329 in the last five weeks between us, with over 100 of our friends and family donating.

“Thank you so much, as it means so much to us as this charity Happy Faces Children’s Charity is a small charity who support sick, disadvantaged and disabled children in North Wales. This was a charity close to my brother’s heart and I am very grateful to be able to continue his good work in raising money for them.”

Gwen Charlton

Gwen is a busy mum and a keen member of North Wales Road Runners.

She too provided a revealing story about her marathon debut which she completed in 5:04 and said: “The London Marathon has been on my bucket list for many, many years, and I was very lucky enough to secure the annual run club spot to represent NWRRC in 2025.

“I’ve never experienced a race quite like it before. The crowds were phenomenal, 3-4 people deep in some sections, yet having trained through the winter months, nothing could have prepared me for the hot weather on the day! A fantastic experience, one to cherish forever!”

Mal Preece

Road Runner Mal Preece had mixed experiences about his London Marathon race, which he completed in about 4:31.

He explained: “I was on track for a 3:15 PB, but the wheels came off at 25k, and I had to walk for a good portion of the rest of the race. Move onto Berlin in September. The joys of summer training!”

Jon Hayward, Dyl Williams, Pete Brocklehurst and Dougie Graham

Jon, Dyl, Pete and Dougie were part of an original quartet of local runners set to run the London Marathon, who have been busy raising funds for the local charity “Happy Faces.”

Throughout the past few months, they have been seen around Llandudno and Rhos on Sea, peddling their static bikes outside Clare’s, Asda, and the charity’s HQ, to help raise awareness of this charity’s essential work.

Unfortunately, Dougie suffered an injury during his training and so had to defer his London place till next year, but the remaining trio continued, and between the entire team, they have now raised over £8,000 for this worthy cause.

Team members recall their efforts:

Jon Hayward: “Medal Monday…Thanks to everyone who donated to my charity fundraiser for Happy Faces Children’s Charity. I raised a huge £2,145, and set a new marathon PB of 3:47:28, knocking off nearly half an hour!

“It was a really hot day, as ever the spectators were incredible. I even saw Gordon Ramsey after Tower Bridge who shouted, ‘Go on Jon!’ An ace day!“

Pete Brocklehurst (pictured above) kept his comments brief but completed his run in about 5:07, saying: “A great experience, let’s say nothing else!”

Dyl Williams: “It was so hot that I even stopped my Strava after an hour. I think I had a bit of heat stroke. It was tough going in that heat, and I strained my calf too in the 12th mile, but I hobbled on as I was determined to finish in sheer pain.

“The official time was 6hrs 13 but never again. My final amount raised was £4040.18; Pete Brock raised £2575.78; and Jon Hayward raised £2145.00: A total of £8760.96 between the three of us, and obviously,
as you know Dougie has deferred until 2026. Thank you to everyone who has donated, really appreciated to smash my target.”

Tristan Owen and Will Williams

Tristan and Will were just two of the many local runners who competed last week in the heat of the Manchester Marathon.

Tristan Owen is a well-known local businessman and charity supporter with Llandudno Rotary Club. He is also a keen golfer and parkrunner, and last weekend, he made his debut in the Manchester Marathon raising funds for a good cause.

He later confirmed: “I am pretty much recovered, which surprises me, given how difficult it was! I set out to complete a marathon, a distance twice as far as I’d ran before, then, to see if I could.

“The experience was both amazing and humbling. The atmosphere was electric, and all the participants and supporters were incredible. The last 6 miles, running in 20-degree heat and enduring muscle cramps, was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I’m so proud to have crossed that line.

“And thanks to a lot of very generous people, I’ve managed to raise over £1,200 for Llandudno Rotary Club’s “Community Chest” small grant scheme. More than double what I expected, so thank you to everyone.”

Will Williams is another very talented athlete who represents North Wales Road Runners (NWRRC), and via his second claim club Cybi Striders. He gave a brutally honest assessment of his tough debut run at
Manchester.

“I went out for sub 3 hrs, but I blew up at mile 16. It was so hot, so I slowed down massively over the last 10 miles unfortunately. Never mind, it was still a decent marathon debut. My first marathon experience but OMG! That was hard and definitely a race of two-halves, from the joy of the first 16 miles, through to hitting the wall hard, and literally crawling over the line.

“No regrets, and I learnt so much about myself, knowing that I can go to the well and dig myself out of the hole. It didn’t help that it was so warm either!”