LSARRC News 20th August 2013

The fifth Inter-Club Grand Prix, held at Astley Park, Chorley, on Wednesday was run in unsettled weather but this failed to detract from the highlights for the Lytham club which included third placing in the Women's and Vet60's competition. The Club put in a good performance in the Women's and Vet 60s but struggled to fifth in the Vets' and Vet 50's and was pushed into sixth in the Open by stronger teams from Chorley and Red Rose.  For Lytham, who almost traditionally come fourth in everything, sixth in the Open was a disappointment. In time for the starting gun, the rain abated and the race went underway damp but quite pleasant conditions.  Preston's Robert Affleck was in fine form winning in 25:29 and leading in a solid Preston contingent in 2nd, 3rd, 5th and 7th places to take four of the six top spots leaving Wesham with the remaining two wins.

The full Lytham squad at the 5th Inter-Clun Grand Prix at Astley Park

LSARRC's third-placed ladies team consisted of Mel Koth, Debbie Cooper, Julia Rolfe, Bec Willetts and Fiona Geldard.  Mel Koth, 75th overall, led the team in and put in a good performance to finish in 34:28.  She was well up in the woman's competition in eighth, her highest Inter-Club placing of the season.  Debbie Cooper finished 22nd woman in 38:23 and made the Open team for the first time. Julia Rolfe finished in 39:39, making not only the women's team but also the Vet 50s.  Completing a good team were Bec Willetts, 42:22 and Fiona Geldard, 45:02.

Debbie Cooper and Julia Rolfe at Astley Park

The other success was provided by the Vet's 60's. Graham Webster added another first to his record of Vet 60 wins at Blackpool and Lytham to finish the Chorley course in 31:35, 41st overall.  He was backed up by Roy Stevens, 10th Vet 60 in 37:04 and Pam Binns who didn't let a weekend Half Marathon deter her from finishing 19th Vet 60 in 46:31, to count in the Lytham team.  

Leading LSARRC in were Joe Greenwood and Thomas Howarth. Greenwood finished his first Chorley Inter-Club18th in 29:03 with Howarth just six places back in 29:50.  Mark Willett, the Club's third counter, put in a strong performance, 38th in 31:15, three places ahead of Webster.  Oliver Hirsh continues his rise up the team from 9th at Lytham to 6th at Preston and now with his highest to date, fifth.  Hirsh, 32:15, made 49th overall, 22nd Vet and second counter in the Vet's.  Taking the sixth team place was Kevin Ashworth making a truly noble effort for the Club after completing his first marathon at the Isle of Man only three days earlier.  Ashworth was 58th in 32:57.  Remaining members of the Open team were Koth, Terry Hellings, 76th in 34:28, Stevens and Cooper.

Making up the full Lytham squad were Bill Lock, MV70, 144th, 46:58; Andy Sneddon, MV45, 151^st, 51:13; Dawn Lock, WV65, 154^th, 53:41.

Lytham members were back enjoying a second opportunity to mix and match running, socializing and countryside on Sunday’s summer run this week at the idyllic location of Rivington. A delightful 8 mile course was chosen and led by a Bolton Harriers member, who joined Fiona Geldard, Bec Willett, Bill and Dawn Lock along mostly level terrain beside the beautiful Rivington and Yarrow Reservoirs starting from Rivington's Lower Barn to White Coppice.

Lytham Lady Sue Godfrey put in a fine run after a long break from competition at Birchwood 10k at Warrington on Sunday. She was among a field of 764 competitors, finishing 703^rd in 1:05, which was inside her target time of 66 minutes. She raced in memory of her nephew. The fast, mostly flat course incorporates three inclines, with the final kilometre being in descent. Conditions were breezy and not too hot, with all finishers receiving a towel and a bunch of flowers for the ladies. On Saturday Julia Rolfe and James Whitworth ran the Catforth 5k on a very rainy evening. Rolfe was 1^st VF50 in 24.20 and Whitworth 2^nd V65 in 27.10.

LSARRC News 13th August 2013

Lytham club members are making a habit of scoring at the Mid Lancs League track and field meetings and once again at the fifth round of the competition at Hyndburn on Saturday, they took away a good score. On a mainly dry, overcast and mild day, throwers Jeremy McCandless and Greg Oulton were responsible for adding 21 points between them. This gave the Club a total of 153 for the season and sufficient to hold onto their 8th position in Men's Division II, one of their best in recent years. First on the field was McCandless with his best event, the hammer, in which he threw 13m45 for 6th longest of the day and his biggest points score of 5. He followed this with tenth-place throws of 6m5 in the shot putt (3 points) and 17m07 in the discus (4 points). Team-mate Oulton threw two counting javelin attempts with his longest, 16m58, a PB and also gaining his highest points score of 4. Oulton also achieved PBs in the shot putt (6m22, 12th, 2 points) and the discus (15m41, 11th, 3 points). Sole representative on the track was Graham Webster in the Senior Men's 1500m where he ran 5:13:6 for 14th, pipped for the remaining second division points by new league members Knowsley Harriers.

Combining a relaxing break away with some challenging but scenic Manx road competition, LSARR members Kevin Ashworth ran the full Isle of Man marathon, and Laura Ashworth, Pamela Hardman, Pamela Binns and Janice Cobley took on the half marathon in the same event. The results for the Lytham collective represented a sweep of victory: on Sunday’s race, Kevin Ashworth, running his first ever marathon, finished in an astonishing 3:28:24 in 29^th place overall. In the half marathon, Laura Ashworth won 2nd place in her VF35 category in a time of 1:48:18, Pam Hardman won 2nd place in her age group finishing in 1:56:59, Janice Cobley won 3rd place in her age group in a time of 2.15.39 and Pam Binns won 2nd place in her age group in 2.12.04. The jubilant club members returned with an event glass plaque.

Fiona Geldard and Graham Webster competed in the Northern Vets AC 10k championships at Bispham on Sunday. The undulating course presented a challenge to the 172 entrants, run in windy conditions and the threat of rain. Geldard and Webster crossed the finish line in 41.00 and 58.12 respectively, in positions 54 and 161. Webster took the 3rd vet 60 category and Geldard, returning to competition after a prolonged period of injury, was happy with her performance.

Also on Sunday a group of six Club members met at Tockholes visitor centre for one of the social summer runs. The emphasis on these runs is less on the competition and more on the group and social aspect, but certainly no less of a challenge. This week the five mile course looped up and round the heights of Darwen tower, treating runners to beautiful local views, landscapes and countryside terrain. Luckily the rain held off but the winds were strong at height and the skies dramatic. Debbie Cooper, Ness Horne, Mark Willett, Catherine French, Bill Lock and Dawn Lock concluded the run at the visitor Cafe where chips, barms and hot brews were the order of the day.

Julia Rolfe and Mark Willetts took part in the Pilling 10k last Wednesday on a warm evening. The race started near the Elletson Arms and the course followed quiet country lanes. Rolfe made an impressive finish as 1^st FV 50 in 50.03 and Mark Willetts was 6^th Male in 40.40.

LSARRC News 5th August 2013

The Farleton Knott Fell Squad:
L-R Greg Oulton, Dawn Lock, Terry Hellings, Debbie Cooper

At the Farelton Knott Fell Race on Sunday it was a small but resilient group of Lytham St. Annes Road Runners Club members who tackled the fourth and final round of this year's Inter-Club Fell Series.  Farleton Knott Fell Race was the selected race and the first British Open Fell Runners Association race to be included.

This was the hardest of the season's courses and in wet or windy weather could have been almost impossible.  Tricky even for seasoned fell runners, it promised to test to the limit the less experienced thirty plus inter-club runners.  The first section involved a runnable climb nearly to the summit with a long level stretch that eased the way up.  Similarly, the return, down parallel paths, was also a forgiving passage.  But separating the two simple and scenic sections was a plunge down the southern scree slope to within a field's length of the start and an exhausting climb back to the top some 200 metres above. 

First woman for Lytham Debbie Cooper

Nimble and practiced fell runner Debbie Cooper was LSARRC's first finisher, passing Terry Hellings, the Club's leader at the previous two events, on the steep climb back to the summit.  Cooper finished in 59:44, 90th overall and third women in the Inter-Club standing her in good stead for an end-of-season prize.  Hellings finished 1:01:29 six places back and the other two team members, Greg Oulton and Dawn Lock finished 123rd in 1:15:03 and 125th in 1:31:35 respectively.

Lytham fielded incomplete teams in the Open, Ladies, Vets, 50s and 60s teams.  The four team members performed well enough to take 4th in the Open and went one better in the Ladies, 3rd.

Lytham members Graham Webster and Pam Binns competed in the Northern vets 5000m track Championships at Leigh Sports Village on Wednesday. Pam Binns put in a sterling performance in the 5000m track event placing her in the esteemed position of 1st FV65 (27m 46.9s). This was Binns’ first track race for an undisclosed number of years and probably her first ever 5000m track race. Graham Webster was also 3rd mv60 and medal winner.

In LSARRC Junior’s news, Alex Stanier, whilst on a family holiday in Austria, competed in the local Leoganger Sonnberg 11.5km multi terrain race. Alex rose to the challenge of both the step up in distance and the hilly course and ran a very good race, finishing 1^st in the U17B category and 17^th overall in a time of 49:23.09.