LSARRC News 27th January 2015

Team Lytham St Annes

The Northern Cross Country Championships were this year held at Pontefract Racecourse.  It was a very muddy course and although there was no rain, it was still windy.

Dawn Bloor

The Northern Cross Country Championships were this year held at Pontefract Racecourse.  Recent rain had created a very muddy course and although there was no rain, it was still windy.

Willie Richmond

Three junior girls made the trip over to Yorkshire and did the club proud. Hollie Winstanley finished 126th in the under 13 girls race in a time of 13:13.  In the under 15 girls, Ella Moulding was 10th in 16:16 while Chloe Norman was 140th in 20:39.

LSARRC got to run with internationals and even an Olympic Gold medalist in the senior races. The Senior men's race was won by  Andrew Davies of Stockport Harriers in 37:44 closely followed by Olympic Triathlon Champion Alistair Brownlee of Bingley Harriers in 37:50.  First home for Lytham was Tom Howarth in 339th and 49:56.  Graham Webster was pleased with his run finishing in 432nd and 52:52.  Terry Hellings was in 536th in 56:47, Willie Richmond was 558th in 57:42, Nigel Simpkin was 666th in 1:07:13 and Greg Oulton was 680th in 1:11:03. There were 697 finishers. With 6 runners, the men had a complete team and finished in 56th place

The senior women had an 2 lap 8k course which was also won by a Stockport Harriers althlete, Elle Vernon in 28:22.  First home for LSARRC was Dawn Bloor in 251st place and a time of 43:44.  Fiona Geldard was 272th in 45:10 and Sylvia Gittins was 317th in 49:22.  Sadly, Lytham ladies didn't have a complete team needing 4 runners to count.

Tom Haworth

On Saturday morning, Rebecca Willetts and Pam Hardman headed to Avenham Park for the 134th Preston Parkrun.  With over 300 runners, this event has really grown.  This was Pam's first time at the Preston Parkrun and completed the 5k course in 142nd place and 27:01.  Rebecca finished in 186th place in 29:02.  and was her first race back whilst still recovering from a frozen shoulder.  Last time she raced was at the Parkrun in Perth, Australia last July where she ran with her arm in a sling!

Colin Laidlaw ran for the civil service in a North Army XC race series match at Weeton Barracks on Wednesday afternoon. He finished 68th out of 138 runners. Colin was was quite amused to be called sir by the young army lads and wondered whether they thought he was a retired General or something.

LSARRC News 19th January 2015

Inskip Half Marathon on Sunday morning was the main attraction this weekend.  This has now become a very popular local event under the excellent organisation by Race Director Alan Taylor.   At 10:30 am, the field assembled in sub-zero, misty conditions but once the race was under way, the sun soon came out.  Despite a few still-slippery patches, and a little bit of sleety rain later on, the flat and fast course made for an enjoyable run. And despite the cold, quite a few supporters were out along the course offering some very welcome encouragement.

Lytham St Annes was well represented on the male side with 7 runners taking part.  After some excellent running, Joe Greenwood was first home for LSARRC in 1:18:34 in 13th place and an excellent PB.  Simon Denye followed in 1:22:04 and 21st place. Tom Howarth  was 32nd in 1:24:30 whilst Neil Tate finished just behind with a massive PB of over 5 minutes to finish in 33rd place in a time of 1:24:41, excellent preparation for his build up to his first London Marathon in April.  Peter Cruse was 57th in 1:27:31 and Mark Willett was 93rd in a very respectable 133:50. Ian Tate was 193rd in 1:47:52.  A goody bag containing a medal, a much needed woolly hat and huge bar of chocolate was duly collected – before a hasty retreat was made to the marquee, where a delicious, complimentary hot pot (with red cabbage) was on offer for all participants.

Mark Willett was also out in action on Saturday morning at the Preston Parkrun.  He recorded a PB for the 5k course in 20:19 finishing in 13th place.

Seven of the club’s junior athletes represented their schools last week in the first round of the prestigious English Schools Cross Country championships. The races were hosted by Rossall School who utilised their extensive grounds well to provide some challenging courses and with a blustery wind blowing off the sea, runners were certainly tested to the full. In the year seven’s race Hollie Winstanley’s hard work on training nights was rewarded with a first place in the girls race and there were also great runs from Rosie Taylor and Isla Gordon in the same race. In the year seven boys race James Nicholas, who is more accustomed to sprint events, produced a great performance to finish in the top ten. Ella Moulding and Chloe Norman both competed in the junior girls race and Ella continued her winning ways with a comfortable victory with Chloe also having a fine run to finish 6th. Ross Hart ran in the Inter Boys race and did his school proud with a fine run. Most of the Lytham Athletes qualified to represent Fylde and Wyre next month in the next round of the competition at Blackburn’s Witton Park.  

And finally...

Happy Birthday to Dawn Bloor

LSARRC News 13th January 2015

Guess who fell in the mud!!!

The fourth fixture in the Mid Lancs Cross Country League was held at Townley Park, Burnley on Saturday.  A bitterly cold biting wind and very muddy conditions made for a tough course.

Eight LSARRC juniors made the trip to east Lancashire.  In the under 11 girls, Rebecca Tate was first home for the club in 21st position and a time of 8:37.  Emma Savidge was 26th in 8:51, Georgia Norman was 34th in 9:12 whilst Charlotte Thomson was 46th in 10:17.  Simon Holt was 11th in 7:25 with Louis Eunson just behind him in 12th and 7:27 in the under 11 boys.  Holly Winstanley was the only LSARRC junior in the under 13 girls race finishing in 14th place and 11:25.  After her win in the County Championships the previous week, Ella Moulding kept up her fine form to take victory again in the under 15 girls race in a time of 10:59.

The senior women's race was won by Anna Lupton of Barrow in Furness Striders.  First home for LSARRC in 13th place was Joanna Goorney in 22:26 also finishing 2nd Vet 45.  Mel Koth was 47th in 25:03 whilst just behind her was Barbara Homes in 48th,1st vet 55 in 25:05.  Fiona Geldard was 76th in 26:32, Julia Rolfe was 98th in 28:06, Sylvia Gittins was 131st in 31:05 and Dawn Lock was 167th in 42:12.  The ladies vet 35 team finished 4th  leaving them in 3rd overall after 4 races whilst the vet 45 team finished an excellent 1st again and so remaining well clear in the league.

Lytham Ladies

Joe Greenwood was first home for Lytham St Annes in the senior men's rave finishing in 35th and 35:31.  Tom Howarth was 78th in 38:33, Neil Tate was 97th in 39:14, Graham Webster was 149th in 41:48, Terry Hellings was 191st in 44:20, Greg Oulton was 263rd in 50:25 and Nigel Simpkin was 267th in 50:53.  There were 280 finishers.

Graham Webster

Greg Oulton

Julia Rolfe

On Sunday morning, it was the Garstang 10k organised by Garstang Community Academy PTA from Garstang High School.  The race was won by Ben Lindsay of Manhattan Project in 30:49 over 2 minutes clear of 2nd place.  Steve Hargreaves was first finisher for LSARRC in an excellent 35:29 and 8th place.  Peter Cruse was next in 29th place and 38:43 with Tom Howarth in 40th in 39:45.  Emily Hargreaves was the first female for Lytham in 68th, 6th female overall, 2nd vet 35 and in a time of 41:25.  Mark Willett finished 95th in 42:45, Colin Laidlaw was 126th in 44:33, Richard Storey was 137th in 45:09 and Dawn Bloor was 232nd in 50:30.

LSARRC News 5th January 2015

The big event of the week was the Lancashire Cross Country Championships from Witton Park, Blackburn.  The rain which came down during the earlier junior races had cleared in time for the early afternoon senior races but conditions were still heavy going with plenty of mud.

The highlight of the championships for LSARR, was the outstanding performance by Ella  Moulding in the under 15 girls race.  From the gun Ella soon established herself in the lead pack of three where she stayed for the first two laps of the field but as the runners approached the inline up the infamous saucer Ella made her move into the lead position and then gradually increased the gap to eventually win the race comfortably.

The mud and rain that featured throughout the junior races did not dampen the spirits of the other eleven junior Lytham athletes with gutsy performances from all of them. The U11 boys team battled their way round the 1.8k course to earn team bronze medals with Louis Eunson first Lytham runner back in 6:58 (13th) closely followed by Archie Dowds 16th (7.05) and Simon Holt 17th (7:08), with novice cross country runner George Winstanley making a fine debut run to finish 25th (7:33). Five U11 girls with the first three back finishing within a whisker of each other. Georgia Norman was 23rd in 8:15, Rebecca Tate 24th (8:16) and Emma Savidge 25th (8:16). Charlotte Thomson and newcomer Jessica Addy were both neck and neck throughout the race with Charlotte finishing 36th (9:34) and Jessica 37th in 9:35. The U11 girls team finished 7th.  Two U13 girls ran for Lytham with Hollie Winstanley completing the 3k course in 15:12 to finish 23rd and Isla Gordon finished 33rd in 16:33.

Layla Foley in the under 20 girls race

The senior women's race (which also included the under 20s race) was won for the second year in succession by Rachael Franklin from Manx Harriers. First home for LSARR was Joanna Goorney in a time of 29:15, 12th place and 2nd Vet 45.  Layla Foley was next in 24th place, in a time of 30:37 and was also 5th under 20. Fiona Geldard was 65th in 37:35, Sylvia Gittins was 77th and 1st vet 65 in 43:54 and Dawn Lock was 85th in 55:57.  The ladies team finished 7th overall.

Greg Oulton and Nigel Simpkin

Joe Greenwood was first home for LSARR in the senior men's race finishing in 38th place in 38:39.  Tom Howarth was next in 75th place in 42:49, Neil Tate was 82nd in 43:59, Graham Webster was 95th and 4th vet 60 in 45:40, Mark Selby was 113th in 48:09, Greg Oulton was 143rd in 58:17 and Nigel Simpkin was 144th in 59:09.  There were 145 finishers.


On New Year's Day, Greg Oulton travelled up to Kirkby Stephen to enter the Nine Standards Fell Race finding it to be the hardest race that he had ever completed. It was 8 miles and 1800 feet of ascent on road, trail, fell, fording streams, wading through bogs, running along flooded paths, fighting against such strong gales that one gust actually stopped him dead and blew him backwards uphill during the descent. Greg finished in 95th place in 1:30:42 loving the experience.

On Sunday, it was the Central Lancashire Half Marathon starting in Catforth near Preston. Mel Koth was 112th and 2nd vet 40 in a time of 1:39:04

LSARRC 28th December 2014

A good crowd turned out to counteract some of the festive season's excesses at the Boxing Day 10k, a race winding into, through and out of the pleasant Worden Park in Leyland.

Liverpool Harriers' Richard Burney set a hot pace ahead of 314 runners finishing in 33:03.  Two Lytham runners took part: Melanie Koth was 10th woman in 44:21, 83rd overall and Felicity Wolohan finished in 47:08, 18th woman and115th overall.

Always keen to seek out the hills, Greg Oulton also found a race for Boxing Day, the 3.4 mile Whinberry Naze Fell Race.  Climbing steeply straight from the start line, Oulton found this the hardest start he'd ever done but still managed to complete the race in around 41 minutes.

The following day Dawn Lock travelled to Salt Ayre, Lancaster to complete the short Festive 4K, a race organized by the host club Lancaster & Morecambe AC and run by many in suitably seasonal costumes.  She finished 186th in 28:12.

Biggest and most important of the post-Christmas races is the Ribble Valley 10k which attracts high quality runners from around the country to contest this 10K which doubles as the Lancashire Championships.  Winner John Beattie travelled from Newham & Essex Beagles to trounce all local competition with a stunning 30:01.  Renowned fell runner Rebecca Robinson of Kendal AAC took the women's Championship in 33:55.  

In a field of over 1100 runners, Lytham men and women did well for themselves with four making top-ten finishes in their age groups and one achieving a WAVA score of over 80%.    

First back for the Club was MV50 Peter Cruse, 168th in 38:11, three seconds ahead of second Lytham runner Simon Denye, MV40, 174th in 38:14.  Graham Webster, the club's highest ranking MV60, finished 260th in 40:17.  Webster was 4th in his age group achieving a score of 82.55%.  First Lytham woman was Melanie Koth, running her second 10k in two days, who was 425th in 44:00 giving her 3rd place in the FV40 category.  Gaining best placing in her age group was Barbara Holmes who's 46:39 and 425th overall gave her 2nd FV55.  Steve Quarmby, MV50, had a chip time of 46:35 but on gun time finished lower in 549th.  Fiona Geldard finished 9th FV50 in 47:04.

   

A week earlier on Saturday 20th seventeen year old Layla Foley ran in the very high class and selective Podium 5K at Barrowford.  Competitors are graded and require a better than 19 minute finish to make the "A" race.  Foley in the "B" race finished 17th in 19:53 out

Ribble Valley 10K - Simon Denye, 174th in 38:14

of twenty-one.

Ribble Valley 10IK - Peter Cruse, 168th in 38:11

Ribble Valley 10K - Mel Koth, 425th in  44:00

Ribble Valley 10K - Fiona Geldard, 47:04