LSARRC News 29th December 2015

Storm Eva caused chaos with the racing calender over the Christmas weekend. The big event should have been the prestigious Ribble Valley 10k from Clitheroe and organised by Blackburn Harriers. With an entry of over 1400 runners including many of the country's elite, the floods along the course forced the cancellation the day before.  Likewise the first running of the Hot Toddy 10k from Todmorden and Whinberry Naze Fell Race from Rawtenstall also fell victim to the weather.

The pyjama themed Witton Park Xmas Day parkrun

A number of special parkruns were staged on Christmas Day morning.  Witton Park in Blackburn was one with the novelty of it also being pyjama themed.  With a slightly later start of 10am and a lull in the rain, Joanna Goorney headed over there.  The race was won by Michael Toms of Blackburn Harriers in 18:03 whilst Nichola jackson of Preston Harriers was 1st lady in a new course record of 18:56.  Joanna finished 8th and 2nd lady in 20:53 out of 103 finishers.  

Steve Ashton

The 4th Lytham Hall parkrun on Boxing Day morning proved popular again with Lytham St Annes runners despite the torrential rain.  78 runners braved the difficult conditions with the first runner home in 18:03.  Neil Tate was first home for Lytham in 11th place in 19:57.  The ever improving Felicity Wolohan was 1st lady n 21:47.  Steve Ashton was 56th in 27:38, Bob Clough was 66th in 30:09 and Jeremy McCandless was 67th in 30:11.

Felicity Wolohan

Neil Tate

Hannah McCandless

LSARRC News 22nd December 2015

Barbara Holmes at the Lytham Hall parkrun

Thursday night saw the club's monthly handicap race.  There was an exciting chase to the line for first place with Steve Ashton, running a PB, just overtaking Dawn Lock, running her best race for almost two years, over the final 50 metres.  There were some quick times overall this month with five competitors earning bonus points for recording PBs.  Fastest on the night was newcomer Alex Vazquez who recorded an impressive 20:08 for his very first run on the 3.45 miles course.

Sue Hawitt with 179 points retains her lead on the annual points table and as she has completed one or two races less than her closest rivals is now a strong favourite to win the Handicap Plate.  Only two points behind are Dawn Lock and Neil Tate but probably the best placed of her challengers is Debbie Cooper who after a good run of high places holds sixth spot with 139 points from only five races.

December full results: 1 Steve Ashton, 28.15 PB; 2 Dawn Lock, 44.26; 3 Julia Rolfe, 28.57; 4, Debbie Cooper, 27.08; 5 Alan Elstone,23.17 PB; 6, Neil Tate,  20.29 PB; 7 Barbara Holmes, 26.07 PB; 8 Sue Hawitt, 28.38 PB; 9 Jeremy McCandless 32.02; 10 Tom Haworth,  22.43; 11 Sylvia Gittins, 32.25; 12 Pam Binns, 35.56; n/c Tony Holt, 41.49; Alex Vazquez, 20.08; Dawn Bloor, 27.23; Gerry Brown, 26.20.

Instead of the usual Jacob's Join afterwards at the Lytham YMCA, participants instead retired to the Ship and Royal in Lytham for food and drink and an excellent Xmas themed quiz provided by Bill Lock.

Debbie Cooper

 

Neil Bayton-Roberts

On Saturday morning, Lytham St Annes were well represented at different parkruns.

The 3rd running of Lytham Hall park took place on a substitute four lap “B” route w instead of the normal route due to the amount of mud.  The run attracted 68 runners with 9 from LSARRC.  Ben Everson of Trafford AC was first home in 17:23 whilst Neil Tate was first home for the club in 3rd place in 19:03.  Terry Hellings was 14th in 21:27, Richard Storey was 15th in 21:38 and Neil Bayton-Roberts was 15th in 21:38.  Barbara Holmes was 2nd female and 20th overall in 23:07, Dawn Bloor was 27th in 24:04, Debbie Cooper was 31st in 25:02, Bob Clough was 46th in 29:28 and Jeremy McCandless, with his dog Ella in tow, was 47th in 30:04.

Jeremy McCandless and Ella the dog

Joanna Goorney headed to Avenham Park for the Preston parkrun.  In balmy December conditions, she finished 1st  female and 14th overall with a time of 20:07.  There were 200 finishers.

Over in  Liverpool, Felicity Wolohan ran the Princes Park parkrun which had 142 finishers.  She finished 3rd female and 28th overall in 21:43.

And over on the other side of the world, Roy Stevens ran the Torrens parkrun at Torrens Lake Weir near North Adelaide, South Australia, finishing 46th out of 125 runners in 26:58.

Sylvia Gittins and Fiona Geldard

Father Xmas' galore could be seen running round Heron's Reach on Sunday morning for the annual Rudolph's Red Nose Race starting from the back of Blackpool Zoo.  The 5 mile race is organised by Blackpool Fire Station and Wesham Road Runners and runners are encouraged to join in the Christmas spirit by wearing fancy dress. Only 2 Lytham St Annes runners made it to the start line for the race, probably due to with many members recovering from the club's Xmas party the previous night at the St Ives Hotel in St Annes!  The race was won by Joe Monk of Blackburn Harriers in 27:52  with Bev Wright taking 1st female in 34:44.  Fiona Geldard was first home for the LSARRC in 88th place and 41:48 whilst Sylvia Gittins was 122nd in 45:46.  There were 209 finishers. 

Greg Oulton at The Stoop

Greg Oulton was back out on the fells in his first race in over three months running ran The Stoop, an 8km fell race with 250m of ascent from Penistone Hill Country Park, near Haworth.  The race was won by Rob Hope of Pudsey and Bramley whilst Nichola Jackson of Preston Harriers was 1st lady.  Greg finished in 445th place in a time of 74:58.

LSARRC News 15th December 2015

Lytham Hall parkrun start

After the wind and rain of the previous weekend, the 2nd Lytham Hall parkrun was able to finally go ahead last Saturday morning.  Although no wind, there was still certainly lots of rain and a very muddy section of the course from the previous weeks downpours. First home was Adam Weightman in 19:08 whilst Caroline Betmead was 1st lady in 20:21 both from Blackpool Wyre and Fylde AC.  There were 6 runners taking part from Lytham St Annes.  Neil Tate was 3rd in 19:21, Mel Koth was 9th and 2nd lady in 23:01, Barbara Holmes was 15th in 24:45, Debbie Cooper was 20th in 25:23, Graham Young was 36th in 30:08 and Georgia Norman, the only junior from the club, was 40th in 31:16. There were 52 finishers.

Rebecca Tate and Terry Hellings - marshalls at the Lytham Hall parkrun

Georgia Norman

On the other side of the globe, Roy Stevens was also taking part in a parkrun.  Roy ran in the Mt Clarence park run at Flinders Parade, Albany, Western Australia.  He finished in 16 place in 36:48 out of 38 runners. 

Xmas Fun Relays

Sunday morning saw a motley collection of Santas, elves and reindeer taking part in the club's annual fancy dress Christmas Fun Relays held on Lytham Green.

Start of the Xmas Fun Relays

Dave Whyman and Bill Lock - timekeepers

The seniors' course was a shade over 5K and the winners in 1h 13m27s were the Puddings team led by Neil Tate in 19:25, the fastest time of the morning, and ably supported by Bob Clough and Steve Ashton.  Close on their heels were the Crackers, Rachel Scott, Claire England and Terry Hellings in 1h 18m 02s.  Finishing a close 3rd in 1h 19m 53s were the Turkeys comprising Sylvia Gittins, Sue Hawitt and Peter Cooke.  Dawn Lock and Greg Oulton gamely made up the field in the incomplete Leftovers team.

A group of hardy juniors braved the cold to race over a 2K course.  The leading junior team were the Snowmen, a family team of Luke, Rebecca and Sophie Tate, with the Snowflakes team of Samantha, Amy and Matthew not far behind.

Seniors 3 x c5k
1. Puddings (1h 13m 27s) Steve Ashton 26:36; Bob Clough 27:26; Neil Tate 19:25.
2. Crackers (1h 18m 02s)
Rachel Scott 30:15; Claire England 25:23; Terry Hellings 22:44.
3. Turkeys (1h 19m 53s)
Sylvia Gittins 27:26; Sue Hawitt 26:39; Peter Cooke 25:48.
4. Leftovers (incomplete)
Dawn Lock 38:07; Greg Oulton 31:19.

Juniors 3 x 2K
1. Snowmen (32m 02s) 
Luke 9:42; Rebecca 9:07; Sophie 13:14.
2. Snowflakes (36m 54s)
Samantha 14:03: Amy 11:50; Matthew 11:01.

Richard Storey was the club's sole representative at the Longridge 7.  Although chilly, conditions were dry and runners soon warmed up on the climb up towards Jeffrey Hill.  Finishers  were rewarded with a medal and a Christmas pudding.  The race was won by Rob Affleck of Preston Harriers in a very impressive 39:09 whilst 1st lady was Amy Freemand of Darwen Dashers in 48:32.  Richard finished 101st in 55:44 out of 252 finishers, 5 minutes quicker than his previous outing on the course back in 2013.

Joanna Goorney (courtesy of woodenheads.org.uk)

Over in the Calder Valley, West Yorkshire, Joanna Goorney took part in the Mytholmroyd Fell Race.  Superbly organised by Halifax Harriers, the 6.2 mile race gained 1350 feet, 850 feet being in the first mile with a steep climb from the start up to the top of Wicken Hill.  Conditions were perfect, cool with no rain or wind whilst the ground was fairly muddy, particularly on the final descent and in parts, frozen. The race was won by Neal Crampton of Pudsey and Bramley in an impressive time of 50.35.   Joanna finished 33rd and 2nd lady in a time 65:01. 

LSARRC News 8th December 2015

After an action packed previous weekend, Storm Desmond played havoc with events in the North West over this last weekend.  The first local run to be cancelled was the Lytham Hall parkrun on Saturday morning in only its second week due to concerns of trees being blown over in the grounds in the strong wind.  The next victim, was the highly popular Guys 10 organised by Garstang Running Club on Sunday morning.  That had to be cancelled due to the severe flooding in the area.  And finally in Lancaster, the Lancaster 3-1-5 Half Marathon was postponed due to flooding.  Club runners who had planned to take part in the Hoad Hill 10k in Ulverston had the problem of getting there due to flooded roads on the route there.  The actual race course was fine and went ahead with a very limited field.

Felicity Wolohan at Liverpool Cross Country last week

Felicity Wolohan made a late but good decision to run the Princes Park parkrun in Liverpool on Saturday morning.  Her efforts were rewarded with an excellent time of 21.31 finishing 1st female and 23rd overall from 125 finishers.

Also doing a parkrun was Julia Rolfe who ran in the South Manchester parkrun which is in held in Platt Fields Park, Fallowfield.  There were 200 finishers and Julia finished 83rd and 11th female in 25:47.

Joanna Goorney at Guiseley (Courtesy of woodentops.org.uk)

On Sunday afternoon, Joanna Goorney took part in the Senior Ladies race in final meet of four in the West Yorkshire Cross Country Series.  The event was held at Nunroyd Park, Guiseley, near Leeds.  Luckily Storm Desmond had calmed down leaving a sunning afternoon and a fine, testing muddy course.   Joanna  finished 20th and 2nd vet 45 covering the 3.2mile course in 24:30.

Missed from previous results, Sylvia Gittins ran the Conwy Half Marathon 2 weeks ago on the 22nd November.  The race was won by Matthew Bond of Sale Harriers in a time of 1:07:00 and there were 2458 finishers.  Sylvia finished in 1815th and 1st vet 65 in a time of 2:15:07.

LSARRC News 1st December 2015

Louisa Ruman

The main event for Lytham St Annes RRC this weekend was the third fixture of the Mid Lancs. cross country league.  This fixture is held in Sefton Park, Liverpool in conjunction with the British Athletics Cross Challenge and attracts the best athletes in the country as it is used as selection race for the European Cross Country Championships.

Morgan Pritchard

Lytham were out in force but the stars of the show were undoubtedly the under 11 boys’ team.  The future of Lytham St Annes RRC is is looking good as the team of Louis Eunson (4th in 7.42), George Denye (12th in 8.14) and Morgan Pritchard (32nd in 8.47) took fourth place in the under 11 boy’s team competition.   Sydney Ramsden (49th I in 9.32) and Charlotte Thomson (58th in 10.15) represented the club in the under 11 girls race.  Also flying the flag for Lytham juniors were Rebecca Tate in the under 13 girls (56th in 15.20) and Simon Holt in the under 13 boys (44th 13.07)

Charlotte Thomson

Eight Lytham members toed the line in the senior women’s race with Mel Koth leading the team home taking 39th place in 37.37 closely followed by Felicity Wolohan (43rd in 37.51).  Julia Rolfe was next home (80th in 42.19) finishing strongly overtaking team captain Als Everest (84th in 42.34) in the last half mile.  Completing the Lytham contingent were Louisa Ruman (101st in 45.05), Sylvia Gittins (142nd and 3rd FV65 in 49.25), Pam Hardman (148th in 20.20) and Dawn Lock (171st in 66.22).

Tom Howarth who ran in both the
Wesham 10k and the Liverpool Cross Country

Final race of the day was the senior men’s race and Lytham were led home by Joe Greenwood (66th in 37.19) followed by Neil Tate (117th in 40.03).  Thomas Howarth not wanting to miss one of his favourite races (Wesham 10k) and not wanting to let the cross country down decided to do both so having completed the Wesham 10k (45th in 39.30) in the morning then dashed to Sefton Park to complete the 10k cross country course in 41.54 for 146th place.  Completing the senior men’s team  and taking 4th place in division 3 were Terry Hellings (192nd and 3rd MV60 in 44.57), Richard Storey in one of his rare cross country appearances (260th in 51.10) and Steve Ashton (274th in 54.04).
Tom 45th 39.30

Also representing Lytham in the Wesham 10k was Mark Selby (73rd in a pb of 41.51).

The inaugural Lytham Parkrun took place at Lytham Hall on Saturday and LSARRC were well represented.  This is 3 lap 5k course with a fast finish in the drive way.  Representing Lytham were Dave Dunn (23rd in 22.50), Debbie Cooper (49th and 6th female in 25.47), Chloe Norman (52nd and 7th female in 25.57), Gemma Czarnota (56th and 8th female in 26.19), Sue Hawitt (73rd and 11th femalein 27.37), Bob Clough (84th in 28.57), Stu Wharrier (100th in 30.40), Jeremy McCandless (101st in 30.46) and (Paula McCandless 145th and 42nd female in 35.54).  The Lytham Parkrun takes place every Saturday at 09:00 and is free to enter.  All you have to do is pre-register at Parkrun.org.uk and turn up with a barcode that will be emailed to you. 

Club champion Joanna Goorney ventured East of the Pennines to compete in the Barnsley 10k.  Joanna ran well on the one lap hilly course that started in Royston Park and finished at Royston civic centre to finish 3rd female and 1st fv45 in 41.23 on a very windy day.