LSARRC News 25th August 2015

Ella Moulding at the Inter Counties

On Saturday, it was the Northern Athletics Inter Counties U15/U17 Championships which were held at Witton Park in Blackburn. Ella Moulding  competed for Lancashire in the Under 15 Girls 800 metres race.  She finished 6th in the A race in 2:22.00.

The Fleetwood Half Marathon was held on Sunday morning.  The two lap course started behind the Marine Hall Gardens and ran along Fleetwood's Outer Promenade and Esplanade.  The race was won by Rob Affleck of Preston Harriers in 1:13:25.  It was left to Half Marathon debutants Claire England and Rachael Wignall to fly the flag for Lytham St Annes Road Runners.  Claire was first home for Lytham in a time of 1:46:43.9s picking up the first FV50 prize and achieving a club gold standard in the process.  Rachael finished in 2:04:43.4s for 78th female.

Rachael Wignall

Claire England

Also on Sunday morning, Oliver Hirsh ran the Pilling 10k.  The race was won by Raymond Edgar of Lancaster and Morcambe AC in 32:36, over a minute clear of 2nd place with 100 finishers.  For Oliver, it was his first road race in over a year after been back training properly for about the last 6 weeks.  His aim was under 50 minutes but in the event, Oliver completely surpassed that finishing in 25th place in a time of 45:21 and 3rd vet 45.

Colin Laidlaw headed over to Warrington for the ever popular Birchwood 10k organised by Spectrum Striders.  Nigel Martin of Sale Harriers was first home in 33:05 closely followed by Rob Danson of Wesham Road Runners.  Kirsty Longley of Liverpool Pembroke Sefton was first lady in 38:04 and 32nd overall.  Colin finished in 46:48 in 232nd place out of 940 finishers and 9th vet 60.  Although disappointed with his time, he wasn't totally despondent considering the warm conditions (24° during the race).  He was also very pleased to receive his legendary Birchwood 10k luxury bath towels, the souvenir for all finishers.

The Inter Club team results at the Darwin Gala Fell Race, the final race in the fell series last Saturday have now been published.  LSARRC finished 3rd overall, 4th in the vet 40s, 4th in the Vet 50s, 1st in the Vet 60s, 2nd in the Vet 70s and 1st in the Ladies Category.

For the whole Inter Club Fell Race Series, LSARRC finished 3rd overall, 4th in the Vet 40s, 4th in the vet 50s, 2nd in the vet 60s, 1st in the vet 70s and 1st in the ladies.  In the individual awards, Lytham St Annes had both the 1st man and 1st  lady with Joe Greenwood and Joanna Goorney.  Terry Hellings was first Vet 60 and Dawn Lock was 1st vet 70 – excellent results.

Mark Willett and Roy Stevens were at Cuerden Valley on Saturday morning for the weekly Parkrun.  Mark, finishing in 14th place, recorded a PB for the tough 5k course with 21:06 whilst Roy was 40th with a time of 26:32.

LSARRC at Lytham Brewery

Andy Draper organised a very successful brewery tour to Lytham Brewery on Saturday evening, attracting 15 members of the club.  After starting off at the Trawlboat, the team headed at 7:30 to the brewery for the tour, lots of beer a pie and peas.

Andy Draper

LSARRC News18th August 2015

LSARRC at Chorley Inter Club

 Sunny evenings seem to have become somewhat of a tradition with 2015's Inter-Club Road Series and the sixth round, taking place this week at Astley Park, Chorley, was no exception.

Two hundred and fifty-two runners set off on this demanding race, amongst them a good turn out of twenty-nine representing Lytham St. Annes RRC. From a start opposite the North-West's premier Jacobean Hall with its knighted loin-of-beef throne, the course climbs and descends almost constantly through the Park and out onto the road side three times, each time turning back towards the Hall. The really tough section comes a mile into the race when athletes start the long haul up Southport Road only to have to repeat it later in the race.

Constantly improving Joe Greenwood achieved his target of a top ten finish with a great run of 28.16 for the hilly approximate 4.8 mile course. Thomas Howarth, fast finding his earlier form, finished 20th in 29.46 and third finisher was Neil Tate, 35th in 31.23. Other members of Lytham's Open Team which finished 5th were Justin Allitt, V40, 51st in 32:50; Terry Hellings, V60, 66th in 34:01; Melanie Koth, F40, 87th in 35:21; Colin Laidlaw, V60, 103rd in 36:32; 108th Roy Upton, V45, 108th in 36:41 and Oliver Hirsh, V45, 114th in 36:56

Coming fourth for Lytham and, even more notably, first woman, was Joanna Goorney who finished in an excellent 31.26 and 36th place leading the team into fourth place. Completing the women's team were Melanie Koth, 10th woman, Claire England, 31st, Fiona Geldard, 40th and Susan Hawitt, 41st.

But it was the older runners who set the pace for LSARRC with the Vet 60's team consisting of Terry Hellings, 2nd V60, Colin Laidlaw, 7th V60 and Roy Stevens, 13th V60 achieving second. The V60s go into the final round with 32 points for the series chasing leaders Blackpool on 34.

FULL RESULTS: 9th Joe Greenwood, SM 28:16; 20th Tom Howarth, SM, 29:46; 35th Neil Tate, SM, 31:23; 36th Joanna Goorney, F45, 31:26; 51st Justin Allitt, V40, 32:50; 66th Terry Hellings, V60, 34:01; 87th Melanie Koth, F40, 35:21; 103rd Colin Laidlaw, V60, 36:32; 108th Roy Upton, V45, 36:41; 114th Oliver Hirsh, V45, 36:56; 115th Richard Storey, V40, 36:58; 141st Des Heron, V40, 38:33; 146th Ian Tate, SM, 38:45; 147th Claire England, F50, 38:47; 150th Roy Stevens, V60, 38:58; 172nd Nigel Simpkin, V55, 41:36; 175th Fiona Geldard, F50, 41:41; 176th Susan Hawitt, F50, 41:47; 180th Pamela Hardman, F55, 42:05; 185th Hannah McCandlesss, SF, 42:24; 187th Julia Rolfe, F50, 42:28; 188th Alex Wiggins, SM, 42:44; 189th Debbie Cooper, F40, 42:49; 195th Jeremy McCandless, V50, 43:20; 199th Derek Caborn, V60, 43:55; 202nd Alexandra Everest, SF, 44:04; 213th Sylvia Gittins, F65, 46:42; 218th Bill Lock, V70, 48:07; 237th Dawn Lock, F70 , 58:59.

There's exciting prospects coming up for Lytham members when the popular North West Counties Relays move to a new venue on Saturday 12th September. For the first time runners will see the fine development of the Edge Hill University Campus in Ormskirk. The North West Counties gives a real opportunity to clubs like LSARRC to achieve medals as the

competition is limited to clubs within each of the five countries and Lytham Ladies have an excellent record of medals in the Lancashire Championships over many years.

But in 2014 it was Lytham's younger ladies who showed the way. At Wood Bank Park, Stockport in September 2014 the team of Under 15 Girls Chloe Norman, Hannah Riley and Ella Moulding took the Lancashire AA Gold Medal, a real thrill for the Club.

The North West Counties Relays will be followed a week later by the high-standard Northern Athletic Championships on home territory. Lytham members will have the balancing act of competing and marshalling at Stanley Park on the 19th.

The Inter-Club Fell Series reached a conclusion with the well-chosen Darwen Gala Fell Race on Saturday with the town festivities adding to the general atmosphere and the day enhanced by glorious sunshine. Organizers Darwen Community Runners added a nice touch by treating all finishers to hot dogs and a glass of the local beer.

A good entry including a large contingent of inter-club competitors ran this 7.5k race with 928ft of climb. Nine members of the Lytham took up the tough challenge to climb from town level straight up to Darwen Tower with a further challenge when the course looped downwards to once again to regain tower level before circling behind the tower and adding a tricky slippery descent on narrow paths back to the Bold Venture Park finish.

Terry after taking a tumble at the Darwen Gala Fell Race

Lytham's best fell runners were well up. Joe Greenwood finished 9th in 35.50, high enough to be in a good position to secure a season prize while Joanna Goorney, 41st in 41.00, was second women and second female veteran over 40 meriting two prizes. Dawn Lock, 139th in 1.12.23, was awarded the FV70 prize.

Making up the open team with Greenwood and Goorney were Terry Hellings, 45th in 41.10, who, hampered by a tumble, missed out on the V60 prize, Mark Selby, 55th in 43.15 and Debbie Cooper, 101st in 51.15. Julia Rolfe, 105th in 53.01, joined Goorney and Cooper in the women's team. Pamela Hardman, 106th in 53.02, came in immediately behind Rolfe and Jeremy McCandless, who has only taken up fell running this season, finished creditably in 117th in 56.55.

Two Lytham members ran the evening Catforth 5K, won by a sizzling performance by Wesham's Rob Danson of 15.27. Thomas Howarth finished 12th in 17.40 and Mark Willett, 34th in 19.18.

LSARRC News 11th August 2015

LSARRC's Brian Porter - Race Adjudicator
for Blackpool Airshow 10k

After a busy few weeks, local races were quite sparse this last week.

The main event was the Blackpool Air Show 10k on Sunday morning.  With headquarters at Bispham Fire Station, the course started from Bispham Tram Stop, headed North to Little Bispham and then South along the promenade turning back just before North Pier.  The race was excellently organised by Dave Waywell and Kath Hoyer who, with the current recommendation not to drink tap water, both went to the trouble of boiling gallons of water for the thirsty runners.  Although a potential PB course, being so flat, the strong southerly wind slowed many people down.

First home of the 227 finishers was Darren Newbould of Hallamshire Harriers in a time of 34:34 whilst Louise Blizzard of Belgrave Harriers was first lady in 40:17.  Lytham St Annes had 2 representatives.  Joanna Goorney was 24th and 2nd lady in 40:30 whilst Steve Quarmby was 135th in 52:25.

Joanna Goorney approaching the finish

Steve Quarmby on the promenade

Over the summer, the club has organised a series of summer runs on a Sunday morning.  Last Sunday was the 3rd in the series where Dawn Lock led a surprisingly attractive route starting and finishing in Haslam Park, Preston.  The route, taking full advantage of the Preston-Tewitfield canal towpath, passed through the UCLAN Sports Arena and encompassed part of the Preston Guild Wheel.

Bill Lock and Oliver Hirsh on the Summer Run

Previous runs included one from Hurst Green led by Debbie Cooper, with a section of the Ribble Way and a beautiful day to show the countryside at is best and another from Conder Green, which was also a canal-side run, led by Bill Lock.

Those interested in the Guild Wheel as a potential source of many flattish and easily-followable miles should turn up for the fourth of the series starting at Avenham Park on Sunday 6th and led by Richard Storey.

With summer rapidly flying by, it won't be long now until the Green Drive Five and Green Drive Junior Mile on the 18th October.  The Green Drive Five is a fast and accurately measured five miles suitable for both elite and slower runners. Starting and finishing in the attractive surroundings of Green Drive in Lytham, the flat course is perfect for achieving PBs.  The Green Drive Junior Mile is an accurately measured mile held in advance of the senior race for athletes aged 8 to 15. Starting at the same location as the Green Drive Five, the course takes a safe off-road out and back route to the far end of Green Drive. All finishers receive a medal.  Further details can be found on the LSARRC website www.lythamrunners.org.uk and online entry is available at https://bookitzone.com/mark_selby/cI2FFX

LSARRC News 4th August 2015

(the first ever) Lytham St Annes 4x100m Relay Team at Hyndburn T&F

The Northern Vets AC had a track and Field meet on Wednesday night at Leigh Sports Village and incorporated the NVAC 5,000m Championships.   Jeremy McCandless competed in the 5000m for age categories V35, V40, 45, 50 and 55 knocking 30 seconds of his PB helped by the friendly supportive atmosphere.  Graham Webster also had a good night on the track.  In the 2nd  5000m race for age categories V60, 65, 70 75, he was 3rd vet 60 in a time of 19:27 and then just 10 minutes later was 1st out of 7 in the open 1500m with a time of 5:22.  Jeremy also competed in the Javelin and Discus but no results are currently available.

Thursday night saw the 4th race in the club's monthly handicap series.  The calm summer's evening provided nearly perfect running conditions and a number of PBs.  Sue Hawitt was first home with her 3rd win in four races and another PB.  Hot on her heels, was Tom Hawarth followed only 6 seconds later by Jeremy McCandless.

Full results: 1 Sue Hawitt 36:32 PB; 2 Tom Howarth 24:51 PB; 3 Jeremy McCandless 36:27 PB; 4 Justin Allitt 28:02 PB; 5 Roy Upton 31:27; 6 Roy Stevens 33:28; 7 Neil Tate 26:45; 8 Sylvia Gittins 38:33; 9 DawnLock 55:40; 10 Alex Everest 35:14; 11 Alan Elstone 31:38; 12 Pam Binns 40:15; 13 Joe Greenwood 25:28; 14 Ian Tate 32:19; 15 Julia Rolfe 38:25; N/C  - Ross McKelvie 26:47; Rachel Scott 41:21; Rachael Wignall 38:20; Oliver Hirsh 34:55; Andy Unsworth 26:53;

On Saturday morning, only a week after completing the Lakeland 50, Mark Willett was at the Cuerden Valley Parkrun.  He finished in 10th place in 21:23, just seconds outside his PB for the course.



 
Heavy downpours were the unforecasted(!) feature of the 5th MidLancs Track and Field Meet at Hyndburn on Saturday afternoon.  Despite the weather though, there was still a good turnout of athletes with a record 5 juniors and 7 seniors competing from Lytham St Annes.

The first event of the afternoon on the track was the 800m and unfortunately most of the runners ended up with quite a soaking.  Graham Webster was in the senior men's 800m where he finished 9th in 2:44.70 finding conditions quite slippy after accidentally leaving his spikes at home.  He was on the track again for the 1500m where he finished 4th in 5:27.80.  He was joined by Russ Chew who was 5th in 6:01.00 and Jeremy McCandless who was delighted to break the 7 minute barrier with 6:50.60 for 6th place.  In the 5000m, Graham was 6th in 11:24.00, Terry Hellings was 8th in 12:29.70 and Russ Chew was 9th in 12:47.40.  Jeremy McCandless was also in action on the field along with Greg Oulton.  In the Shot Putt, Greg finished 8th with a throw of 5.42m.  In the Discus, Jeremy was 10th with 16:58m and Greg was 11th with 14.24m.  Greg then went onto throw the javelin a distance of 12.87m for 4th place and Jeremy threw the hammer 14.20m for 8th place.

Hannah McCandless

Luckily by the time the senior women came to run the 800m, the rain had just stopped.  Joanna Goorney was 2nd in 2:37.50 and Hannah McCandless was 4th in 3:10.6.  In the 1500m, Joanna was 2nd in 5:17.10 whilst in the 3000m, she finished third in 11:30.20.

Simon Holt was the first of the juniors in action on the track in the Under 13 Boys 800m Heat 1.  Having only just turned 11, he was delighted to knock a second off this PB to finish in 6th in 2:34.30.  He was in action again in heat 2 of the Under 13 Boys 200m finishing 3rd in 29.40.  James Nicholas had a superb afternoon with PBs in both the Under 13 Boys 100m and 200m.  In the 100m, he clocked 13.20 for 2nd place and in the 200m, knocked nearly a second off his previous PB to finish 1st in 27.70.

Terry Hellings

Ella Moulding had a great run in the Under 15 Girls 300m to just be pipped into 2nd place in 44.20.  She also dominated from the gun in the under 15 Girls 800m finishing a clear 1st in 2:23.20.  Chloe Norman was 7th in 2:33.40.  Georgia Norman was 3rd in the Under 13 girls 100m Heat 5 in 15.30 and also 3rd in Heat 2 of the 200m in 32.00.  After only just finishing the 800m. Chloe was back in action in the U15 Girls Long Jump finishing 8th with 4:13m and then equalled her PB in High Jump to finish equal first with 1.40m.  Georgia was involved in the U13 Girls Long Jump finishing 11th with 3.60.

Men's 4x400m Relay Team

Rounding of the afternoon, was the relays.  For the first time ever, Lytham St Annes women had a 4x100m relay team.  Consisting of Joanna Goorney, Hannah McCandless, Chloe Norman and Georgia Norman, they finished 2nd in 65.10.  The men's 4x400m relay team (Graham Webster, Terry Hellings, Russ Chew, Jeremy McCandless) were also 2nd in 5:23.40.

On Sunday, it was the annual Prudent Riverside (formerly known as the Wagon and Horses) 10mile Road Race from Lancaster.  The race was won by Grant Johnson of Salford Harriers in 53:44 and had 145 finishers.  Mel Koth was Lytham St Annes' sole representative finishing in 43rd in 1:15.0.

LSARRC News 28th July 2015

Wesham Inter Club

Last Monday night saw the 5th race in the Inter-Club Road Race Series.  Wesham Road Runners were the hosting club for this race providing a 4.6 mile loop from BNLF Salwick Social Club.  Weather conditions were almost perfect with just a light breeze although the marshals clearing up after the event weren't quite so lucky being caught in the downpour which followed.  A buffet was then provided back at the club's head quarters at Kirkham Cricket Club. 

First of the 248 runners home, was Rob Danson of Wesham Road Runners, continuing his winning streak finishing in 23:17, nearly a minute clear of 2nd place.  Emily Japp of Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde was again 1st female in 25th place in 27:31.  First home for Lytham was Joe Greenwood in an excellent 8th place whilst Joanna Goorney was first lady home for the club in 42nd place and 3rd female in a time of 28:47.

Richard Storey, Debbie Cooper and Dawn Lock at the IC

In the team competition, LSARRC were 5th overall, 4th in the ladies category, 4th in the Vets and 5th in the vet 50s.  The Club's best result was in the vet 60 category where they were 1st with Graham Webster, Terry Hellings and Coling Laidlaw making up the team.

Full LSARRC results: Joe Greenwood 8th 25:10; Tom Howarth 18th 26:55; Andy Unsworth 29th 27:58; Neil Tate 32nd 28:05; Simon Denye 40th 28:41; Joanna Goorney 42nd 28:47; Graham Webster 50th 29:17; Mark Willett 54th 29:35; Justin Allitt 55th 29:37; Terry Hellings 77th 30:56; Richard Storey 91st  31:32; Colin Laidlaw 106th 32:20; Mel Koth 116th 32:54; Willie Richmond 120th 33:18; Claire England 121st  33:35; Dawn Bloor 128th 34:05; Des Heron 133rd 34:25; Ian Tate 136th 34:44; Roy Stevens 137th 34:48; Nigel Simpkin 142nd 35:11; Greg Oulton 153rd 36:02; Brian Porter 163rd 36:42; Alex Everest 173rd 37:40; Jeremy McCandless 180th 38:32; Debbie Cooper 183rd 39:08; Hannah McCandless 185th 39:16; Sylvia Gittins 200th 41:02; Pam Binns 201st 41:14; Bill Lock 225th 45:27; Dawn Lock 245th 56:27;

The 3rd race in the Harrock Hill Fell Race series was on Wednesday night.  Four Lytham athletes, Terry Hellings, Greg Oulton, Hannah McCandless and Jeremy McCandless made the trip to Parbold for this fun fell race of 5.3 miles.  Unfortunately no results are available yet.

The Fireman's Relays

The Lancashire Firemen's 3 Person Relays was on Friday night where each runner took on an approximate  2.67 mile lap of Herons Reach Bridle Path, near Blackpool Zoo.  After years of past beautiful evenings, early heavy downpours promised a change in fortune for this year's race.  Just in time the rain cleared on the eve of the 7:15pm start to give ideal cool still running conditions.

A large ten-team contingent of Blackburn Harriers included nationally ranked U20 Joe Monk who zoomed round the course in a dominating 13:57 for the fastest time of the evening.

Tom Howarth, Oliver Hirsh and Neil Tate
4th team at the Fireman's Relays

A good field of 106 runners included four Lytham teams with the Club's leading team, Lytham Spearhead Attack, doing exceptionally well to finish fourth.  Oliver Hirsh led the team out on A leg, followed by Neil Tate on B and Tom Howarth on C.  Tom blasted round in a very creditable 15:13, 10th overall followed in seven places later by Tate in 15:53.  Oliver finished 60th in 19:09, his best run since injury, bringing the team back in 50:15.

The Lancashire Rockets an over sixties team consisting of Graham Webster, 28th in 16:55, Terry Hellings, 43rd in 17:51 and Colin Laidlaw, 57th in 18:56 finished 15th overall in a total time of 53:42.  Lytham Mixed Blessings, and over 65 team lead in by Nigel Simpkin in 20:25 and 77th place, came 30th in 1:10:06.  Sylvia Gittins and Bill Lock finished in adjacent positions, 99th and 100th in 24:47 and 24:54 to complete the Mixed Blessings.  An eclectic team of father and daughter Jeremy and Hannah McCandless with Dawn Lock, the Lytham Leftovers, finished 33rd in 1:14:17.  Hannah McCandless was the quickest in 21:22 beating her father for the first time by exactly one minute in 85th and 91st place respectively.  Dawn was 105th in 30:33.

The 4th Mid Lancs Track and Field Fixture took place on Saturday afternoon at the excellent facilities at Leigh Sports Village, home of Leigh Harriers and AC.  There was slight panic at the start with the minibus for Barrow and Furness Striders breaking down on route to the fixture.  With 5 officials on board, there was a quick hunt for some more so that the meet could still go ahead!  Although, sunny for most of the afternoon, there was quite a stiff breeze down the back straight.  Lytham St Annes was well represented with 6 seniors and 4 juniors making the trip.

LSARRC Seniors at Leigh

Graham Webster was the first senior man to run coming in 5th in 2.38.6 in the 800m.  He then went onto compete in the 1500m finishing 3rd in 5:43.  In the 3000m, Graham was 7th in 11.42.5, Terry Hellings was 8th in 12:23 and Greg Oulton was 9th in 13:48.6.  The men rounded the afternoon off on the track taking on the 4x400m relay finishing in 5:38.9 (Graham Webster 1:12.3, Terry Hellings 1:21, Jeremy McCandless 1:34.0, Greg Oulton 1:31.7).

On the field, in the Shot Putt, Greg Oulton was 4th with a throw of 5.93m whilst Jeremy McCandless was 5th with 5.65m. They were both in action again in the discus with Jeremy throwing 16.57m for 6th place whilst Greg was 7th with 15.72m.  Greg's last field event was the Javelin where he threw 14.15 m for 5th place.  Jeremy took part in the Hammer competition with 13.92 for 3rd place.

Joanna Goorney and Hannah McCandless kicked off their afternoon in the senior ladies 800m.  Joanna was 2nd in 2:42.2 whilst Hannah 4th 3:11.0.  In the 1500m, Joanna was 1st in 5:18.3 and was 2nd in the 3000m in 11:31.5.  Hannah ran the 200m to finish in 3rd in 37.2 then went onto the field to throw the Shot Putt a distance of 5.09m for 6th place.  This was Hannah's first track and field meet and showed great determination.

LSARRC Juniors at Leigh

The 4 juniors, James Nicholas, Simon Holt, Chloe Norman and Georgia Norman also had a full afternoon.  James Nicholas ran the U13 boys 100m in Heat 1 to finish 2nd in 13.4.  He then went on to run the U13 Boys 200m also in Heat 1 for 3rd place in 28.6.  Simon Holt, also ran the U13 200m but in Heat 2, finishing 1st in 30.00.  He also competed in the U13 Boys 800m finishing 8th in an 2:38.7.  Georgia Norman, also an Under 13, had a superb afternoon with 2 PBs, firstly in the 100m where in Heat 4 she was 1st with 15.0 then in the Long Jump where she was 7th with 3.78m. She was also 3rd in Heat 3 of the 200m with a time of  32.4.  Elder sister, Chloe also had a PB in the Under 15 High Jump finishing 4th with 1.40m. In the 800m, she was 5th in 2:32.4 whilst she was only just outside her PB in the Long Jump finishing 7th with 4:43m.

Mark Willett was in the Lakes on Saturday for the Lakeland 50, an ultra race which is a 50 mile tour of the Lake District with 3100m of ascent.  The route starts from the northern end of Ullswater and finishes in Coniston.  Mark had a great run to finish in 111th place in 11:26:00.

LSARRC News 21st July 2015

On Wednesday night, it was the Lancaster 10k organised by Lancaster and Morcambe AC.  The race which started from Salt Ayre Sports Centre in Lancaster takes in mainly quiet country roads and cycle tracks.  Stuart Robinson of Salford Harriers was first home by over 2 and half minutes in a time of 31:19.  2 LSARRC athletes made the trip up to Lancaster.  Tom Howarth was 12th in 36:30 whilst Colin Laidlaw was 82nd and 1st vet 60 in 44:57.

LSARRC runners and supporters at the Calder Vale Supper Run

13 members of the club were to be found in the  charming archetypal Lancashire village of Calder Vale on Thursday night for the Calder Vale 4 mile Supper Run.  Nominally a fun run, its four-mile length and hilly nature makes this by no means an easy race.  From the village centre there are two challenging climbs in the first couple of miles to reach the high point from where tail-enders are treated to distant views of race leaders climbing the third hill beyond Oakenclough Mill.

In spite of its low-key nature, there was still some quality running at the front end of the field with Chris Tully of Preston Harriers finishing in 21:09 with time to spare to feed other's results into the computer.  Lancaster & Morecambe AC provided the winning women: Maria Snell 10th in 23:34.  Neil Tate was the best of Lytham finishing 8th in 23:30 with Alex Everest the Club's first woman back, 57th in 31:41.  New recruit Claire Critchley in her first race for Lytham finished 71st in 34:15.
Other Lytham runners finished as follows: Richard Storey,V40, 30th in 27:52; Ian Tate, 36th in 28:43; Greg Oulton,V45, 51st in 31:09; Brian Porter, V50, 38th in 31:43; Pamela Hardman, F55, 59th in 31:46; Jeremy McCandless,V50, 68th in 33:36; Hannah McCandless, 70th in 33:42; Pamela Binns, F70, 79th in 35:20; Bill Lock, V70, 95th in 37:45 and Dawn Lock, F70, 111th in 45:35.

LSARRC at Warton Crag Fell Race

The Elswick Express 10 mile race on Saturday morning was held in warm and very breezy conditions.  Starting and finishing at Elswick Village Hall, the flattish course took in Inskip and Great Eccleston with a bag of fruit, a medal and a Bond's ice cream for the 132 finishers.  The race was won by Shaun Livesey of Blackburn Harriers in 1 00:57 with Louise Cumber of Halifax Harriers being the first lady back in 1:03:10.  Simon Denye had an excellent run to finish in 5th place in 1:02:01 whilst Joanna Goorney was 20th and 3rd female in 1:07:20.

Joe Greenwood heading towards 3rd place

Warton Crag Fell Race on Saturday afternoon provided the next race in the club's fell race championship.  Lee Parrington of Barlick Fell Runners was first back on the 9.3 km course (ascent 270m) in a time of 39:58.  Lytham's ever improving Joe Greenwood wasn't far behind to finish in 3rd place in 40:22.  Mark Selby was 27th in 50:23, Greg Oulton was 49th in 58:51, Pam Hardman was 57th in 61:36 and Jeremy McCandless was 66th in 65:43.

LSARRC at Lytham Windmill Half Marathon

Sue Hawitt in her first half marathon

Sunday morning saw the Windmill Half Marathon starting and finishing by Fairhaven Lake.  In windy conditions, first home was Conrad McKee of Blackburn Harriers in 1:18:21.  Tom Howarth was first home for LSARRC in 11th place and 1:24:29.  Neil Tate was 21st in 1:26:35. Mel Koth was 162nd in 1:45:08 and Felicity Wolohan was 322nd in 1:58:21.  For Sue Hawitt, it her first ever half marathon.  She smashed her target of 2:11 (bronze standard for her age) finishing in 377th in 2:04:03.

The previous Saturday (11th) Dawn Bloor ran the Stanley Park 5 mile race organised by Blackpool Wyre and Fylde AC.  She was very pleased to finish in 37:47 which was 28th overall,  4th lady and first vet 50.

LSARRC News 14th July 2015

Start of the St Annes Carnival 5k

The 20 Barriers Fell Race last Tuesday was selected as the 3rd race in the local inter club race series.  The 5.5 mile course starts at Carnforth High School and takes in field paths, local trails and canal towpath.  Conditions were cool and windy with the rain coming down as runners were finishing.  Unfortunately, the race didn't go without hitch with coloured tape which was being used as markers being moved sending runners who didn't know the course off on a false trail.  This mainly affected runners at the front and runners at the rear and was obviously quite annoying.  The race was won by Tom Tipping of Helm Hill in 32:46 with Lytham's Joe Greenwood having another excellent race to finish in 3rd in 34:06 whilst Joanna Goorney was 1st lady in 39:43.  Greg Oulton was 96th in 48:54, Pam Hardman was 128th in 52:15, Jeremy McCandless was 138th in 53:09 and Debbie Cooper was just behind in 53:10.  Sadly, Dawn Lock was one of the tail enders affected by the sabotaging of the course and after ending up in Carnforth Town Centre, eventually got back to the school in about 90 minutes.

Greg Oulton

On Thursday night, Greg Oulton was racing again, this time at Bull Hill Fell Race, Hawkshaw, Bury.  The race, organised by Radcliffe AC was the first race in the Radcliffe AC 3 Day Challenge.  First home in the 5.5 mile course (1099 ft of ascent) was Ashley Holt of Rossendale Harriers in 36:01 with Joanna Nelson of Darwen Dashers first lady in 42:12.  Greg Oulton was 191st out of 231 finishers in 1:00:20.

It was the annual Junior Presentation evening also on Thursday night.  This is the junior section's big social event of the year and commenced with pre- presentation games and ended with a post presentation barbecue.  It was well attended with juniors, parents, coaches and senior members.

The Coaches’ Cup which is awarded to the athlete who, in the opinion of the coaches, has shown the highest level of dedication to the sport, was awarded to Simon Holt.

Simon Holt being presented by Nigel Simpkin

Track & Field Champions – U11 Boys Simon Holt, U11 Girls Georgia Norman, U13 Boys – James Nicholas, U13 Girls Hollie Winstanley and U15 Girls Chloe Norman.

Cross Country Champions – U11 Boys Zane Seddon, U11 Girls Rebecca Tate, U13 Girls Hollie Winstanley, U15 Girls Ella Moulding.

Monday Junior Handicap Shield – 1st Ruby Hodgkinson, 2nd Shay Menzies, 3rd  Elsie Dalton

Ella Moulding represented Lancashire Schools at the English Schools championships which, this year, were staged at Gateshead International Stadium. The event is known as the Schools Olympics with competitors having had to achieve very high standards in order to be considered for selection by their county team. Ella competed in the junior girls 1500m and ran a very strong race in her heat to finish 7th in a personal best time of 4:45.16, just 0.22secs short of qualifying for the following day’s final.

The St Annes Carnival 5k Race and 1500 metre Fun Run were hosted by the club on Sunday morning.  Taking place on the town's seafront under blue skies in bright and breezy conditions, record times were the order of the day.

In the Carnival 5K, both the men's and women's records fell with the race winner, one of Britain's top-ranked junior middle-distance runners, 19 years-old Matthew Shirling of Liverpool Harriers, posting an excellent 16.37.  Hannah Oldroyd, 11th overall, finished well ahead of the rest of the women in 18.25.

LSARRC runners and marshalls

Joe Greenwood in 4th place was first home for the host club in a PB of 17.19 and with good support from Andy Draper, 9th in 18:19, and Neil Tate, 12th  in 18:32, the Lytham St. Anne's Road Runners trio collected the men's team prize.  A fine run in 19:30 for 23rd place earned 15 year old Lytham junior Michael Hayes the under-17 prize.

Claire England was LSARRC's first woman in 23:03 with another of the club's talented juniors, under-15 prize winner Chloe Norman, only 20 seconds adrift. Fiona Geldard, 25:20, completed Lytham's first- placed women's team. Pam Hardman's 25:35 was good enough to win her the W55 prize.

The finishing crew

Full LSARRC 5K results: 4 Joe Greenwood SM,17.19; 9 Andy Draper SM, 18.19; 12 Neil Tate SM, 18.33;15 Tom Howarth SM, 19.00; 22 Graham Webster M60, 19.47; 23 Michael Hayes U17 19.50;,39 Richard Storey M40, 21.40; 45 Colin Laidlaw M60, 22.08; 46 Alan Elstone SM, 22.10; 47 Dave Dunn M50, 22.15; 51 Ian Tate SM, 22.56; 52 Harry Fellows U15, 22.57; 53 Claire England, F50, 23.03; 55 Chloe Norman U15, 23.23;59 Nigel Simpkin M55, 23.50; 61 Jeremy McCandless M50, 25.12; 64 Fiona Geldard f50, 25.20; 69 Pam Hardman F55, 25.35; 82 Jim Whitworth M65, 28.00; 111 Paula McCandless W50, 34.39.

Fun Run start

The Carnival 1500m Fun Run attracted a best-ever 127 entries.  Ten year old Louis Eunson, 4th in 5.50, was the best of the club's juniors closely followed by 9 years-old Morgan Pritchard, 5:59. Twelve years-old Isla Gordon, 6:25, and 10 year old May Talbot and 9 years-old James Emsley, who finished together in 6.39, also gave good accounts of themselves. The Fun Run alone wasn't enough for 13 years-old Harry Fellows, 6:44, who doubled-up to also run the 5K.

Full LSARRC Fun Run results: 4 Louis Eunson M10, 5.50; 7 Morgan Pritchard M9, 5.59; 16 Isla Gordon F12, 6.25; 23 May Talbot F10, 6.39; 24 James Emsley M9, 6.39; 26 Harry Fellows M13, 6.44; 27 Georgia Norman F11, 6.45; 32 Redford Baines M8, 7.07; 39 Charlotte Thompson F8, 7.19; 43 Connor Norman M8, 7.27; 81Charlotte Storey F9, 8.59; 84 Sophie Tate F7, 9.19.

Louis Eunson