LSARRC Press Report 24th January 2012

Club Championship contender Andy Draper excelled in one of the country’s favourite half-marathons on Sunday, finishing 23rd from a large and high-class field. And despite poor weather conditions his time of 01:17:49 was just four seconds outside of his personal best.

The race was the Essar Four Villages in Cheshire. Established in 1982 the race boasts a reputation for smooth organisation and the entry of 2000 always sells out quickly.

Starting from the village of Helsby the course follows a route around the scenic Cheshire Plain, with some hills to climb between miles eight and eleven. The fast course attracts a good quality field of county and international athletes. The wind and driving rain this year however ensured the course record of 1:04:06 was safe.

Lytham St Annes Road Runners had three of the club’s best athletes participating and all achieved good results. Less than three minutes behind Andy and in 45th position was vet 45 Peter Cruse. Peter also achieved fifth place in his age category.

Mel Koth was persuaded to enter the race at the last minute after a friend was forced to drop out. This was a decision she did not regret as she was the fourth FV35 in 01:34:29.

The inaugural Inskip Derby Arms Half Marathon was also held on Sunday with a good entry for a first time race of over 250. The course is mildly undulating along the lanes of the Wyre and Fylde countryside. This should make for a fast run but the weather had other ideas; windy conditions made the going tough.

The first back for Lytham, Simon Denye, had a good race finishing 58th. Vet 45 Steve Quarmby was the next of the five club members back in 109th.

The best achievement came further down the results. Although in 215th overall and taking a fraction over two hours to finish Sylvia Gittens was the first vet 65 lady and the fourth vet 65.

Lytham results from Inskip: Simon Denye 58^th, 01:33:15; Steve Quarmby 109^th, 01:42:51; Richard Storey 140^th, 01:47:02; Trevor Willoughby 149^th, 01:48:51 and Sylvia Gittens 215^th, 02:00:26.

LSARRC Press Report 17th January 2012

Following her success at the Lancashire County Championships the previous week Lytham St Annes Road Runners’ Sue Samme continued her winning ways at the latest mid-Lancs cross-country league meeting on Saturday. This event, at Hyndburn, was the season’s fourth meeting and Sue’s third. Previously she finished third and second and it was only fitting that she should chalk up a win after the Lancashires.

The second finisher, Melanie Hyder, had a fast start, quickly opening a twenty-metre lead. The more experienced Sue bided her time, gradually closing the gap over the six-kilometre race until 800 metres from the line. Her finishing sprint from there gave her the race with fourteen seconds to spare.

Mel Koth in 30th and Laura Ashworth in 68th gave the both senior ladies team and the ladies vet 35s sixth place. With two meetings left this gives the senior ladies a good chance of retaining their coveted top division place.

The ladies vet 45s did better with second place; Julia Rolfe and Pam Hardman were the two counters that joined Sue to make up that team. They currently lead their table and have a good chance of winning gold or silver medals at the end of the season.

The men’s race was over ten kilometres and Lytham’s first four finishers were all vet 50s. Terry Hellings on his favourite medium led the way in 109th with Graham Webster less than a minute behind. Tony Croft was the third counter in the vet 50 team earning them a respectable fourth place.

Lytham Senior Results from Hyndburn: Ladies: Sue Samme, 1st, 21:53; Mel Koth 30th, 26:16; Laura Ashworth 68th, 30:52; Julia Rolfe 71st, 31:03; Louise Charnock 78th, 31:52; Pam Hardman 86th, 32:40 and Dawn Lock 110th, 42:43.
Men: Terry Hellings 109th, 41:44; Graham Webster 118th, 42:10; Tony Croft 125th, 42:41; Colin Laidlaw, 177th; 45:52; Steve Quarmby 185th, 46:31; Colin Nelson 189th, 46:45; Joe Shaw 195th, 47:10; Roy Upton 196th, 47:10 and Willie Richmond 212th, 48:25.

For the juniors Ross Hart was Lytham’s only representative, finishing the one-lap three kilometre course 35th in the under 13 boys with a time of 13:02.

LSARRC Press Report 10th January 2012

At the age of 49 Sue Samme of Lytham St Annes Road Runners has remarkably won her first Lancashire Cross Country Championship for 27 years. As all those years before Witton Park in Blackburn, the toughest course in the area, was the venue for her success on Saturday.

A three-lap race meant the dreaded “saucer”, a tough hill, had to be climbed three times. Never far from the lead, Sue took pole position on the second ascent of the saucer. In very muddy conditions Sue extended her lead to win from Blackpool’s Caroline Betmead by 34 seconds. This is a superb achievement by any standards and Sue adds this latest triumph to her five and ten mile Lancashire Championships of 2010. She was, of course, also awarded the FV45 gold medal.

Another success for the club was their only junior at the event, George Rowley, in the under 15 boys. Despite being at the lower end of his age group George ran very strongly to score an excellent result finishing fifth in a time of 15:07.

Like Sue, George qualifies to run for Lancashire at the Inter-Counties Championships in March. This will be the first time the Lytham have two athletes representing their county in the same competition and is a great honour for the club.

The senior ladies team finished ninth and the veterans fifth with Julia Rolfe and Pam Hardman making up both teams with Sue. The indomitable Dawn Lock was the last of the Lytham ladies but took the Lancashire FV65 silver medal in the process. In the senior mens’ race Andy Draper was the first back for Lytham but unfortunately the men were one finisher short of a full team in both the open and veteran competitions.

Lytham seniors results from Witton Park. Men: Andy Draper 54th, 42:52; Terry Hellings 72nd, 45:28; Tony Croft 78th, 46:20; Graham Webster 83rd, 46:33 and Colin Nelson 96th, 50:53.
Ladies: Sue Samme 1st and 1st vet, 29:04; Julia Rolfe 46th, 41:32; Pam Hardman 51st, 43:54 and Dawn Lock 55th, 58:42.

In the Garstang 10k on Sunday Peter Cruse had a good result coming twelfth and the first vet 45 from the 445 finishers. Sylvia Gittens, back in 280th overall, was the first vet 65 lady.

Lytham Results from Garstand: Peter Cruse 12th, 36:09; Trevor Willoughby 227th, 49:32; Sylvia Gittens 280th, 52:19 and Bec Willetts 316th, 54:52.

LSARRC Press Report 3rd January 2012

The Central Lancs half-marathon on Monday was the first local race of the new year. Taking place on a flattish course through the lanes of rural Fylde a good total of over 400 entrants set off from Catforth Village Hall along at first more sheltered lanes before turning south into the strong winds on Church Road. The competitors endured a hailstorm for two miles, trudged through mud and waded, in parts, a flooded course.

Lytham St. Annes Road Runners Club were represented by six of its more hardy members including Laura Ashworth running her first half-marathon, taking the place of her injured husband with only four days notice.

First to finish was Peter Cruse, one of the club's strongest MV45s and winning that category. Next in was Simon Denye before Mel Koth, the second FV35. A little further down the field Laura Ashworth ran well finishing just behind Debbie Cooper. Paul McAllister and Rob Goodall also defied the unpleasant weather of the bank holiday to get in additional points for the club championship.

Four other members of the club also took part by providing runners with a water station at the five mile point.
Lytham Results: Peter Cruse: 10th, 1:20:23; Simon Denye: 73rd, 1:32:05; Mel Koth 78th, 8th lady, 1:32:31;Debbie Cooper 214th, 1:52:05; Laura Ashworth 215th, 1:52:29; Paul McAllister 256th, 1:57:54 and Rob Goodall 338th, 2:19:18.

On Thursday the club staged its monthly handicap “Christmas special”; special as a social and a quiz were held afterwards. On a wet and windy evening the social helped keep the attendance high. And despite the conditions there were some notable performances.

Sam Banner, home for Christmas from university, popped along and broke the junior mens’ winter course record. His time of 20:22 was the equal fastest of the night with Joe Greenwood and it means he holds the junior men’s records for both the summer and winter courses.

The nights winner however was Paul McAllister in his first handicap race since April. Paul was thirteen seconds in front of another welcome returnee, Tom Howarth.

At the three-quarter stage in the series the top three are seperated by just three points but as the final winner is determined by the best nine of the twelve races there are still several others who could snatch the title.

LSARRC Press Report 27th December 2011

The biggest race of the Christmas week was the Ribble Valley 10k on Tuesday with nearly 900 competitors. It is always well organised and run on traffic free roads so, despite the tough climb to the finish, it is generally regarded as a quick course. Another attractive feature of the event is that it incorporates the Northern Athletics 10k Road Championships.

Last year the race was cancelled at the last minute due to the adverse weather. This time the conditions were completely different and a new course record of 29:10 was set by the winner. That is well under five minute miling.

The field was of a very high quality with over one hundred completing the course in under 35 minutes. To put this in perspective the first man back for Lytham St Annes Road Runners was Peter Cruse in 140th. His time would have earned a top twenty position in many races.

The first woman back for Lytham was Mel Koth who got a very creditable fourth place in the F35-39 age category, third in the Northern Championships. Bec Willets and Pam Hardman were the other two who made up the Lytham Ladies team which did well to achieve eighteenth in the all females team competition and eleventh in the veteran females.

Lytham Results: Peter Cruse 140th, 37:03; Mel Koth 337th, 42:39; Roy Stevens 509th, 47:53; Bec Willets 696th, 53:11; Pam Hardman 722, 54:17 and Denise Flitcroft 857th, 62:52.

As ever at this time of the year there are seasonal races and Christmas Eve saw Rudolph’s Red Nose around the outside of Blackpool Zoo. A Christmas tradition, this flat 5-miler is accurately measured and competitive but with some fun attached. Many took the opportunity to dress up in seasonal costumes ensuring that this was largely a race between santas and elves.

First back for Lytham St Annes Road Runners was 18 year old Sam Banner showing that he has not lost form while away at university. Sam was the first under 20 back finishing fifth overall in 30:19 in this multi-terrain event.
Next for Lytham, and in the full santa claus outfit, was Peter Cruse. Despite the clothing vet 45 Peter was twelveth from the 200 competitors in 31:32.

Also in seasonal garb but, as an elf, more streamlined was the first vet 35 lady Mel Koth in 34:53. Just two seconds in front of Mel was Joe Shaw in 34th. Finally after a long lay-off Paul McAllister made a very welcome return to racing finishing 94th.

Everyone at Lytham St Annes Road Runners trusts that all the readers had a good Christmas and we wish you a speedy New Year!