LSARRC Press Report 31st July 2012

The Lakeland 50 is one of the greatest ultra running and walking challenges in Europe. It is a huge challenge, requiring commitment, drive and mental as well as physical stamina. After months of preparation four members of Lytham St Annes Road Runners bravely competed in this event over the weekend.

Starting from the Northern end of Ullswater the route follows the lake’s Eastern shoreline to Howtown.  It continues through remote areas of the Lake District as well more popular parts such as Kentmere, Ambleside and Langdale before finishing at Coniston.

 

As would be expected in such terrain this includes about 10,000 feet of ascent and descent. Competitors are required to carry a substantial amount of supplies and equipment for safety reasons.

 After starting at midday Saturday Simon Denye and Mark Willett were delighted to finish within twelve hours, and in the top one hundred achieving equal 97^th place. They ran and jogged the fifty miles up and down hill, sometimes in the dark and with backpacks in 11:42:02.

 Debbie Cooper and Rob Goodall navigated the course as a team to finish 345^th. They were equally happy to complete the gruelling event, and well within the 24-hour cut-off in 17:04:58. This meant they crossed the finishing line just after 5am!

 

On Friday evening other Lytham members took part in the somewhat shorter annual Firemen's Relays. The club fielded four teams of which two finished in the top ten of the three leg relay on the 2.7 mile course skirting Heron’s Reach.

 

Joe Greenwood spearheaded the “Olympic Hopefuls” which finished third in 47:26. Rapidly improving Joe posted the evening’s fifth fastest time of 14:49. Teammates Tom Howarth and Graham Webster were 21^st and 22^nd overall respectively.

 Roy Upton, Willie Richmond and Dave Dunn made up the team who were eighth, completing the three legs in a total of 51:13. Mother and son Linda and 13 year-old Tom Holmes competed against each other in Lytham’s final two teams. Tom marginally took the honours in both team and individual positions. 

 Bec Willetts and Pam Hardman defied the heavy rain to take part in the Cliviger 6 mile road race on Sunday. Held on a hilly course near Burnley this was the 34^th year of this event. Finishing 96^th Bec’s time of 49:14 was over two minutes up on last year. Pam’s ran 51:06 to claim the second FV55 spot.

At the club’s monthly handicap on Thursday good conditions helped ten of the twenty-three running to earn bonus points for either personal bests or seasons bests. New member Catherine French finished first while Joe Greenwood’s ninth place was enough to maintain his overall lead in the table.

LSARRC Press Report 24th July 2012

On Monday the fourth race of the inter-club season took part at Springfield. Hosted by Wesham, over 200 local club runners took part including 29 from Lytham St Annes Road Runners.

Despite the high turnout Lytham fielded a weaker team than is the norm; except in the vet 60 category that is where the club’s exceptional form over the season continued. Graham Webster, finishing 34^th overall, was again the first vet 60 in the race. Roy Stevens in fourth and Elspeth MacPherson in seventh made up the winning trio. Elspeth was also the first woman in the category by a margin of over five minutes. Lytham are now neck-and-neck with Wesham in the vet 60 table.

Sue Samme also put in a strong performance to finish as the second lady. This ensured the ladies team finished fourth on the night.

Patrick Houghton was the club’s sole representative at Saturday’s Mid Lancs Track & Field meeting staged at Lancaster. He ran in the under-15 boys 800m and, despite this being his first track race, he produced a very commendable performance to finish seventh in the race in 2:28.7.

The Yorkshire Wolds half-marathon is one of the toughest in Britain. A 3.5 mile climb from the mile three point was just one of the challenges. The race climbs a total of 243 meters over the 13.1 miles, and this took place on the first warm and sunny day for months!

An even steeper climb between miles eleven and twelve sapped the legs but the good news is that what goes up must come down. The final half-mile is downhill and made for a fast finish for those who had any energy left.

Two Lytham runners were amongst the 213 competitors on Saturday. Vet 45 Nigel Thompson, a regular at this event, excelled by finishing sixth overall and the second veteran. Thompson claims not to be on top form and fully intends to mount a more serious challenge next year.

The club’s other representative was the club’s other Nigel, Simpkin. In the heat he managed a more humble 114^th position with a time of 1:53:40.

The following day Julia Rolfe also had a go at racing in the hills at the Bentham 10k. Describing this as the hilliest road race she has ever done Julia still manage a club silver standard time of 54:30 to finish 37^th.

At the Lancaster 10k on Thursday Joanne Bingham was 166^th with a time of 53:12.

LSARRC Press Report 17th July 2012

After a gap of 25 years the Windmill half-marathon was revived in Lytham on Sunday. As would be expected for a race in this town the course was flat and generally fast. However the 300 plus competitors didn’t have it all easy, having to dig deep when twice running into a strong headwind along the length of Lytham Green.

 For Lytham St Annes Road Runners Joe Greenwood continued his recent streak of good form claiming sixth position. Felicity Wolohan, competing in her first half marathon, was well under the two-hour marking to finish as the 36^th woman.

Considering Felicity only took up the sport in January this is an excellent performance.

Sylvia Gittens was, as usual, the first FV65, this time by well over an hour. Rob Goodall and Graham Young both chalked up personal best times while Andy Sneddon was happy to hit his personal target.

Lytham results: Joe Greenwood 6^th, 1:24:18; Felicity Wolohan 173^rd, 1:53:29; Pippa Hughes 220^th, 01:59:08; Graham Young 239^th, 02:03:01; Rob Goodall 241^st, 02:03:26; Sylvia Gittens 252^nd, 02:05:53 and Andy Sneddon 304^th, 02:27:30.

In the Lancaster Summer 5k on Thursday Jim Whitworth was the second vet 65, finishing 53^rd overall in a time of 29:36.

Press Report 10th July 2012

 

One of Lytham St Annes Road Runners’ main events of the year is the St Annes Carnival 5k and Fun Run. These races were staged for the sixth time on Sunday. Held in conjunction with the carnival, they aren’t big races but do attract entrants from across the North of England.

The fun run, a mile around Pleasure Island and the miniature golf course, attracted a record 94 entrants. Most of these were children, but the ages of all competitors ranged from four to sixty-five. First place was taken by twelve-year-old Seth Laycock with Nathan Price a split-second behind.

 

Over 120 competed in the main race, the 5k, an hour later on the route from St Annes promenade and round Fairhaven Lake. The winner for the second year running was Paul Manion of Astley & Tyldesley RR club. His time of 16:39 was just three seconds slower than last year.

Despite organising the race and providing a large number of marshals the Lytham club also had eighteen competitors. First back from these was Joe Greenwood in fifth. Despite the warm weather his time was nearly a minute faster than last year which shows how much progress he has made in this time.

  

Other notable successes for Lytham were Graham Webster and Elspeth MacPherson, who were the first male and female vet 60 winners. Pam Binns won the FV65 category while Alex Stanier was the first junior. All were later presented with their prizes by the St Annes Carnival Queen, Elizabeth Drinkwater, and her retinue.

 

Lytham results: Joe Greenwood 5^th, 17:27; Alex Stanier 10^th, 18:52; Graham Webster 12^th, 18:57; Susan Samme 13^th, 19:08; Tom Howarth 16^th, 19:26; Willie Richmond 19^th, 19:56; Mitchell Myers 45^th, 22:37; Elspeth MacPherson 57^th, 23:52; Bec Willetts 58^th, 24:01; Catherine French 68^th, 25:08; Pam Hardman 69^th, 25:11; Rob Goodall 75^th, 25:38; Fiona Geldard 80^th, 26:14; Janice Cobley 89^th, 27:17; James Whitworth 106^th, 29:43; Andy Sneddon 109^th, 30:16; Pam Binns 113^th, 30:55 and Tony Holt 116^th, 31:33. 

Also on Sunday Lytham Beginners group graduate Dawn Bloor achieved a personal best time of 52:01 at the Catforth 10k. Fellow beginner Liz Walton wasn’t far behind, the ladies finishing 26^th and 28^th respectively in the women’s category. Tony White was also competing, getting 55^th place overall.

In the Juniors’ Monday Handicap competition Brooke Marsden was the champion with Natasha Hart in second and Ben Mason third. 

Press Report 3rd Ju;y 2012

The Fairclough 5, a five-mile race named after the late Bob Fairclough, took place at Stanah Country Park in Thornton-Cleveleys on Saturday.

Continuing his good run of form Graham Webster once again shone to win the vet60 category, this time by a full six minutes. Webster, finishing eighth overall, led the contingent of eight members of Lytham St Annes Road Runners.

Graham Webster 8^th and 1^st vet 60, 31:30; Bec Willetts 42^nd, 39:35; Linda Baxter 45^th, 40:49; Dawn Bloor 48^th, 42:14; Pam Hardman 49^th, 42:25; Fiona Geldard 55^th, 44:11; Janice Cobley 59^th, 45:24 and Pam Biunns 64^th, 51:40.

On the same day in Preston Mel Koth took part in her second Parkrun event. Mel achieved a new personal best for herself at the 5k distance with a time of 20:56, equalling the ladies’ course to boot. As well as being the first woman Koth was ninth overall.

The following day Koth was again in action and again winning prizes. This time it was at the Burn Valley half marathon with Tony Croft. In a very tough race featuring long climbs and steep downhills Koth excelled with a time of 01:35:26 to finish first in her FV35 age category and the second lady overall.

Tony Croft was only three minutes behind, finishing 45^th overall and fourth in his MV50 category.

In the inaugural Jeffrey Hill 10k run from Longridge on Sunday Pam Hardman finished 19^th in 56:11. On a hilly and breezy course Pam also achieved the first FV50 position.

On Thursday a record turnout of thirty-three competitors made for a good evening’s competition in the Lytham club’s monthly handicap. Brian Porter won with a season’s best time for him with Simon Denye and second-placed Dave Jacks recording personal bests for the course.

Joe Greenwood was once again fastest overall with Nigel Thompson showing some of his old form not far behind.  Linda Baxter, rapidly returning to her previous level after an enforced break, was the first woman in fourth place.

Although only a quarter of this season has passed a trio of Greenwood, Baxter and Steve Quarmby have already opened up a lead over the rest on the points table.

In the Lake District new member Andy Sneddon battled through wet and windy conditions in the Lakeland Trails half-marathon. Held in Coniston on Sunday it is one of the Lakeland Trails series and would be tough in normal conditions for the time of year. Andy achieved a time of 02:50:11.

Meanwhile vet65 Jim Whitworth came 90^th from 264 finishers in the Keep on Ticking 5k race in Morecambe.