LSARRC News 11th November 2013

The Windmill 10k at Lytham on Sunday attracted a strong turnout of twelve LSARRC members. The race proved a popular draw for competitors with a field of nearly 700 in total. In the crisp November sunshine prior to the start of the race a two minute silence was observed for all fallen soldiers. Conditions were clear and mild, and the flat course followed a coastal route which encircles Lytham Windmill and Fairhaven Lake. Joe Greenwood was the first Lytham man to finish in a creditable 8^th position, in 36.27. Pam Hardman was first Lytham lady, finishing in 286^th position, 51.25, and claiming 1^st FV55. Hardman had a particularly energetic week, including runs at the Derwentwater 10 mile race and then on Thursday, alongside Rebecca Willett, running 14.3 miles to support Dave Moretta, an ex-solider raising money for the British Legion. Moretta’s fundraising challenge was to run 18 marathons in 18 days. His Thursday marathon finished at Blackburn Cathedral. Also in the Windmill 10k, Pam Binns nailed the time she required to achieve the impressive V65 Diamond Standard Award. Binns completed the race in 55.13.

Windmill 10k Full Results: Joe Greenwood, 36.27, 8^th, Thomas Howarth, 38.09, 15^th, Peter Cruse38.16 19^th (3rd MV50), Roy Upton, 41.21, 52^nd, Colin Laidlaw, 43.58, 93^rd, Pamela Hardman, 51.25, 286^th (1^st FV55), Greg Oulton, 51.41, 287th, Liz Hedgecock, 51.49, 295^th, Vicky Cummings, 52.14, 328th 295^th, Kyle Lloyd, 53.43, 373^rd, Graham Young, 54.58, 402^nd, Pamela Binns, 55.13, 411^th.

The Lytham Juniors at
The Lancashire Sportshall League.

Five members of Junior LSARRC represented the club which was competing in the Lancashire Sportshall League for the first time at Stanley Sports Centre. The entrants were Chloe & Georgia Norman, Hannah Riley, Carmen Cole and Thomas Shuttleworth. They competed in varied selection of events: Triple & Long Jumps, Vertical Jump, Speed Bounce, Hi Stepper, Running races of various distances and a Relay.  All the children competed with skill and enjoyment.  Scoring points is a challenge as only the first five places score and in some events there can be 30 or more in competition for the point scoring places. Despite this all the club juniors scored points.  This is particularly commendable as apart from participating in the annual competition against Kirkham Grammar School, all are relatively new to this type of event.

LSARRC News 4th November 2013

A group of Lytham runners joined forces with neighbouring club Thornton Cleveleys RC to compete at the ECCA National Cross-country Relays held at Mansfield, Nottinghamshire on Saturday. The intermittent heavy downpours abated long enough to allow both the women's and men's races to be completed in fine weather before incessant rain set in for the return journey.

The scenic course encompasses two sections in the open fields, a circuit of a pond and a hilly woodland section with sharp changes both in direction and height. First out were the women just after one o'clock for their 3k three-stage followed 30 minutes later by the men's 5k four stage. The men passed the finish once for a repeat lap before finishing. Improved accuracy in the recording of times was achieved with chip timing.

Top club Aldershot and Farnham demonstrated devastating form taking both women's and men's titles in 1:02:54 and 30:01 respectively, helped by such high profile names as Andi Vernon and Steph Twell and went one better in the women's race by fielding a strong B team which came second.

Joanna Goorney gave Lytham women's team a wonderful start with a 11:59 lap that put them into 49th place before they fell back to finish in 98th place.  Second leg was taken by Sylvia Gittins who put in a 19:10 round before third leg runner Dawn Lock did 21:09 to finish in a total time of 52:19 as the only counting team from the whole of the Fylde.

The men were led out by Terry Hellings whose 22:44 took them to 173rd place.  Second leg Greg Oulton in 27:26 gained one place before Graham Webster produced the team's best performance of 21:51 to leap-frog fourteen places for a good 158th place but unfortunately without the fourth leg runner to hand over to. 

FULL RESULTS: WOMEN: 1. J. Goorney (49th) 11:59, 2. S. Gittins (101st) 19:11,  3. D. Lock  (98th) 21:10
TEAM: 98th / 99 in 52:18:85.  MEN:  1. T. Hellings (173rd) 22:45, 2. G. Oulton (172th) 27:27, 3. G. Webster (158th) 21:52.

Pam Binns ran a tremendous time of 02:02:55 at the Lancaster half marathon this weekend, achieving yet another Diamond Standard time for her VF65 age group. This comes as her third Diamond run, with only one such performance outstanding for her to qualify for the award. Pam enjoyed the pleasant, scenic course.

On Saturday morning Catherine French was greeted by high winds and torrential downpour upon arrival in the Ullswater Lake area, prior to the ‘Dirty Double’ dual race challenge organised by Lakeland trails. Saturday’s ‘Helvellyn Trail’ 15k race was shortened to 10k due the hail and high winds which persisted throughout the day in the area. Sunday’s ‘Ullswater Trail’ 14k went ahead as planned and although the race was run amidst heavy scattered showers, in between competitors enjoyed the magnificent views under some clear skies and crisp sunshine. The races started from Glenridding village and comprised a mixture of terrains and an exciting variety of climbs and ascents. The popular 2 day event was attended by runners of all abilities and Catherine completed both races. Also in the Lake District, Rebecca Willetts and Pam Hardman competed in the Derwentwater 10 mile race on Sunday. Through the intermittent showers they were able to enjoy the beautiful views of the Lake, making up for the arduous climbing that the hilly route involved. Hardman finished in 1.32.29 and Willets in 1.33.50.

LSARRC News 28th October 2013

Joe Greenwood making a spirited debut at the Burnley XC

None can fail to observe the distinct signs that Autumn has arrived, including wet and blustery weather and the changing landscape, and all to coincide perfectly with the start of Cross Country season for the running community. The Mid Lancs Cross Country League 2013 got underway at Towneley Park in Burnley on Saturday. This was the venue of the first monthly fixture in a series of six, which will continue through the winter, with juniors and seniors alike donning their running spikes and club colours for the occasion. A wet few days preceding the event had threatened to make the course a muddy challenge for competitors, however on the day the rain held off, conditions were fairly still and mild and for the most part the flat, grassy course was runnable. Lytham RRC produced a thirty strong team of entrants, including 16 seniors and 14 juniors. Clearly the Fylde collective are not fazed by the mud, cold and gruel of a typical mid lancs XC race!

The senior Ladies ran a 5.8k 2 lap course, and the Men ran 10k made up of 3 laps. The Ladies race was the first of the seniors at 2pm. Of a field of 148 finishers, 8 were LSARRC and Joanna Goorney was first Lytham lady to cross the line, finishing 13^th in 25.48. She was followed by Mel Koth, 43^rd in 28.52. Felicity Woolohan was third in, 70^th in 30.35, with these three making the 1^st ladies team who achieved 13^th position for the Club in the team competition.  The Men’s team was also 8 strong, with 235 male seniors competing in this race in total. Joe Greenwood, making his debut not only in this competition but his first ever XC event, did the Club proud by coming home first for Lytham in 69^th position, 38.34. Andy Draper followed in 143^rd place, 42.10 and in close pursuit, Graham Webster, 145^th clocking a time of 42.17. Webster also achieved 3^rd V60 with this performance.

Joanna Goorney, 1st Lytham Lady at the Mid Lancs
XC League 2013 Burnley Fixture.

The club’s junior section was represented by fourteen young athletes with more than half of them competing in their first cross country race for the club. In the U11girls race Hollie Winstanley was the first Lytham runner to cross the finish line finishing 10^th in 8:30, Rebecca Tate was 33^rd in 9:31, Olivia Aberra 48^th in 9:56 and Georgia Norman was 54^th in 10:11. In the U11boys race Simon Holt was 14^th in 8:01, Farron O’Higgins 18^th in 8:07, James Nicholas 22^nd in 8:22, Harry Booth 29^th in 8:43, Etienne Jones 41^st in 9:15 and Tobias Rogerson 51^st in 9:57. Two Lytham girls competed in the U13G race and Ella Moulding finished 6^th in 11:56 and Chloe Norman 43^rd in 14:19. Ross Hart was the only Lytham U15 boy and he ran a very creditable race to finish 27^th in 17:12.

A selection of the Junior Lytham St Annes RRC XC Team

Well away from the mud and toil of Cross Country, on Thursday evening LSARRC members gathered below the iconic glitter ball on Blackpool prom for the Club’s annual social Illuminations run. An enthusiastic group, exceeding 20, turned up for the hour’s run which concluded with a chip supper at Squires Gate.