LSARRC News 28th July 2014

On Friday night, Sylvia Gittins ran the 35th Wedding Day 7k which was a multi terrain race run within the bounds of Bushy Park in Twickenham over an out and back course starting and finishing on the Hampton Hill side of the park.  She finished in 40:10 in 359th over all.

Junior and senior LSARRC athletes at the Preston Mid Lancs Track and Field Meet

It was the 4th Mid Lancs Track and Field Meet of the year at Preston's Uclan Arena on Saturday.  In heatwave conditions, track athletes found the going tough resulting in slightly slower times.

Lytham St Annes RRC were well represented in both the junior and senior races.  Chloe Norman was in action firstly in the under 15s 800m finishing 13th in a time of 2:41.90.  In the Long Jump, she finished 10th  recording 3.80m and 6th in her heat in a time of 30.70 in the 200m.  Hollie Winstanley ran 6:00.40 to finish an excellent 2nd in the under 13 girls 1500m.

Terry Hellings in the 3000m

In the seniors races, Graham Webster finished 12th in the 800m in a time of 2:34.00 while Joanna Goorney was 1st in the 800m in a time of 2:36.50.  In the 1500m, Graham finished 9th in a time of 5:16:00 whilst in the ladies race, Joanna finished 1st in at time of 5:16.00.  The final event of the day, was the 3000m with had three LSARRC athletes in it.  Graham Webster was 3rd male in a time of 11:24.00, Terry Hellings was 4th male in a time of 12:15.70 whilst Joanna Goorney was 2nd female in a time of 11:35.40.

Tony Norman throwing the javelin

Tony Norman was busy in the field events.  In the shot putt, he was 3rd throwing 9.28m.  In the discus, he was 5th throwing 24.00m and in the Javelin recorded 24.76m to finish 9th.

On Saturday night, Simon Denye was in action in the Lancaster 5k to finish 10th in a time of 17:44.

LSARRC News 21st July 2014

This week saw members from Lytham St Anne’s Road Runners compete on road, fells and track from Lancaster to Perth, Australia.

LSARRC at Caldervale Supper Run

Thursday evening saw 6 members from Lytham head to Caldervale.

A lovely evening with the countryside looking at its best attracted the largest turnout for many years and some quality runners to the Calder Vale Supper Run held on a mid-week evening in this pretty
traditional Lancashire village.

Nominally a fun run, its four-mile length and hilly nature makes this by no means an easy race.  From the village centre there's an unrelenting climb for the first two miles, stiff at first; levelling somewhat before climbing steeply once again to reach the high point from where tail-enders are treated to distant views of race leaders climbing the hill beyond Oakenclough Mill.

Numbers at this year's race surprised even the organizers with supper pies nearly running out.  Winner, Lancaster & Morecambe AC's Raymond Edgar, crossed the finishing line in 20:53. 

Six LSARRC members ran with Graham Webster first back and first MV60.  Webster overtook next placed Lytham runner Neil Tate to finish 15th in 24:40, to Tate's 18th in 25:03. Fiona Geldard was 64th in 33:42 and Jeremy McCandless and Bill Lock in adjacent places 87th and 88th, took
36:21 and 36:28.  Dawn lock finished 116th in 48:29.

Warton Crag fell race (3rd of 4 in the Lytham fell race championship) was held on Saturday 19th.  Greg Oulton was first home for Lytham covering the 6 miles with 180m of climbing in a time of 61:14 for 48th place clinching the Lytham fell race championship with one race still to go.  Colin Laidlaw also represented Lytham but took a wrong turn and eventually finished in 1:31:24 for 62nd position.

Felicity Wolohan

Sunday 21st saw Felicity Wolohan toe the line in the Penny lane Striders 10k in Liverpool.  Disappointed with her performance but still recovering from a chest infection Felicity ran well to complete race in 48:09 for 131st place (23rd female). 

Graham Webster

Meanwhile 100 or so miles south at Tudor Grange leisure Centre, Solihul Lytham’s Vet 60 Graham Webster had been selected to represent Northern Vets to compete in an inter region track and field meeting.  The best veteran athletes from the whole of England compete for their region scoring points to decide eventual top region.

In scorching heat Graham ran in three events finishing 4th in the 800m in 2m 34.3s and 4th again in 3000m 11m 21.30s.  Graham donned his spikes again to compete, in a rare event for him, the v60 4*100m relay.

On the other side of the world Pam Hardman, Debbie Cooper and Bec Willets have been flying the Lytham flag.

On the 14th Pam and Debbie ran The Swan River 14k race, a lovely course running the length of the Swan River then through Kings Park with views of all of the city, beautiful, and a nice medal to finish. Debbie & Pamela finished in 1h 17m 17s and 1h 17m 18s respectively.

Rockingham Perth was the venue for a 5k race for Pamela Hardman, Debbie Cooper & Rebecca Willetts.  The race includes running along the Rockingham promenade overlooking the Indian Ocean. Debbie Cooper finished 24.50 5th in age category (V35-39), Pamela Hardman 25.30 (1st V55-59).  Rebecca Willetts jogged round with a sling on her sore shoulder.

LSARRC News 14th July 2014

Wesham's BNFL, Salwick race marks the over half-way point of the Inter-Club Grand Prix road series and already trends are evident.  Preston Harriers is the dominant club leading in the Open, Vets and V50 categories; Wesham has a clear lead in the Vet 60s and Blackpool Wyre & Fylde AC has edged ahead of Wesham in the ladies results.  LSARRC's highest position is third in the Vet60s and is lying fourth in the other veteran categories and the women's and fifth overall.

Wesham's ICGP takes an undulating course around the rural lanes west of Kirkham and while there are no steep climbs, there are several long inclines, exposed and sapping in hot or windy conditions.  Against recent weather trends, the evening of Monday 14th was mildly wet throughout the race luckily missing the heavy downpour soon after the finish.  A high-class field of 211 runners from the six clubs competed.  True to form, Preston further consolidated their place at the top of the table with runners in 1st and 2nd positions.  David Rigby, second at Blackpool and Lytham, bested club-mate and winner at Preston, Rob Affleck by 8 seconds, 23:05 to 23:13.  Next best was Blackpool who was second in the Open and won the Ladies.  Host club Wesham was third overall and second in the Ladies.

Lytham's twenty-strong team came fifth in the Open and Ladies.  Leading for the Club was Joe Greenwood in one of his best ICGP finishes, 11th in 25:20.  Ten competitors make up the open team and following Greenwood for LSARRC they were Peter Cruse, also counting in the Vets' and Vet 50s' in 33rd in 27:32; Graham Webster, the best Vet 60, 47th in 28:37; Neil Tate, 58th in 29:32; Mark Selby, finishing 67th in 30:12; new-comer Justin Allitt, 71st in 30:28; Terry Hellings and Oliver Hirsh, neck-and-neck 84th and 85th in 31:10 and 31:12 respectively; Dave Dunn, 103rd in 32:35 and Richard Storey 116th in 33:37.  A strong team of Webster, Hellings and Roy Stevens, 133rd in 34:49, scored well for the Vet 60s for Lytham's highest placing of the evening, 3rd.  Laura Ashworth headed the five-strong ladies team in 134th position and 34:50.  Completing the team were Julia Rolfe, 148th in 36:04, marginally ahead of Dawn Bloor, 149th in 36:08; Fiona Geldard , 165th in 38:14 and Karen Lanigan, 196th in 43:35.

 

Other members of the Lytham contingent were Alex Wiggins, 126th, narrowly beating Greg Oulton, 127th in 34:22 by a couple of seconds with a finishing sprint, Jeremy McCandless, 189th in 41:35 and Dawn Lock, 209th in 55:56.    

Greg Oulton continued in his quest to add as many fell races to his tally as possible travelling mid week to the evening 8.8km and 335m climb Bull Hill Fell Race.  Slowed by narrow section preventing passing and encountering a varied terrain of mud, tracks, thick heather, tall grass and rocks, Oulton nevertheless passed several to finish 167th in 58:17, two places and a few seconds ahead of team-mate Julia Rolfe, 169th in 58:36.

Sunday saw the third running for the Windmill Half Marathon from Fairhaven Lake in clear sunshine tempered by sea breezes.  A field of 481, including three Lytham runners, attempted this flat course encompassing several rounds of the lake in both clockwise and anticlockwise directions interspaced with two trips to the far end of Lytham Green.  Delighted to make an under 1 hour 30 minute finish for the first time and notching up a several minutes' improvement on previously, Neil Tate finished in a high 34th place in 1:29:51.  Felicity Wolohan has been training hard for her half marathons and managed 1:44:51 and 134th position. Sylvia Gittins finished  353rd in 2:09:24 to take the first FV60 prize.

Another Lytham prize-winner was Peter Cruse, MV50, taking third place in the Pilling 10K in an excellent 37:11 in this relatively new race held on Sunday 13th.

LSARRC's Mini-Fun Run held annually in Ashton Gardens as part of the St. Annes Carnival attracted over 200 under-fourteens.  The course incorporates incorporates jumps, slalom, climbing a grassy slope and balancing an egg and spoon and the fastest club time was achieved by nine-year old Simon Holt. 

LSARRC News 7th July 2014

Sue Samme donned her Great Britain track suit to present the awards at the club’s junior presentation evening last Thursday night. Sue, who it still a prolific club runner, ran at the highest level as a junior herself, holding junior national records and competing for Great Britain in 1986 at the World Road Relay Championships in Japan. Hollie Winstanley, Rosie Taylor, Rebecca Tate, Georgia Norman, Olivia Aberra, Simon Holt, Farron O’Higgins, Harry Booth, Ella Moulding and Chloe Norman were all presented with Mid Lancs Cross Country League Badges. Cross Country Club Champions were; U11B Simon Holt, U11G Hollie Winstanley and U13G Ella Moulding. Track & Field Club Champions were; U11B Simon Holt, U11G Georgia Norman, U13B James Nicholas, U13G Hollie Winstanley, U15G Chloe Norman and U20G Layla Foley. Winner of the Junior Handicap Trophy was Spencer Unsworth with Charlotte Thomson in 2nd and Kallum Illingworth 3rd. The Coaches Cup, awarded by the club’s coaches to the athlete who has shown outstanding dedication to athletics during the year, was presented to Chloe Norman.

On Saturday night, Simon Denye ran the 2nd race in the Catforth 5k series. After a tiring week of training, Simon completed the course in 18:36 for 13th place. The winner was Stuart Robinson of Salford Harriers in a time of 15:30 and there were 70 runners.

Start of the St Annes Carnival 5k

The big event of the weekend was the eighth running of the St. Anne's Carnival 5K and 1500m Fun Run, held under peerless blue skies with bright sunshine enhancing the colourful holiday scene. Host club Lytham St. Annes RRC had ten members running in the 5k, nearly half of them members of the Junior Section under the age of twenty and fifteen of the younger junior members in the Fun Run.

Andy Draper in the Carnival 5k

Neighbouring clubs provided the winners. Wesham's impressive Rob Danson took first place sixteen seconds ahead of second and Blackpool Wyre & Fylde had a clean sweep of the women's competition and the team prizes. Emily Japp finished a clear winner in 16th overall and a good 18:45.

Andrew Draper was Lytham's first finisher in 11th place putting in a strong run to finish in 18:17. Next in and second team member, rapidly climbing through the results lists, was Neil Tate nearly achieving his aim of an under 19 minute finish with 19:06 and 23rd place. Three places back was Lytham's exceptional sixty-year old Graham Webster, 26th in 19:34 who also took the MV60 prize. Draper, Tate and Webster made up Lytham's team that was third.

Arriving at the line in a storming finish was LSARRC's fourth finisher Mark Selby in 30th place and 20:38. Second sixty-year old was Terry Hellings, 37th in 21:52, who was followed in by two MV50s Steve Quarmby, 39th in 22:04 and Russ Chew, 41st in 22:15. Also running well were Greg Oulton, pleased with his continuing improvement, 22:44 in 46th place, Richard Stanier, 51st in 23:04 and Jeremy McCandless, 84th with a PB of 27:15, cutting 1:14 from his previous best.

Most remarkable about this race was the prominence of young talent. A very young Lytham team consisting of thirteen-year old Ella Moulding, seventeen-year old Layla Foley and eighteen-year old Phillipa Wood finished second team to BWFAC. Ella Moulding finished stylishly after an excellent race in a good-for-age time of 20:47, 32nd. Layla Foley, took the U20 prize in 40th position and 22:15. Phillipa Wood St Annes Carnival 1500m Fun Run had 69 finishers and was also well represented with Juniors from LSARR. Simon Holt was the first home for the club in 5th place with a time of 5:49, closely followed by Lius Eunson in 6th place in 5:42 and Harry Fellows in 7th place in 5:55. First junior female home for LSARR was Chloe Norman in 10 place and a time of 6:01. Rebecca Tate was 12th in 6:01, Georgia Norman 15th in 6:56, Isla Gordon 16th in 6:51, Olivia Aberra 18th in 6:53, Luke Tate 19th in 6:55, Redford Boulton-Baines 20th in 7:12, Carmen Cole 23rd in7:26, Sydney Ramsden 25th in 7:28, Connor Norman 27th in 7:40, Stuart Wharrier 36th in 8:15 and Charlotte Thompson 41st in 8:28.

Also on Sunday, was the Southport Half Marathon which attracted nearly 900 runners. Sylvia Gittins had a good run finishing in 553rd place in a time of 2:00:30.