LSARRC News 25th November 2014

Sylvia Gittins - 1st vet 65 at Conwy Half Marathon

There were no races on the Fylde coast this last week and runners needed to travel further afield, the closest being the Chorley Fire Fighters 10k which didn't attract any LSARRC athletes.  Instead, 2 members Ruth Wheatley and Sylvia Gittins headed to North Wales for the Conwy Half Marathon.  The race started at Conwy Castle, then went to Llandudno, around the Great Orme and then back to the castle again.  Conditions were perfect, 10 degrees, barely a breath of wind and a bright, sometimes sunny, morning.  The first four miles were flattish, then a drag up the Orme of about 3 miles, a 2 mile descent and then four back home again.  The Orme was tough for a Fylde coast runner.  Someone on recognising Ruth's vest and coming from the Fylde coast even joked about the hill.  Despite the hill though, Ruth still achieved a PB of 1:57:54 while Sylvia completed the course in 2:03:59 finishing first vet 65.

Ruth Wheatley and Tim Armitt at Conwy Half Marathon

Dawn Lock took the opportunity of a lull in the road racing calendar to go orienteering, a sport that has been in Britain for around 50 years and she has followed for more than 30 years.  Local club South Ribble Orienteering held two fixtures in the week: the third round of the popular Street League and the third and final event of the Autumn Series.

The street league, which involves a limited-time run around town streets seeking the answer to clues consisting of lamppost, hydrant and telegraph pole numbers, is hotly contested by around 50 competitors from the three southern clubs in the NWOA.  This week's event was at Penwortham with the 75 minute course won with a excellent score of 1599 points and the 60 minute course with 1041.  Lock finished 24th on the shorter course with a score of 540 points.

The weekend Autumn Series returned to Williamson Park in Lancaster after a particularly gruelling second round at Eaves Wood in Silverdale.  This time it was a cross-country where the 28 controls had to be found in the correct order in the shortest time possible.  The green course was won in a fast 37:13.  Dawn finished 10th out of 14 in 72:25 and took the W60+ series prize.

After last week's action at the second Mid Lancs Cross Country fixture at Barrow, next Saturday (29th) sees LSARRC runners heading to Sefton Park, Liverpool for the first race in the The British Athletics Cross Challenge series.  As well as being used as the European Cross Country Trials, this prestigious race is also being used as the third race in the Mid Lancs Cross Country league and so should be an excellent event.

LSARRC News 18th November 2014

Saturday saw the 2nd fixture in the Mid Lancs Cross Country Series with runners making the long trek up to Thorncliffe, Barrow in Furness.  Despite the distance, there was an excellent turnout from LSARR both in the junior and senior races.

3 LSARR juniors competed in the under 11 girls in a field of 42 with Anna Mason of Border Harriers first home in 6:56.  Rebecca Tate was 10th in 7:33, Georgia Norman 19th in 8:12 and Olivia Aberra 25th in 8:28.  In the under 11 boys, new recruit to LSARRC Zane Seddon improved on sixth place at Hyndburn to finish second in a 6:23 in only his second time of running for the Club ahead of a field of 31.  Holly Winstanley and Rosie Taylor ran in the under 13 girls race.  Holly was 14th in 12:32 while Rosie was 21st in 13:20. In the under 15 girls, Ella Moulding finished second in 13:34 behind Emma Whittaker of L&M in13:20 while Chloe Norman was 38th in16:32.

Layla Foley making her debut in the Senior Women's race

The senior women's race was won by Caroline Baxter of Lancaster & Morcambe in a clear lead in 20:07.  Joanna Goorney finished 9th in 21:02.  Layla Foley, still an under 20, finished 20th in 22:00 still counting for the first time in the Senior team.  Fiona Geldard made up the final member in 26:15 and 57th place.  Julia Rolfe was 61st in 26:47,  Dawn Bloor was 66th  in 27:08, Sylvia 87th in 30:37 and Dawn Lock 109th in 41:41.  The women were 4th Vet 35 team and 1st vet 45 team for the second time on the trot – an excellent result.

Neil Tate

Tom Howarth

In the Senior Men's race, the winner Chris Farrell giving Horwich RMI the second winner of the series in 29:22, taking the race from last year's Men's Champion James Douglas of Border Harriers by 8 seconds in a hard fought race.  First home for LSARR was Joe Greenwood in 35th and 33:49.  Tom Howarth was 64th in 36:19, Neil Tate 71st in 36:46, Graham Webster 89th in 37:51, Terry Hellings 130th in 40:47, Nigel Simpkin was172nd in 46:30 and Greg Oulton was182nd in 48:30.
Graham, Terry, Nigel and Greg made up the V40 team and Graham Terry and Nigel made up the v50 team.

Felicity Wolohan at the Preston 10 mile race

The following day, LSARR was in action again at the Preston 10 mile road race, with 4 runners having done the cross country the previous day.  This fast flat course in calm autumnal sun shine saw winner Tom Charles of Trafford AC finish in a time of 52.14.  First in for Lytham was Simon Denye, just missing out in going under the hour in 1:00:01 but still setting an excellent PB.  Next was v55 Peter Cruse in 41st position in a time of 62 :25.  Tom Haworth in 65th position in a time of 65 :32 with Neil Tate in 74th in 1:06:23 and also setting a PB.  Closely following was V60 Graham Webster  who was 76th, in 1:06:29. First Lytham Lady home, was Felicity Woolahan in a PB of 1:18:22 and 226th place. Second lady was Fiona Geldard FV50, finishing in 1:24:51 taking 298th position and a PB and finally Pam Hardman V55 came in 340th in 1:29:01. Willie Richmond pulled out through injury.  There were 431 finishers.

LSARRC News 12th November 2014

 

2 stalwart members of the club, Kevin and Laura Ashworth are relocating down to Devon next week and club members joined them for leaving drinks on Friday night.  They will be sorely missed.
 

Joe Greenwood

Pam Hardman

The main race of the weekend was the Lytham Windmill 10k on Sunday morning.  Held in perfect Autumn sunshine, conditions were perfect on the fast flat course.  Lytham was well represented with nine runners.  First home for LSARR was Joe Greenwood in 6th place an in a time of 35:08 and PB.  There were also huge PBs for Neil Tate who finished in 34th place and 38:21 and Dawn Bloor who was  206th in 48:32 knocking exactly 3 and half minutes off her previous PB and was very pleased.  Petr Martinovsky was 64th in 41:31 and Chris Blackburn was 95th in 42: 54.  Ruth Wheatly was 229th in 49:54, Pam Hardman was 256th in 51:04, Graham Young was 385th in 55:52 and Liz Hedgecock was 387th in 56:09.  It was a welcome return for Catherine French, completing her first race in over a year after a foot surgery.  She finished in 546th place in 1:02:01.

Kev Ashworth, Dawn Bloor, Cath French, Pam Hardman and Laura Ashworth

Last Sunday (1st Nov), John Wild completed the Helvellyn 15K trail race on finishing 279th out 465 in a time of 1 hour 42.

Laura & Kev's Leaving Do - Friday 7th November 2014

Laura & Kevin

As some of you know, Kev and are I are moving to Devon to be nearer my family.  It wasn't an easy decision but we feel that now is the right time to be able to make a success of it.  We have made so many friends through the running club and it has also provided us with some fantastic memories.

We would love it if you were able to join us in the Wetherspoons Pub, The Railway Hotel, in Lytham on Fri 7th Nov from 7.15pm.

It would be great to have a drink with you, there's no need to reply, just come.

LSARRC at Christmas - December What's On

LSARRC News 30 October - 1 November 2014

Lytham's Men's Team at the ECCA Cross-Country Relays,
Berry Hill Park, Mansfield - 1st November 20014
Will Richmond, Nigel Simpkin, Grahnam Webster & Greg Oulton

ECCA NATIONAL CROSS-COUNTRY RELAYS - SATURDAY 1 NOVEMBER 2014

It was left to the men of Lytham St Annes RRC to fly the flag for the Fylde coast in the National Cross Country Relays at Berry Park, Mansfield on Saturday 1st November. 

On an unseasonably warm day and on a course in excellent condition for some fast times the event attracted some of the best athletes in the country including British and European champions.

Toeing the line for Lytham on the first leg was team captain Graham Webster, clocking the fastest time of the day for Lytham Webster completed the two lap 5k course in 20m 40.35s for 151st place.  Will Richmond was second leg runner for Lytham finishing in 21m 47.8s and moving the team up to 147th. Richmond handed over to Greg Oulton who ran his best time for the course of 26m 2.65s.  Final leg runner for Lytham was Nigel Simpkin who moved the team up to 139th from 172 starters in a time of 25m 21.70s.

Pumpkin lantern competition entries

THE OCTOBER HANDICAP & HALLOWEEN  - THURSDAY 30 OCTOBER 2014

The Club celebrated Halloween in its own inimitable way on Thursday 30th with seasonal foods and a pumpkin lantern competition to round off its 3.45 mile October Handicap.

A personal best of 26m 08s for Alex Wiggins gave him a well–deserved victory just 16 seconds ahead of runner-up Kev Ashworth in a very close-fought race.  Ashworth, a stalwart of the handicap and 2012 champion, is moving away from the Fylde shortly so was determined to make his mark in his final race but still needed to make a resolute charge for the finish line to hold off the twin challenges of veteran Graham Webster and overall points leader Jeremy McCandless. The race also saw an encouraging debut for new member Ruth Wheatley whose 27m 55 holds the promise of good future performances.

With a substantial tally of 200 points Jeremy McCandless continues to dominate the scoring for the year-long handicap championship and, since his closest rival Kev Ashworth is leaving, effectively holds a lead of more than 50 points over his nearest rivals.

October Handicap Winners: Kevin Ashworth, 2nd, Alex Wiggins, 1st and Graham Webster, 3rd. Full October Results: 1, Alex Wiggins, 26.08 PB; 2, Kev Ashworth, 23.39; 3, Graham Webster, 22.01; 4, Jeremy McCandless, 31.35 PB; 5, Debbie Cooper, 28.08; 6, Roy Stevens, 26.58; 7, Richard Storey, 25.13; 8, Joe Greenwood, 19.45; 9, Fiona Geldard, 27.35; 10, Karen Lanigan, 34.31; 11, Greg Oulton, 29.23; 12, Dawn Lock, 47.46; Ruth Wheatley(n/c), 27.55; Tim Armit (n/c), 26.53; Willie Richmond (n/c), 23.23; Mark Selby (n/c), 23.34; Paul McCallister (n/c), 28.27; Derek Caborn (n/c), 31.33.

Leading Points Totals: Jeremy McCandless 200; Kev Ashworth 154; Alex Wiggins 144; Joe Greenwood 143; Graham Webster 139; Karen Lanigan & Fiona Geldard 132.

OTHER RACES 

Roving further afield, two Lytham members did the Cheshire 10K and one, the well-established Derwent 10 Miles last weekend.

 

On a rural one-lap course won by Mohammed Abu-Rezeq of Altrincham And District AC in an impressive time 29:11 ahead of 1,147,  Russ Chew, MV50, finished 319th in 47:16, just 8 seconds short of his season's best and Felicity Wolohan, slowed by a crowded start, was 384th in a chip time of 46.54.

Felicity Wolohan
running the Cheshire 10K

Peter Cruse, also an MV50, travelled north to complete the 55th Derwent Ten.  This tough scenic race circles Derwentwater and attracts many annual returnees.  Cruse finished 44th out of 386 in 1:04:11, second in his age group, in a race won by Russ Best of New Marske Harriers in 52:13.

LSARRC News 25th October 2014

MID LANCS. LEAGUE CROSS-COUNTRY (1) HYNDBURN - SATURDAY 25 OCTOBER 2014

U11 Girls ready to go

The new Mid-Lancashire Cross-Country League season opened with a well-attended meeting at Hyndburn where more than 800 runners competed over interesting courses that mixed open terrain with meandering woodland trails. Many Lytham St Anne’s Road Runners had eagerly awaited a return to off-road racing and the club was well-represented with competitors in many age categories. 

LSARRC's runners at Hyndburn: Dawn Lock, Graham Webster,
Greg Oulton, Joe Greenwood, Willie Richmond, Sylvia Gittins,
Barbara Holmes, Felicity Wolohan & Joanna Goorney

In the Senior Men’s 10k race Lytham came 5^th in division 3.  Joe Greenwood in 57^th place was the club’s leading finisher and Graham Webster performed strongly to finish 139^th and 3^rd MV60.  Further counters for the team were Willie Richmond 161^st, Mark Selby 189^th, Nigel Simpkin 260^th, and Greg Oulton 244^th.  Webster, Richmond, Simpkin and Oulton also combined to finish 3^rd team in MV40 division 3 while Webster, Richmond and Simpkin featured again in the team that finished 7^th in the MV50 division.

Joe Greenwood, first Lytham finisher in the Senior Men's race.

In the Senior Women’s 6k race Jo Goorney, 11^th overall and 2^nd LV45, led the Lytham team with good support from Mel Koth, LV35, and Barbara Holmes, LV55, finishing together in 55^th and 56^th places were the club’s leading trio and the same three finished 4^th in both Senior division 2 and  the WV35 division.  The Lytham ladies’ greatest success of the day came in the WV45 division where Jo Goorney, Barbara Holmes and Fiona Geldard, 107^th, finished in top spot.  The WV55 team of Holmes, Sylvia Gittins and Dawn Lock also finished strongly for a hard-earned 2^nd place.  In the seniors’ race Felicity Wolohan ran well to finish 109^th and 5^th for Lytham.

Harry Fellows, U15B

U11 Boys struggle up the muddy bank

In the junior races Lytham was delighted to field an under-13 girls’ team for the first time and Holly Winstanley, 29^th; Rosie Taylor, 30^th and , Isla Gordon, 44^th finished very creditably as 7^th team.  Other juniors were Georgia Norman, 37^th , under-11girls, and under-11 boys Zane Seddon, 6^th; Aaron Forshaw 20^th and Daniel Forshaw 38^th.  For the under-15s Chloe Norman was 21^st girl and Harry Fellows 40^th boy.

Seven seniors participated in the Fairclough 5 Miles from Wyre Country Park.  Top finisher for Lytham was outstanding veteran Graham Webster, 13^th overall and 1^st MV60 in an excellent time of 32:17 while MV40 Mark Willett was 19^th in 33:19.   FV50 Fiona Geldard was 47^th in 39:13; MV40 Greg Oulton 54^th in 40:12 and FV50 Julia Rolfe 58^th in 40:47.  Although now a WV65, Sylvia Gittins nonetheless achieved a 5 miles PB of 43:12 for 73^rd while fellow WV65 Dawn Lock came 98^th in 65:05.

Bill Lock, press report- writer, officiating on the finish 

Senior Men's race winners

LSARRC News 19th October 2014

GREEN DRIVE FIVE - SUNDAY 19 OCTOBER

 

Start of the 15th Green Drive Five - 11am Sunday 19th October 2014

Green Drive provided a lovely setting for the fifteenth running of the Green Drive Five held Sunday in bright autumn sunshine and attracting many participants from the local clubs.  Doubling as the Lancashire AA 5 Mile Championship it was an important race for the area's serious runners.

Race Winners: Rob Danson, 3rd, Rob Webb,
1st, and  David Rigby, 2nd on the start line. 

Race winner and Lancashire Champion was Rob Webb of Rossendale Harriers in a time of 26:17 with Preston Harriers David Rigby second in 26:24 and Wesham RR's Rob Danson in third place another 10 seconds back.

Joanna Goorney, first woman and Lancs
AA Women's 5 mile Champion with
presenter and club benefactor Bill White

Joanna Goorney of Lytham comfortably took the woman's prize in

31:31, 31st overall and with it the Lancahire Woman's 5 Mile Championship.  Catherine Carrdus of Wesham was second, 37th overall in 32:06 and Caroline Betmead of Blackpool Wyre & Fylde AC, third, 40th overall in 32:19.

With such a high proportion involved in helping and marshalling, organizers Lytham St. Annes Road Runners Club did well to field twelve runners who achieved the pleasing results of fourth men's team and third women's team. 

First back for Lytham was Joe Greenwood who finished in 29:09, running at under 6 minutes per mile for 13th place.  Completing the fourth-placed team and finishing close on each others' heels were Thomas Howarth, 33rd and Neil Tate, 34th.   Both averaged 6.24 per mile for 32:01 and 32:02 respectively.  The team accumulated 80 points against Lancashire Team Champions Blackpool Wyre & Fylde's 35. 

Other Lytham men competing were Mark Willette, 60th in 34:14, Russ Chew, 105th in 38:41 and Alan Elstone who managed 42:30 for 156th in his first 5 mile race.

 

LSARRC at the GD5: Neil Tate, Joanna Gourney, Joe Greenwood,
Ruth Wheatley, Fiona Geldard, Felicity Wolohan, Mark Willett,
Russ Chew and Alan Elstone

The six Lytham women won three prizes and medals between them and were third team.  Joanna Goorney with Barbara Holmes, 97th in 37:55, and Felicity Wolohan, 99th in 38:00, made up the team scoring 28 points to the Wesham leader's 16 points, a very good result for the Club.  Holmes together with Fiona Geldhard, 113th in 39:15, won their age category prizes and Lancashire gold medals in the FV55 and FV50 categories.  Wearing green for the first time, new recruit Ruth Wheatley put in a good performance to set a 5 mile PB 144th in 41:47.  Julia Rolfe finished 160th in 42:38.

 

Blackpool Wyre & Fylde bother and sister
winners: Jessica and Jamie Jackson

Twenty-six of the Club's Junior Section ran the Green Drive Mile putting in sparkling performances that would be the envy of many of their elders.

 

Simon Holt, 4th and first Lytham
member home

Simon Holt, aged 10, led home the contingent of the Lytham runners in 4th place running the mile in 6:16.  A trio of Lytham runners followed in 10th, 11th and 12th places all given 6:37: Chloe Norman, 14, was third girl, Harry Fellows, 13, and Louis Eunson, 9, were 8th and 9th boy across the line. 

Other results for LSARRC members at the Green Drive Mile: 14th

LSARRC's first girl Chloe Norman

Hollie Winstanley, 11, 6:39; 15th Aaron Forshaw, 10, 6:43; 16th George Winstanley, 9, 6:44; 17th Rosie Taylor, 11, 6:48; 19th Wade Agar, 13, 6:52; 21st Louisa Hart, 13, 7:03; 22nd George Denye, 8, 7:04; 23rd Spencer Unsworth, 10, 7:04; 24th Danny Forshaw, 8, 7:07; 26th Francis Morrison, 9, 7:13; 27th Isla Gordon, 11, 7:15; 30th Natasha Hart, 9, 7:20; 31st Rebecca Tate, 11, 7:21; 34th Emma Savidge, 10, 7:42; 35th Georgia Norman, 11, 7:43; 36th Olivia Aberra, 9, 7:46; 38th Charlotte Thompson, 8, 7:53; 42nd Jessica Addy, 8, 7:58; 48th Sydney Ramsden, 9, 8:13; 50th Eliza Booth, 9, 8:21; 56th Hollie Whiteside, 8, 9:15; 58th Leah Dawson, 10, 9:25.    

OTHER RACES 
Elsewhere Greg Oulton preferring the hillier challenges to the flat Green Drive Five ran at Littleborough in the White House Fell Race, his 38th race of the year.  He finished the 4.5 miles in 48:35.  Further afield Graham Webster returned to home territory to run the massive the Great West Run in Exeter.  Completing the half marathon in an excellent time for his age, he was 99th out of 2663 finishers and first MV60 in 1:30:34.