LSARRC 16th December 2014

CHRISTMAS CELEBRATIONS

Lytham St. Annes RRC Seniors kicked off its Christmas celebrations this week with the Christmas Party.  Held at the St. Ives Hotel and attended by nearly forty members, it was an enjoyable and successful occasion.

On Thursday the second of the three events takes place with the Monthly Handicap given a more seasonal flavour with a get-together and Christmas quiz following the race.  The 3.45 mile winter course, starting and finishing on the corner of Ballam Road, takes in both the Forest Drive and Hall Park Estates and with apt handicapping, has finishers streaming across the line in close succession.

To date three-time winner Jeremy McCandless has a convincing lead with 228 points over nearest rivals Alex Wiggins on 169 points with one win and Joe Greenwood, third, with163 points.  Further down the table are Graham Webster on 161, Karen Lanigan on 158, Dawn Lock on 157, Greg Oulton on 154 and Debbie Cooper on 141.  With a maximum score each month of 30 points plus 2 bonus points for personal and seasonal bests, McCandless has set a tough challenge but December marks the ninth race and with nine out of the twelve to count, positions could change as competitors drop their weakest score.  

 Third of the trio of Christmas events is the Xmas Fun Relays on Sunday 21st.  Starting and finishing by Lytham Windmill ad hoc teams of three will complete a 5k course.  The range of colourful fancy dresses, pictured from a previous year, is shown off to full advantage by the backdrop of Lytham Windmill and The Green.

 

 

Not to be outdone the Junior Section turned their regular Monday Sports Hall training christmassy.  The usual training routines for the youngest members, mostly under 11, include curling, sliding beanbags along the floor onto targets and standing-start jumps but add a reindeer obstacle course with the ladders, hurdles and marker cones and team party games all done wearing tinsel, reindeer antlers and Santa hats and rewarded with sweets and the usual skill-based team games become real fun.

 

The weekend saw Lytham members taking part in other festive races.  There are easier ways of gaining a Christmas pudding than by running the Longridge Xmas Pudding 7 Miles but this long-standing race attracted two from Lytham.  From the start line competitors climb the main street, turn left and head along the switchback road leading to Jeffrey Hill with the steepest hands-on-hips climb coming just before the highest point followed by a helter-skelter descent to the finish.  Peter Cruse went for his second pudding in a week following the Glaxo Pudding 10K with Longridge. Running amid 244 competitors, Cruse finished 8th in a very good time of 45:35, just two places short of taking the first MV50 prize.  Sylvia Gittins was 176th in 1:07:55, first FV65.

 Lytham members have notched up big successes recently in the Liverpool Cross-Challenge and the North West CSSC Awards. 

The Liverpool Cross-Challenge doubles as the European Selection and the third round of the Mid Lancs League and attracts a host of the stars of the sport.  Young Zane Seddon running in his first season of cross-country and for Lytham took second overall in the Under 11's.  His time of 7:10 was the second fastest for the 1.9k course in a field of 155 making this quite an achievement.  Also appearing in the pages of Athletics Weekly in the same event was Graham Webster, second MV60, with a time of 40:56 in the Senior Men's 9.8k.

 

The Awards Ceremony recognized LSARRC member Barbara Holmes as North West CSSC Sports Person of the year.  She adds this title to her World Age Category Biathle Championship, a combination of swimming and running, won in Guatemala in early October.