LSARRC News 26th May 2015

In a exciting sporting weekend Lytham members won gold and silver medals at the Lancashire Track and Field Championships while elsewhere one member completed a hundred mile event.

Outstanding in the Lancashire Track & Field Championships held at the Stanley Park arena and hosted by Blackpool Wyre & Fylde AC was Ella Moulding who won gold in the 1500m and silver in the 800m and Simon Denye who won silver in the veterans' 5000m.

On Saturday Ella Moulding, a talented athlete, ran from the front in a field of twelve U15 girls in the 1500m fighting off a strong late-stage challenge from the second-placed runner to win gold in an excellent time of 4 minutes 51.3 seconds. A day later she took silver in the 800m with 2 minutes19.9seconds. In a field of fourteen runners of mixed ages and genders Simon Denye ran a well judged 5000m race, his first on the track, finishing in the third fastest time of 17 minutes 26.3seconds to take the veteran silver medal in a stylish performance.

Others competing were: U13G Georgia Norman, 5th in heat in 100m in 15.1, 5th in heat in 800m in 3:03.8, 10th in long jump with 3m68; Holly Winstanley, 10th in 1500m in 5:32.5: U13B Simon Holt, 5th in 200m in 29,7, 7th in 800m in 2:41.9: U15G Chloe Norman, 5th in long jump in 4m47: Vets Graham Webster, 6th in 5000m in 19:28.0.

Daryl Bentley and Debbie Cooper

At the other end of the distance spectrum Debbie Cooper completed her first 100 mile challenge having finished a 50 mile event previously.

The Long Distance Walkers Association's Red Rose 100, now its twenty-fourth year, takes in some of Lancashire's most attractive and remote moorland. Starting out from Rivington Reservoir it heads over Winter Hill to Darwen Tower, skirts Blackburn and Whalley and takes in Pendle Hill, Stocks Reservoir, Houghton Tower and Brinscall.

Debbie Cooper accompanied by Daryl Bentley of Bolton United Harriers, completed the gruelling route over the bank holiday weekend. Starting on Saturday at 2pm, they arrived back at the Anderton Centre at 9:18pm on Sunday having completed the 100 miles in an excellent 31 hours and 18 minutes coming 49th. Of the 503 starters just

361 finished making Debbie's achievement very creditable and adding to the charity she is collecting for, the Sick Children's Fund.

Somewhat more modest in length but still providing an interesting tour of Lancashire countryside is the Fishwick Five. Starting in an outlying southern Preston suburb it descends steeply to the flat Fishwick Bottoms and climbs twice to the level of the town before finishing near the start. Neil Tate finished 7th in 32:58 and Greg Oulton 36th in 43:47.

LSARRC News 19th May 2015

LSARRC runners and marshals

Last Thursday, Lytham St Annes RRC hosted the second race in the summer Inter Club series.  The 5 mile course starting by St Annes swimming pool takes in a lap of Fairhaven Lake.  Although conditions were windy, the rain kept off and attracted over 280 runners.  The club still managed to field 24 runners despite many members taking on marshaling duties instead of competing.  A excellent buffet was provided by club members back at the club's headquarters at Lytham YMCA afterwards.

Roy Stevens

Alex Everest

The race was won by Rob Danson of Wesham Road Runners, in a time of 26:21 being nearly and minute and a half clear of the rest of the field.  Emily Japp of Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde was first lady in 30:02.  First home for LSARRC was Simon Denye in 12th place and 29:05 while Joanna Goorney was first lady for the club in 48th place, 5th female and 31:55. Notable performances included Neil Tate who knocked nearly a minute of his PB to finish in 32nd placee and 30:54 and Alex Everest running her first road race for the club finishing in 19t7th in 41:29.

Jeremy McCandless

In the team competitions, LSARRC finished 5th in the open category, 3rd in the ladies, 4th in the vets, 6th in the vet 50s and were just pipped into 2nd by Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde in the Vet 60s.

Louise Charnock marshaling

LSARRC Results: Simon Denye 12th, 29:05; Tom Howarth 19th, 29:59; Andy Draper 24th, 30:15; Neil Tate 32nd, 30:54; Andy Unsworth 38th 31:24; Joanna Goorney 48th 31:55; Graham Webster 55th 32:13; Mark Willett 63rd 32:37; Justin Allitt 70th, 33:06; Mark Selby 75th, 33:28; Melanie Koth 97th, 34:26; Terry Hellings 109th, 35:00; Richard Storey 113th, 35:17; Roy Upton 126th, 36:02; Colin Laidlaw 131st, 36:18; Dawn Bloor 152nd, 37:49; Greg Oulton 157th, 38:04; Fiona Geldard 170th, 38:54; Roy Stevens 171st , 38:55; Alex Everest 197th, 41:29; Brian Porter 206th, 42:27; Jeremy McCandless, 210th 42:50; Karen Lanigan 254th, 47:40; Bob Clough 278th, 1:08:46 (sweep);

Bec Willetts and Pam Hardman

 Three members of the club Terry Hellings, Graham Webster and Russ Chew headed to Leigh on Sunday afternoon for the Northern Vets Track and Field Championships.  First to toe the  line for Lytham were Graham and Terry in the 1500m, Graham taking the v60 gold medal in a time of 5m 20.1s and Terry the v60 bronze in 5m 54.4s.  Graham was on the start line again for the 400m and again took v60 gold in 68.7s.    Russ joined Graham and Terry for the 3000m and in his first ever 3000m race ran well to take v50 bronze in 12m 40s.  Graham picked up his third gold medal 11m 46.6s with Terry taking v60 silver in a seasons best time of 12m 13.7s.  Not wishing to miss an opportunity to win another medal Graham lined up for his first 200m race for more years than he cares to remember but hung on for his fourth gold of the day in 33.8s.  The final race of the day was the 800m were Russ again joined Terry and Graham on the start line.  Graham was just pipped for gold in his fifth race of the day but won v60 silver in 2m 46.6s with Terry again picking up bronze in 3m 5.8s and Russ v50 bronze medal winner in 2m 51.7s.  A successful trip for the three Lytham athletes, 10 races and 10 medals including 4 golds from Graham.

Colin Laidlaw

 On Sunday morning, it was the Worden Park 10k in Leyland which was very well organised by Red Rose Runners.  The race was won by Rob Danson of Wesham Road Runners in his second emphatic victory in a matter of days in 32.49.  First home for Lytham St Annes was Tom Howarth in 19th place and 39:36.  Colin Laidlaw was 70th and was pleased to finish in  44:58 while Jim Whitworth was 233rd in 57:39.

Fiona Geldard and Barbara Holmes were also in action on Sunday morning at the St Anne's Triathlon.  Barbara was 3rd whilst Fiona came 45th lady out of 132.  Conditions were very windy and as a consequence Fiona lost 2 minutes in transition when her equipment blew over and the youth course was cut short.  Overall, though, a well organised event.

Fiona Geldard

LSARRC News 12th May 2015

It's been a busy weekend for racing with Lytham members busy at the track on Saturday and on the road on Sunday with a fell race thrown  in mid-week for good measure.  Locally, the Beaverbrook's Blackpool 10K is as popular as ever but this year is in competition with the mass-participation Manchester City 10K and, on a smaller scale, the Blacksticks Blue 10K.

Starting the weekend was the second round of the Mid Lancs League's track and field match at Litherland in Merseyside.  Both seniors and juniors from LSARRC attended and took part in a  range of events including sprints and middle -distance on the track and four field events.

With a great team effort, LSARRC amassed a total of 41.4 for 6th place out of the twelve teams in Division 2 and an excellent start to the season.

On the track Joe Greenwood, Thomas Howarth and Graham Webster tool part in the 800m, 1500m and 3000m where they were joined by Terry Hellings and Jeremy Mccandless to score collectively the maximum 7 points.  The former four joined forces to compete in the 4 x 400m for a good collective time of 4:47.8 and 5 points.

Greg Oulton confined himself to the field, having already completed a tough fell race in the week, taking part in the shot putt, discus and javelin while Maccandless mixed disciplines with shot, discus and, introduced to the Mid Lancs only this season, the hammer where he was delighted to score the full 7 points for his team.

Juniors also were in evidence with Simon Holt, U13B, running 200m, 800m and doing long jump.  U15G Chloe Norman did the 800m and long jump with sister Georgia, U13G, competing in the 100m and 800m.  They were joined by Ella Moulding, U15G, and Holly Winstanley, U13G, in the 1500m.  All scored team points with the best, Ella's 7 points for first in the 1500m.  Simon finished 3rd in the 800m.   

FULL RESULTS: 100m - G. Norman, U13G, 10th in 15.1: 800m - G. Norman, 11th in 3:03.0, S. Holt, U13B, 3rd in 2:44.2; C. Norman, U15G, 5th in 2:38.1; J. Greenwood, SM, 8th on 2:22.0; T. Howarth, SM, 9th in 2:32.8; G. Webster, 11th in 2:40.0: 1500m - H. Winstanley, U13G, 6th in 5:39.6; E. Moulding, U15G, 1st in 5:02.5; J. Greenwood, SM, 4th in 4:45.5, T. Howarth, SM, 6th in 4:59.7; G. Webster, SM, 7th in 5:26.4: 3000m -  ; J. Greenwood, SM, 4th in 10:04.0, T. Howarth, SM, 5th in 10:44.1; G. Webster, SM, 8th in 11:29.5; Terry Hellings, SM, 10th in 12:29.2, J. Maccandless: LONG JUMP - S. Holt, U13B, 13th for 3.29m; C. Norman, U15G, 11th  for 4.15m: HAMMER - J. Maccandless, SM, 7th for 14:16: SHOT - J. Maccandless, SM, 5th for 5.56;  G. Oulton, SM, 5th for 5.59: JAVELIN - G. Oulton, SM, 6th for 12.89: DISCUS - J. Maccandless, SM,7th for 16.71;  G. Oulton, SM, 8th for 14:03.

The Great Manchester Run attracted 40,000 runners causing crushes and a slow start but didn't stop Melanie Koth managing a excellent 42:34, 39th woman and 760th overall.  Koth was 5th in her V40 category.  In the children's version also in Heaton Park with Paula Radcliffe causing a lot of interest, George Denye, ran the 2 mile park loop in 14:22 finishing a high 21st in a field of 159 and Sydney Ramsden finished 37th out of 143 in the girls version

Several club members were out on Blackpool Promenade on Sunday for the 30th running of the Beaverbrooks 10K which annually attracts around 4000 competitors and is popular with all the Fylde clubs.  Lytham was represented by Simon Denye, Neil Tate, Graham Webster, Fiona Geldard and Nigel Simpkin amongst others.

Those members of the Club preferring hillier challenges eschewed the flat Blackpool Prom for the Blacksticks Blue 10K.  Starting at Whitechapel Village in the Forest of Bowland, the race climbs to the road circulating Beacon Fell before descending precipitously back to finish in the local school to which race profits are directed.  Mark Willett was LSARRC's first home 39th in 44:03.  Richard Storey took 47:16 for 62nd and Greg Oulton, V45, running his third competition of the week, 51:55.  Sylvia Gittings, V65, managed a very creditable 58:38.

Earlier in the week Oulton, a prolific races and particularly fond of fell racing, took himself to Rawtenstall for the Fo Edge Fell Race.  In spite of a seriously wet course which hampered competitors, Oulton finished 10 minutes up on last year's time in a self-timed 53 minutes.

LSARRC News 5th May 2015

With several 2015 big marathons being concertinaed into eight days, Lytham runners have been representing the Club in various parts. At Manchester on the 19th Simon Denye finished in the Club's best time for the year, 2:44:42. Others competing were Felicity Wolohan in 3:49:01 and Bob Clough with a creditable time for his V60 category of 4:39:12. Seven days later London collected the largest number of members with Andy Draper beginning to regain his former level of performance in 2:53:32 and Tom Howarth doing a good 2:57:44. Club place representatives were Neil Tate in 3:01:40 and Graham Webster in 3:18:04, another impressive V60 performance, and the others taking part were Mel Koth, 3:16:45, Des Heron, 4:14:29, Pamela Binns, with a good V70 time of 4:34:44, and Karen Kidner, 4:40:32. Nearest and furthest from home respectively were Ian Tate at Blackpool in his first attempt at the distance with a promising 3:54:47 and Ruth Wheatley, who likes to combine holidays and running, with a PB of 4:21:58 at Madrid.

The gritty demanding marathon training stretches through the short dark days of winter but come the finer spring weather it's time to concentrate on speed and shorter distances with LSARRC's own race, the St. Annes Carnival 5K on 12th July, an ideal target. Held in peak summer months, it's a good distance for the hotter season. Locals hold both the male and female course records set just last year. Rob Danson of Wesham RR ran 16:38 on 6th July 2014 and Emily Japp, of Blackpool Wyre & Fylde AC, 18:45. Successes at last month's highly competitive Inter-Club Grand Prix show Danson and Jepp to be in peak condition so the Carnival 5K records seem unlikely to survive another year in their hands.

The competitive Bank Holiday weekend started earlier for Lytham with Thursday evening's Handicap and the Ripley St. Thomas Supper Run.

A delighted Sue Hawitt was the comfortable winner of the club's April Handicap. Hawitt, one of the club's newest members, was having her first run on the 4.35 miles summer course and finished well clear of the field. On a fine evening conducive to good times, others who ran well and recorded PBs were Sylvia Gittins and Justin Allitt in 2nd and 3rd places, Alan Elstone, Jeremy Mccandless and Joe Greenwood. Greenwood's time was especially noteworthy as he continues to challenge the course record that has stood since 2008.

Full Handicap Results: 1. Sue Hawitt, 40.17; 2. Sylvia Gittins, 38:04; 3. Justin Allitt, 28:13; 4. Greg Oulton, 33:35; 5. Alan Elston, 30:46; 6. Richard Storey, 30:56; 7. Alexandra Everest, 34:45; 8. Joe Greenwood, 23:51; 9. Karen Lanigan, 42:09; 10. Dawn Lock, 56:59; 11. Jeremy Mccandless, 38:24; 12.Graham Webster, 28:41; 13. Willie Richmond, 29:45; 14. Derek Caborn, 39:32; 15. Bec Willetts, 42:17; n/c Nigel Simpkin, 33:17; n/c Pam Hardman, 36:43; n/c Roy Upton, 31:11.

Members' involvement at the usually popular Ripley St. Thomas Supper Run was curtailed by the clash leaving James Whitworth as the Club's only representative. He completed the 4 mile undulating course in 34:50, in the top half of the 300-runner field.

Three members set off to open their scoring in the revised LSARRC Fell Competition at the first of the thirteen events, the Great Hameldon Hill Race. Starting from the Peel Park Hotel in the suburbs of Accrington, the race climbs along lanes to the foot of the hill before starting the serious slog to the top of the 400m summit in a d-shaped course that takes leaders skimming downwards past tail-enders struggling upwards. Accredited runner Richard Burney of Liverpool Harriers topped 183 with a time of 38:27 for the 9.6k. Terry Hellings, V60, was Lytham's best performer with a time 53:50 for 85th place. He was followed by Colin Laidlaw, V55, 106th in 56:15 and Greg Oulton, V45, 140th in 1:02:11. No doubt other members of the Club will want to contest the second round at Harrock Hill on Wednesday 27th May which doubles as the Inter-Club fell race.