LSARRC News 1st March 2016

 Leicestershire's Donnington Park played host to the 2016 National Cross Country Championships on Saturday attracting 7500 runners, a record number for a venue outside of London.

Lytham St Annes RRC joined up with Wesham RR to form a friendly coachful of Fylde runners and with good weather, new and superb courses all played out against a backdrop of overhead aircraft taking off and cars on the motor racing circuit and not too much mud, it provided a day to remember.  The streams of runners snaking round the hilly and twisting courses were impressive especially for the Senior Women's race which saw 739 finishers and for the massive Senior Men's race of 1730.

The Senior Women went off at 14:20 providing a fascinating and colourful sight as the leaders hared up the first hill with the rest trailing back over several hundred metres.  Established star Lily Partridge of Aldershot Farnham & District took 35:29 to see off all opposition and contribute to the club's team win.  Sylvia Gittins finished well in 703rd place and 56:43 while Dawn Lock was 736th in 1:09:15.

Steve Ashton

The Senior Men followed at 15:00 with five Lytham men, just one short of a team, competing.  It was another victory for Aldershot Farnham & District as Jonathan Hay crossed the line in 42:09 for the 12k but the coveted team prize went to proud 2013 winners Morpeth Harriers.  First home for LSARRC was Tom Howarth who put in a notable performance to come 756th in 57:05.  Terry Hellings and Graham Webster finished close together in 1288th and 1293rd taking 1:04:45 and 1:04:52 respectively.  Steve Ashton was pleased with his 1619th place and 1:15:39 and Greg Oulton finished 1711th in 1:27:09.

Tom Howarth

The Stanley Park 10k was run over both days at the weekend.  Starting on with two laps on the running track, the course then took in a large lap which looped around the outside and then inside the park, around the lake, through the Italian gardens before back onto the track at the half way mark for a repeat circuit.  Conditions were pretty ideal on both days - a lovely sunny morning, cold nip in the air and slight breeze but ideal for running.  On Saturday, Neil Tate was the club's sole representative finishing 17th in 38:25 out of 289 finishers.  Alan Elstone and Dave Dunn were at Stanley park on Sunday where there were 242 finishers.  For Dave, it was his first 10k in maybe 5 years  but he had no problem beating his anticipated 48 minutes finishing in 32nd place in 44:28 whilst Alan was 29th in 43:45.

The England Masters Indoor Track and Field Inter Area Challenge was held on Sunday at the Lee Valley Athletics Centre in London.  Graham Webster hot footed it down there with tired legs after competing on Saturday at the cross country.  He ran in the 1500m where he came 5th in 5:31:87, the 800m where he was 7th in 2:43:65 and finally, the 3000m where he was 5th in 12:01:15, all in the vet60 category.

Thursday night saw the club's Monthly Handicap race.  It was a fine evening, ideal for racing and many made the most of the favourable conditions to record excellent times for the February handicap; none more so than one of the club's newest members Will McAllister who made his mark by winning only his second race on the 3.44 miles course. Besides Will, others to record PBs were Alex Everest, Claire England and Sue Hawitt while two further notable performances were those by Joe Greenwood, who was merely two seconds outside his PB, and handicap stalwart Debbie Cooper who was just twenty-nine seconds from her PB, one set way back in 2007.

Although there is one round of the annual contest remaining, Sue Hawitt, with 235 points, is now assured of being the 2016 club handicap champion; a thoroughly deserved victory as, in her first year competing, Sue has recorded a PB each time she has run.

LSARRC February Handicap Results: 1 Will McAllister 24.51; 2 Derek Caborn 32.02; 3 Alex Everest 27.26; 4 Debbie Cooper 26.35; 5 Claire England 27.05; 6 Joe Greenwood 19.22; 7 Sue Hawitt 27.59; 8 Jeremy McCandless 30.11; 9 Alan Elstone 23.37; 10 Tom Howarth 20.58; 11 Rachael Wignall 31.51; 12 Graham Webster 23.28; 13 Karen Lanigan 33.55; N/C Graham Young 42.28; N/C Monica Parke 42.28.

Max Talbot

There was a good turn out from Lytham St Annes runners at the 13th Lytham Hall parkrun on Saturday morning despite a number of regulars having gone to Donnington Park instead.  With perfect weather conditions, there were also many PBs from the 173 runners.  Luke Minns of Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde made a return to the parkrun to reclaim the course record which was beaten last week, knocking another 9 seconds off it to finish in 16:16.

Debbie Cooper and Gerry Browne

First back for LSARRC was Andy Unsworth running in his first ever parkrun finishing in 9th in 19:28.  Joanna Goorney was please to go under 20 minutes for the first time on the course with 19:39 in 11th place and 1st female.  Mark Selby was next in with 20:06 with Ian Tate in 31st place and 21:25, both PBs.  The star of the morning was junior Max Talbot who knocked a whopping minute and a half of his previous time to finish in 31st place in 22:40.  Neil Tate followed in 32nd in 22:42 using the run as a warm up for Stanley Park 10k later in the morning.  There was also a PB for Gerry Browne finishing in 38th with 23:25.  Debbie Cooper was 43rd in 23:41.  Two juniors making their debut were Rebecca Tate finishing in 52nd place with 24:59 and Sydney Ramsden in 53rd with 25:03.  Another first timer was Louisa Denye in 55th with 25:08.  All achieving PBs were Sue Hawitt with 25:22 in 59th place, Jeremy McCandless with  28:18 in 92nd place, Graham Young with 29:33 in 103rd place and Paula McCandless with 34:33 in 132nd place.

Sue Hawitt and Rebecca Tate

Bob Clough, whilst visiting his son in Australia, took in a parkrun on his travels.  He took part in the Mount Clarence parkrun in Flinders Parade, Albany, Western Australia.  He completed the out and back course in 28:44 finishing in 26th place out of the 55 runners.

LSARRC News 23rd February 2016

Gerry Browne followed by Roy Stevens

Andy Draper and Neil Tate

The 27th Great North West Half Marathon took place on Sunday morning in very wild conditions on Blackpool Promenade.  The 2 lap course heading north from the Hilton Hotel has the runner getting drenched as waves crashed over onto the promenade.  The first two runners were over four minutes ahead of the rest of the field with Benjamin Douglas of Notts AC just having the edge over Philip Eccleston of Burnden Road Runners winning in a time of 1:16:51.

Stuart Henderson

Lytham St Annes Road Runners were well represented with 10 athletes braving the elements including all three Tate brothers, Neil, Alex and Ian.  First home for the club was Joe Greenwood in 20th place and a time of 1:25:09 which he was please with considering the conditions.  Following closely behind was Andy Draper in 34th and 1:25:18 and Neil Tate in 28th in 1:25:50.   Alex Tate was next home in 98th in 1:36:31.  Ian Tate was 269th in 1:46:24 followed by Dave Dunn in 270th and 1:46:28.  Stuart Henderson was 458th in 1:55:55, Gerry Browne was 482nd in 1:56:53, Roy Stevens was 494th in 1:57:35 and Ruth Wheatley was 615th in 2:03:00.  There were 1177 finishers.

Dave Dunn

 There were plenty of LSARRC runners also at the 12th Lytham Hall parkrun on Saturday morning with Gregan Clarkson of Kingston upon Hull AC knocking 5 seconds off the course record finishing in 16:23.  Tom Howarth was back in action after his excellent run last week at the Wrexham Half Marathon making his debut at the Lytham Hall parkrun.  He finished in 7th place in a time of 18:43.  Graham Webster was 19th in 20:57, Mark Selby was 20th in 20:59, Terry Hellings was 25th in 21:32 and Neil Baytun-Roberts was 27th in 21:42. Barbara Holmes ran a PB for the course lowering the vet 55 age category record finishing in 36th and a time of 22:18.  Claire ENGLAND was 63rd 24:33, Richard STOREY was 64th in 24:35 and Debbie Cooper was 65th in 24:35.  There was was a PB for Jeremy MCCANDLESS with 28:39 finishing in 107th.  Graham YOUNG was 117th in 29:36 and Paula MCCANDLESS was 143rd in 35:42.

Ian Tate

Ian Tate was ventured over to Victoria Park, Warrington for the Warrington parkrun.  The 5k out and back course took Ian 23:10 to complete finishing in 51st place out of the 310 runners.

LSARRC News 16th February 2016

Lytham Ladies at Rossall XC

Under 11 Girls team

There was a tremendous turnout from Lytham St Annes Road Runners at the 5th fixture in the Mid Lancs Cross-Country League on Saturday with the club providing 11 marshals, 2 officials and 29 runners which included 2 junior team, 5 senior teams and 5 veteran teams.

The fixture was held at Rossall  School, Fleetwood and used variations on the the school's permanent cross country courses which are marked out on the surrounding fields with wooden posts.  The event was hosted by Thornton Cleveleys Running Club with assistance with marshalling from Blackpool, Wyre and Fylde AC, Wesham RR and Lytham St Anne RRC.  Although cold and a slight wind, the blue skies provided very pleasant running conditions around the grassy fields.

Morgan Pritchard

In the under 11 junior boys, first home for LSARRC was Louis Eunson who despite going the wrong way at one point still managed to finish in sixth place.  George Denye was 15th in 7:31 and Morgan Pritchard was 33rd in 8:23 enabling the lads to finish as 3rd team overall – a great result.  Not to be outdone, the under 11 girls also had 3 runners out with Sydney Ramsden first back for the club in 19th place in 8:23.  Keira Vanbogerigen and Jessica Ramsden both made their debut at cross country, Keira finishing in 29th place and Jessica in 40th place in 9:59.  The girls finished in 6th place in the team event.  Rebecca Tate was in action in the under 13 girls race finishing 29th in 10:25.

Rebecca Tate

With 135 runners in the senior women's race, Emily Japp of Blackpool Wyre and Fylde consolidated her position as Mid Lancs Champion with another excellent win in 24:22.  First home for the club was Joanna Goorney in 11th position and 1st vet 45 in 27:18.  Having another excellent run, was the ever improving Felicity Wolohan in 25th place and 29:06 whilst Barbara Holmes was 41st and first vet 55 in 30:47.  Dawn Bloor was 60th in 32:50, Julia Rolfe was 63rd in 33:07, Alex Everest was 67th in 33:25, Fiona Geldard was 82nd in 35:14, Sylvia Gittins having just turned 70 was 111th in 40:00 and Dawn Lock was 125th in 51:45

Nigel Simpkin

The men's race consisted of a 3 large laps of the Rossall fields with Phil Waite of Barrow and Furness Striders completing them in 37:02 to be first back.  Neil Tate had an good run to finish in 60th place and 43:00 whilst Terry Hellings was next in 143rd and 2nd vet 60 in 48:54.  Justin Allitt made his debut for the club at cross country having last run this type of event 30 years.  He finished in 164 in 50:38.  Just behind him was another debutee, Will McAllister who has only recently joined the club.  Will was 167th in 50:55.  Mark Selby was 171st in 51:25, Willie Richmond was 186th in 52:37, Dave Dunn was 192nd in 53:09, Steven Ashton was 221st  in 58:37, Nigel Simpkin was 222nd in  59:09 and Bob Clough was 228th in 1:01:42.  Another runner making his debut at cross country for the club was Jeremy McCandless who last ran it 43 years ago.  Jeremy finished in 233rd in 1:05:14.  After running the Lytham Hall parkrun in the morning, Greg Oulton was 234th in 1:07:24 enabling the club to finish with 2 complete men's teams.

Bob Clough

On Sunday morning the Village Bakery Wrexham Half Marathon took place. Although cold, the weather conditions were perfect.  With a fast flat course, the race had over 800 finishers with the first 2 men both sub 1:10, the winner Joe Bailey of Salford Harriers recording 1:08:24.  Tom Howarth was the club's sole representative but the journey there was well rewarded as he smashed his PB by a minute and a half to finish in a time of 1:20:13 in 46th place.

Not content with running one half marathon in a weekend, Graham Webster went for the double.  The Exeter Half Marathon was run twice over the weekend, Saturday for runners expecting to run a time under 2 hours whilst Sunday's race was for those expecting to run a time under 3 hours.  The course is flat along the side of Exeter canal.  Saturday's conditions were wet, cold and windy with the winner coming in in 1:15:31.  Graham finished 60th in 1:34:48 and was 1st vet 60.  On Sunday, the weather was similar but due to a “crime scene” (a body in the canal) incident halfway along the course, there was a diversion which meant that the course was 300m shorter.  Graham still managed to run 1:35:26 and was again first vet 60 in 31st place.

Max Talbot smashing his PB at the Lytham Hall parkrun

On Saturday morning, under sunny conditions, the 11th Lytham Hall parkrun took place attracting 169 runners.  Alan Elstone was first home for the club in yet another PB for the course in 20:30 whilst Neil Bayntun-Roberts just behind him also recorded a PB of 20: 51 for 14th place.  One of the best performances was from junior Max Talbot who knocked nearly 2 minutes of his PB to finish in 44th in 24:13.  Claire England was 47th in 24:30, Sue Hawitt was 59th in 25:51, Greg Oulton was 71st in 26:49, Bob Clough was 113th in 29:54 and Stu Wharrier was 135th in 33:20.

Alan Elstone

LSARRC News 9th February 2016

Zane Seddon

 Three members of Lytham St. Annes RRC's junior section represented their schools at the Lancashire Schools' Cross-Country Championships at Witton Park, Blackburn on Saturday. With the trails from last week's Northern Championships still in evidence and a week's more rain adding to the mud, it was a tough challenge for the youngsters.

Ella Moulding

In the Intermediate Girls race,  Ella Moulding representing Fylde Schools, finished second taking the  individual silver medal in 7:39 for 3.9k, 4 seconds behind the winner, and was selected to represent Fylde at the English Schools Championships in March.  Zane Seddon also representing Fylde schools and Simon Holt representing Wyre schools both ran in the boys Year 7 race. On the 2k one lap course, Zane finished 3rd overall in 9:08 and succeeded in being the  first counter for the Fylde Y7 team that came fourth just outside the medals.  He also took an individual bronze medal and gained selection to the final of English Schools.  Simon Holt finished 68th in 11:40.

With a weekends break between senior cross country fixtures, there were few local races around, the closest being in Blackburn for the Winter Warmer 10k organised by Blackburn Road Runners.  Sylvia Gittins was the club's sole representative for the race which starts on the track in Witton Park then follows an undulating course that takes in the stunning scenery over Pleasington.  The race was won by Rob Danson of  Wesham Road Runners in a time of 33:45 whilst junior Elizabeth Greenwood off Blackburn Harriers was 1st lady.  Sylvia finished just over the hour in 1:00:10 in 321st place and 2nd vet 70.  There were 440 finishers

Jeremy McCandless and fastest dog on the course, Ella

 Despite the wet conditions on Saturday morning, the Lytham Hall parkrun still attracted 155 participant and luckily the rain temporarily stopped for the duration of the race.  First home for the 4 and half lap 5km course was Simon Croft of Fylde Coast Runners.  There were some excellent runs from LSARRC runners with many recording PBs for the course.  Andy Draper was first home for the club in a new PB for the course of 18:45 in 5th place.  Joanna Goorney was first lady in 7th place in 20:12 closely followed by Mark Selby in 8th place and 20:14.  Sue Samme was second lady in 20:38 knocking 20 seconds off her PB and recording an age grade of 84.48% which is excellent.  Graham Webster was 14th in  21:11, Neil Bayntun-Roberts was 19th in 21:53, Colin Laidlaw was 33rd in 24:41 in his first time at the Lytham Hall parkrun and Roy Stevens was 35th in 24:44.  There were also PBs for the course for Claire England in 37th place and a time of  24:47, Greg Oulton in  67th place and 27:32 and Bob Clough in 68th place and 27:35.  Jeremy McCandless with his dog Ella also recorded a PB of 29:19 in 82nd place along with Graham Young in  85th place and a time of 29:34.

Neil Bayntun-Roberts

There were also 2 juniors member of the club taking part in the parkrun.  10 year old Charlie Ormerod ran an incredible 20:53 in his first ever parkrun to finish 12th whilst Francis Morrison knocked over half a minute off his PB for the course to finish in 44th place with a time of 25:40.

Francis Morrison

LSARRC News 2nd February 2016

Lytham Ladies at the Northerm XC Championships

Nine members of Lytham St. Annes RRC ran at the prestigious Northern Cross-Country Championships on Saturay which returned to Blackburn's Witton Park  after an interval of several years.  Witton Park is renowned for its love-to-hate saucer but for the longer championship courses organizers had vastly increased the interest by taking the field laps across rather than around the perimeter which added several short climbs and drops and further tested the Senior Men by returning to the "teaspoon" not seen for many years.

Beating last year's Pontefract total, Blackburn attracted a massive 2,140 competitors from as far away as Morpeth Harriers, Lincoln Welling and Buxton AC with all the top names in the sport taking part.

The Senior Men's course would have been demanding enough in good weather but carpeted with thick mud made worse by the passage of the preceding nine races, icy air and waves of blown hail, it presented a new dimension.

Lytham's men deserve appreciation and admiration for turning out to run for their Club in such conditions, particularly Steve Aston gamely trying his first Northern Championship and Graham Webster returning from illness.  In a huge field of 719 fastest on the day for Lytham was Men's Captain Joe Greenwood put in a very good top 200 performance finishing 192nd in 54:56, 37 places higher than last year.  Thomas Howarth was LSARRC's second finisher, 352nd in 1:01:18.  Terry Hellings took 1:08:33 for 534th, Webster was 566th in 1:10:27 and Ashton, 664th in 1:20:51.  Charlie Hulson of Sale Harriers took the title in a staggering 43:16, 8 seconds clear of rival Peter Huck of Barrow & Furness Striders.

Barbara Holmes

In the Senior Woman’s race winner, Leed AC's Claire Duck, breezed round the 7.7k three-lap course in 30:21 a full 20 seconds ahead of second-placed Sarah Tunstall of Kendal AAC.  Lytham's women went off at 2:15pm showing similar grit and determination.  Barbara Holmes, the Club's best, recovered well after a bad start when a push sent her off balance loosing her a shoe and no doubt several places, to finish 188th out of 358 in 42:54.  Running to the best of their abilities were Sylvia Gittins, 348th in 1:01:59 and Dawn Lock, 356th in 1:01:27. 

Sole Lytham Junior was U15G Chloe Norman who did well finishing 150th in 22:12 just two and a half minutes behind winner Georgia Howarth of Sale Harriers.

Gerry Browne

With the Northern Cross Country Championships taking place on Saturday and also strong winds, numbers were reduced slightly at the Lytham Hall parkrun with 144 completing the course.  First home was Paul Muller of Horwich RMI in 17:51  Joanna Goorney was 1st lady in 20:12 in 8th place over all with Alan Elstone just behind in 9th in a time of 20:42.  Neil Bayton-Roberts running a PB for the course was 15th in 22:17, Richard Storey was 18th in 22:38, Gerry Browne, also recording a PB for the course was 27th in 23:33. Mark Selby making his parkrun debut was 32nd in 24:19 and Jeremy McCandless was 85th in 29:43.

Alan Elstone

There were four LSARRC juniors also in action with Max Talbot and Spencer Unsworth both recording PBs for the course with Max in 44th place and a time of 25:58 and Spencer in 56th place and 26:54.  Georgia Norman was 60th in 27:21 and Ellis Goddard was 121st in 36:50.

Max Talbot

Felicity Wolohan was back in Liverpool for the Princes parkrun where she finished an excellent 1st lady and 30th overall out of the 224 finishers in a time of 21:24.

On Sunday, Lancaster saw the Flood Relief 10k and Flood Relief Half Marathon which also incorporated runners from the Inskip Half Marathon which had to be cancelled a couple of weeks ago.  Both races started from the Lancaster and Morecambe AC track with the 10k taking a 1 lap course along the local cycle tracks and the half marathon taking an extended 2 laps.  Joanna Goorney ran in the 10k finishing 1st lady and 5th overall just missing the 40 minute barrier in 40:04 after losing time due to confusing marshalling.

Over in Spain, Steve Hargreaves ran the 17th Getafe City Half Marathon getting a superb PB of 1:14:31 finishing 39th overall and just 8 seconds outside the club record.

The highlight of LSARRC's 3.44 miles January Handicap  on Thursday night was undoubtedly an excellent run and fastest time of the evening by the clear winner Joe Greenwood. Coming right through from penultimate starter to first place is no mean achievement and Joe, the club's quickest runner, faces this tough challenge every time. There was no letting up by the runner-up, last year's Handicap champion Jeremy McCandless, whose times continue to improve while the only PB of the evening was by third-placed Sue Hawitt who is unrelenting in her pursuit of the 2016 trophy.  Sue, who has repeatedly improved her times over the past year, now has a clear lead ahead of her nearest challengers.

Full January Results: 1, Joe Greenwood, 19.48, 32 points SB; 2, Jeremy McCandless,30.17, 31 SB; 3, Sue Hawitt, 28.27, 30 PB; 4, Alan Elstone, 23.32, 27; 5, Neil Tate, 20.35, 26; 6, Steve Ashton, 28.20, 25; 7, Debbie Cooper, 27.35, 24; 8, Claire England, 28.49, 23; 9, Nigel Simpkin, 27.57, 22; 10, Derek Caborn, 33.48, 21; 11, Dawn Lock, 46, 20. N/C: Will McAllister, 28.03; Greg Oulton, 33.58; Graham Webster, 24.19; Alex Walton, 28.23.

Annual Points Table Leaders; 1, Sue Hawitt, 209 points from 7 races; 2, Neil Tate, 204/8; 3, Jeremy McCandless, 195/8; 4, Dawn Lock,182/8; 5,Debbie Cooper, 163/6; 6, Tom Howarth, 159/7; 7, Alan Elstone 154/6; 8,Joe Greenwood, 134/6.