LSARRC News 29th November 2016

Lytham ladies at the Wesham 10k

This Saturday 26th November saw a number of Lytham Road Runners taking part in 2 events with fantastic turnouts for each.  First was the annual Wesham 10k race organised by Wesham Road Runners which saw 10 of our club members on the start line. It was a chilly morning, but beautifully still with no wind and bright sunshine.  The route was fairly undulating, along some lovely country lanes.  There was quite a bit of frost still on the ground which made it a little slippery underfoot, catching out a couple of competitors.  It was a very well organised event, with good signage and lovely marshals.

First home for the club was Thomas Howarth in 24th out of 462 overall in 37:08 followed by Justin Allitt in 36th position in 38:17, Neil Baynton-Roberts came 78th in 42:17, Roy Stevens in 48:10 to take 168th place. Our first lady home was Kirsten Burnett in 219th place (35th female) in 51:26, followed by Ruth Wheatley, making a great comeback to running following a long layoff running due to injury, in 53:01 and 246th position. Laura Byrne completed the course in 58:06 for 326th, followed by Sarah Bradshaw in 1:03:118 for 384th, Ruth Bye in 1:03:32 for 388th and Sarah Bagshaw in 1:05:59 for 404th. Well done to all!

Saturday also saw the Mid Lancs Cross Country League held at Sefton Park. The day started with thick fog reducing visibility to approx 20 yards at times when the first race commenced. Being the British Athletics Cross Challenge, these races had athletes from the whole country competing, indeed the Senior Men's race reportedly had the highest number of competitors ever.

The Under 11 Girls and Under 11 Boys started their race together. Lytham's Sophie Bohannon, running in only her second XC and her 4th ever race for the club, came home 2nd in 7:25, just a few seconds behind the winner's 7:20. Next home for Lytham were Amara Thorpe in 9:20, Hebe Tierney in 9:32 and Jessica Ramsden in 9:36. In the boys' race George Denye came a very close 3rd, in 7:21 followed by Eric Wrigley in 9:12. The next race was the Under 13 Girls. Lytham's sole entrant in this age group was Sydney Ramsden, who finished in 13:54. The under 13 Boys also saw just one Lytham runner, Louis Eunson, who finished in 12:05. The final Junior race for Lytham was the Under 15 Girls, with Laura Bremner (14:16) and Lucy Bohannon (15:35) representing the club.

Olivia and Rachael in their first cross country race for the club

Next came the Senior Ladies' Race, by which time the fog was thinning out, just. Lytham had eight runners in this race of just over 5 miles (8.1km). First home for Lytham was Joanna Goorney, in 33:24. 9th overall, but 2nd FV45. The following Lytham runners were Barbara Holmes in 38:25 (2nd FV55), Louisa Denye (40:39), Julia Rolfe (42:28), Sylvia Gittins (49:40, 3rd FV65), Olivia Johnson Allen and Rachael Wignall crossed the line together in their first ever XC in 52:46. Last home for Lytham was Dawn Lock in 1:05:39. The team effort saw the ladies A team achieve 12th overall team out of 32, and the B team achieve 30th, whilst also achieving 5th place in the ladies over-35 category out of 13 teams, and 3rd in the over-45 category out of 10 teams.

Joe Greenwood

The final race of the day saw the Senior Men's 6.1 mile (9.8km) race. By this time the fog was lifting, though it came and went in waves before the race finished. Being the last race of the day the frozen ground had started to thaw and turn to mud in patches under the pounding feet of all the previous runners, making for a tough race.
First home for Lytham was Joe Greenwood in 35:36, closely followed by Chris McCarthy in 35:54, who had been ahead of Joe for a while, though Joe's youth won the day in the end. Next home were Neil Tate (41:12), Graham Webster (42:47 3rd V60), Terry Hellings (43:49, 4th V60) and last but not least Greg Oulton crossing the finish line in 56:32 to complete Lytham's men's Mid Lancs team.

Some fantastic achievements in tricky conditions and great representation of the club by all the juniors and seniors that attended and participated!

Sunday saw the club represented at a further 2 events. The juniors were well represented at the Lancashire sports hall league at Stanley Park in Blackpool, with six members competing in a variety of disciplines including sprinting, throwing and jumping. The club was represented by Ted Thompson, Sophie Tate, Amara Thorpe, Caitlin Holderness, Mathew Rawlinson and Samantha Rawlinson.

4 of our seniors attended the Best 5k (Run for Rory) at Moor Park Preston. After the icy conditions of Saturday’s races, the weather was perfect for running around this beautiful park. Still, dry and sunny. Representing the club was Claire England who finished the race in 24:08 (33rd) which saw her achieve 1st vet 50, well done Claire!  Second finishing for the club, and not far at all behind Claire, was Sue Hawitt in 24:19 (37th). Jim Whitworth finished in 27:07 (56th) and Dawn Lock in 38:13 (100th).

LSARRC News 22nd November 2016

It was a busy and successful weekend for Lytham St Annes Road Running Club with athletes ranging from age 10 to 70 competing over distance from 5k to half marathon.   Sunday 20th November saw two Lytham members, Mel Koth and Richard Storey heading down the M6 to Knutsford to participate in the inaugural 'Run Tatton' event.  This comprised of two races, a 10K and a Half Marathon, the 10K starting 30 mins before the 'Half', with both races attracting around 1300 runners.   Both Lytham athletes took on the half marathon challenge.  After a delayed start due to traffic problems around the area the race got going. The course featured a two lap tour of the scenic Tatton Park which looked wonderful after the early morning drizzle had cleared and the sun started to shine.  Things got a little congested in places with a number of 'switchback' sections meaning that a lot of runners were trying to share the same path. This being the first running of this event, there were one or two other issues that I'm sure the organisers will look at improving for next time but they can't be blamed for Richard forgetting to take his running shoes and having to run around in his walking shoes.  Despite taking a heavy fall during her second lap, Mel finished in 133rd place taking 2nd FV40 in a very respectable time of 1:36:19. Richard eventually completed in a time of 1:45:53 for 315th position.

Sylvia Gittins and Parm Hardman - Conwy Half Marathon

Meanwhile four Lytham members headed to the North Wales coast for the Conwy Half Marathon, a challenging course that starts on the quayside outside the 700 year old Conwy castle, passes Llandudno Pier then a tough climb up the Great Orme for some spectacular views before returning to Conwy to finish back outside the castle.  First home for Lytham was Felicity Wolohan in a time of 1:37:33 for 276th place overall and 28th female.  Also representing Lytham were Ruth Wheatley (54th female FV45 in a time of 2:03:13), Pam Hardman (16th FV55 in 2:06:12) and Sylvia Gittins who ran an excellent race to finish first in her FV70 age category with a time of 2:12:16.

Joe Greenwood

Closer to home four member took part in the 35th Preston 10 mile race.  Joe Green wood was first home for Lytham in 22nd place with a personal best time of 59:43.  Michelle Hook who seems to improve with every race also ran a personal best time of 1:13:37 for 156th place.  Thomas Howarth (38th in 1:02:22) and Louisa Denye (306th in 1:28:17) also represented Lytham.

Tom Howarth

With no Lytham parkrun this week Lytham members found alternatives at Avenham Park, Preston and Cuerden Valley.  Ten year old George Denye ran the Preston parkrun for the first time on a three lap undulating course with a steep winding uphill section early in each loop.  He was 11th overall and finished the 5k in 19:35 to smash the previous record for his age category by 70 seconds. George now holds both the junior and senior parkrun records at Preston for his age group along with the fastest time for an u15 at Lytham and the age record for the Barnsley Junior parkrun.   Joanna Goorney ran well to finish as first female in 13th place overall with Neil Tate recovering from injury finishing in 88th place with a time of 25:29.

George Denye

At the Cuerden valley parkrun Kirsten Burnett finished in a personal best time of 28:44 for 54th place.  Tackling Cuerden Valley parkrun for the first time were Greg Oulton (57th in 295), Rebecca Willetts (64th in 29:59 and new member Robert Parker (67th in 30:26).

LSARRC News 15th November 2016

Morgan Pritchard and Neil Tate at the Lytham Hall parkrun

This Saturday was Lytham Halls 48th parkrun and has even with the awful weather had 147 runners competing. The first Lytham runner back was Joanna Goorney with a time of 20:04, Mark Selby was next with 20:43, and Melanie Koth finished with a new PB in 21:09! Next to finish was Terry Hellings in 21:16, Morgan Pritchard in 23:03, Neil Tate in 23:09 and Danny Fishwick in 24:12.  Rebecca Willetts earned a new PB finishing the race in 27:15, Jeremy McCandless finished in 27:23, Graham Young in 28:35, Gillian Oliver in 30:26 and Ruth Bye in 31:23.

Debbie Cooper competed in the Warrington way 40-mile trail race this Saturday. Despite the wet weather and, it being a far flater route than Debbe is used too. Debbie managed to finish in 7 hours and 9 minutes, her fastest 40 mile race so far, coming in as 5th lady and 43rd racer overall. This race was part of a free championship called Runfurther, there are 12 races in the championship and you need to run 4 to qualify. This year Debbie competed in Haworth hobble, Fellsman, High Peak 40 and the Warrington Way, and was awarded 2nd lady overall in the championship! This is an amazing achievement as all of these races are ultra races, so longer than 26 miles! Well done Debbie, this is well deserved.

Alan Elstone, Colin Laidlaw, Sue Hawitt, Claire England,
Kathy Gaunt and Barbara Holmes - windmill 10K

Sarah Bradshaw & Sarah Bagshaw

On Sunday 13th was the Lytham Windmill 10k race. 945 races competed on this surprisingly dry and calm day, 18 of which were Lytham St Annes Road Runners. Before the race Brian Porter read out a poignant poem and The Last Post was played followed by a 2 minute silence in remembrance of all our service men and women.  The race winner was Christopher McCarthy who finished the race in an incredible 34:54, achieving him a very well earned PB. Kathy Gaunt was 1st female Vet 50 completing the race in 47:41. Paul Veevers was 4th back in 38:45, Neil Tate in 39:24, Alan Elstone in 44:18, Barbara Holmes in 46:52, and Colin Laidlaw in 47:43. Roy Stevens was next back in 48:45, Gerard Browne in 48:59, Claire England in 49:34 and Susan Hawitt in 49:44, earning her a club gold standard and a PB! Next to complete the race was Kirsten Burnett in 52:47, Ruth Wheatley in 53:23, Olivia Johnson Allen in 57:25 and Bob Clough in 58:19. Graham Young was the next Lytham runner to finish the race in 1:01:16, Sarah Bradshaw in 1:01:27 and Sarah Bagshaw in 1:04:14.

Bob Clough

Also this Sunday was the Catforth Canter 5k race. This was a fast flat 1-loop race with 5 runners from Lytham in attendance. Joe Greenwood finished third in 16:57 and Andy Draper finished 4th in 17:03, Michelle Hook was 2nd lady finishing in 20:21. Joe, Andy and Michelle all achieved PB’s on this race! Next to finish was Julia Rolfe who came 1st female vet 50 in 25:13 and James Whitworth was the 1st male vet 65 in 27:40. An absolutely amazing set of results!

Well done to everyone who raced over the weekend and an even bigger congratulations to all those who earned PB’s!

LSARRC News 8th November 2016

Lytham ladies at Lytham Hall parkrun

 Lytham St Annes RRC were represented at a variety of parkruns this weekend across two continents. Lytham Hall Park Run saw nineteen club members making the start line out of a field of 203 on a very fresh, autumnal morning. First home for the club, and 1st over the finish line, was Chris McCarthy in an impressive time of 17:34, closely followed by Joe Greenwood for 2n overall in 17:48. Thomas Howarth was hot on their heels finishing in 4th place in 18:59. First home for the clubs juniors was George Denye, just shy of his personal best, finishing in 19:19 for 7th place overall. The clubs 2nd junior over the line, earning himself a new personal best in the process in only his second park run was Charlie Ormerod in 22:03. Third junior to finish, and 50th overall, was Morgan Pritchard in 24:27. Also representing the club this week was Neil Bayntun-Roberts 13th in 20:50, Neil Tate 30th in 22:04, Gerry Browne 39th in 23:26, first lady for the club Kathy Gaunt 43rd in 23:44 (6th female overall), Debbie Cooper 44th in 23:53, Joanna Goorney 51st in 24:29, Sue Hawitt 52nd in 24:38, closely followed by Claire England for 53rd in 24:43, Sarah Bradshaw 128th in 29:39, Rachael Wignall 133rd in 30:03, Ruth Bye 137th in 30:42, Jeremy McCandless 141st in 31:02 and Sarah Bagshaw 147th in 32:07.

Further afield, Sylvia Gittins represented Lytham at Bushy Parkrun in Middlesex. Sylvia was one of 1181 runners, and finished in 951st place in 31:38 respectively, and Terry Hellings completed the Basildon Parkrun finishing in 9th position out of 153 runners in 21:46. Even further afield, Rebecca Willetts represented the club at Krakow Parkrun in a field of 123 runners; Rebecca finished in 86th position in a time of 27:09. The furthest Parkun travellers this week were Greg Oulton and Graham Webster, who completed the Claisebrook Cove Parkrun in Australia. Graham Webster finished in 68th position out of 245 runners in 23:30 and Greg Oulton crossing the line in 119th place in 26:35.

Mel Koth at the Lakeland Trail Helvellyn Race

Also taking place on the Saturday was the Lakeland Trail Helvellyn Race represented by Melanie Koth who finished the 15k race 30th overall, 2nd Lady, 1st Vet 40 lady in a time of 01:16:07. It was a tough race, temperatures been in the minus and the first 3 miles been a permanent steep climb. It was very technical as there was a lot of rolling rocks and you had to concentrate not to slip or fall. Mel felt strong and managed to close down the gap to the first lady to 40 sec. The view on top was amazing as it was a clear cold day. It was very well organised as it was part of the Lakeland autumn series which Melanie competed in all the races.

The JWK Lancaster Half Marathon on Sunday 6th November saw Chris McCarthy toe the start line fresh from his Lytham Hall Parkrun win the previous day. Chris achieved an impressive 4th place overall while knocking 5 minutes off his half marathon personal best in the process, finishing the race in 1:16:36.

Pamela Hardman was the clubs sole representative at the Derwentwater 10 mile race. It was cold, windy & wet but just as the runners set off it cleared up. The course showcases some lovely views however despite being very undulating Pam very much enjoyed it having last run the race in 2013, and achieved a finish time of 1:32:43.

This week has been a great one for Graham Webster and Greg Oulton, who have travelled to Australia for the Perth World Masters Athletics Championships. They arrived to blistering heat, a stark contrast to the chilly temperatures experienced on our coast.

The first race of the meeting was the 8k (5m) Cross Country. Graham's time was good enough to help his V60 team to the Bronze Medal position. Greg was in a category with insufficient runners to complete a GB team, but he met his personal target of not coming last by a long margin, beating several younger runners and all the DNFs.

Graham Webster (4th from left)

Next was Graham's 800m heat, which he ran fast enough to qualify for the final. The following day Graham ran the 5000m, coming 12th out of 36 runners. In both races, Graham was the oldest competitor by 3-4 years. On Friday it was time for Graham's 1500m heat, placing 2nd and qualifying for the final on Saturday where he finished 8th (the 60 year old Ukrainian winner was a medal winner at the 1980 Moscow Olympics, so Graham was up against the best in the age category).

Greg Oulton

Sunday saw the most demanding day so far, with the running of the half marathon on the hottest day of the meeting. It may have started at 06:30, but the sun was up broiling all the competitors, being over 30 deg C by the end, with a strong head wind to boot. Graham's V60 team were so fast they won Gold and Greg's V45 team won Bronze.

Later that day Graham returned to the track for the 4x400m relay, where his V60 team won yet another Bronze by the narrowest of margins. The final handover took place about 5 metres behind the USA, a lead they increased, but the final GB runner held out to win by inches - a photo finish was required to confirm the GB medal.

LSARRC News 1st November 2016

Lytham Juniors at Cuerden Valley

The second race of the mid-Lancs cross-country season took place on Saturday in Cuerden Park, and Lytham St Annes Road Runners fielded a good contingent of 30 competitors, including a club record 13 juniors.

Holly Anderson

Cuerden Valley has not been used by the mid-Lancs league before so the course was new to most competitors. What they found was a varied and challenging course, over fields, through thick mud and, for the seniors, a few dips in the River Lostock. In short a proper cross-country.

The Lytham team’s outstanding performance of the day was in the first race of the day, the under 11 girls. Sophie Bohannon, competing in her first ever cross-country event, won the race comfortably with 18 seconds to spare. Making up the rest of the team of three were Amara Thorpe and Clemmie Tierney, closely followed by Jess Ramsden, Hebe Tierney and Charlotte Thomson.

In the under 11 boys the prolific George Denye was unlucky to just miss out on first place in a tightly fought race. George was second by just three seconds. Also in the team that finished fifth were Morgan Pritchard and Eric Wrigley.

Louisa Denye

Syndey Ramsden ploughed a lonely furrow for Lytham in the under 13 girls, but later Laura Bremner, Lucy Bohannon and Holly Anderson ran to make up the first under 15 girls team that Lytham has fielded, finishing seventh.

Lytham put out one of the strongest senior ladies teams for some time with Jo Gourney, Mel Koth and Barbara Holmes all finishing in the top fifty. Jo and Barbara finished second in their respective age categories, and made up the team that finished second in division two and eighth overall. Louise Denye, Julia Rolfe and Pam Hardman made up the second Lytham ladies team. In the age categories Lytham were third in the over 35s, fifth over 45s and an excellent second in the over 55s.

Senior men

The senior men also fielded a good team with Chris McCarthy, running his first cross-country and his second run of the day after Park Run, challenging Andy Draper for the first Lytham man home. In the end Andy took the honours by three seconds and two places to finish 43rd in the race.  Tom Howarth, Paul Veevers, Neil Tate and Terry Hellings made up the rest of the men’s team that came a respectable 16th and third in their division.

George Denye must have been fired up by his narrow defeat at the cross-country because on the following day he broke the junior Park Run record for his age group in Avenden Park, Preston. He ran the 2K course in 7:32, settin ga pb to boot.  Also running and setting a pb was Eric Wrigley in 8:58.

Further afield Felicity Wolohan ran the Beachy Head 10km in Eastbourne on Saturday . This is a scenic and hilly run taking in some of the South Downs to Belle Tout lighthouse and Beachy Head. Finishing in 48.08, Felicity was sixth female and 33rd overall out of over 438 runners.

Over in Dublin evergreen vet 60 Roy Stevens ran the Dublin marathon in just over 4 hours, paying the price for suffering cramp after 20 miles.

In the club’s October Handicap Kirsten Burnett was a deserving winner with a much-improved time on only her second race over the 3.45 miles winter course while runner-up Paula McCandless continued her marked improvement since returning to regular running.  The evening's fastest was Joe Greenwood but his excellent 19:29 was only good enough for ninth place.

On the annual points table sixth place and 25 points for Jeremy McCandless on the night moves him into the lead after seven races.