LSARRC News 30th May 2017

After the dreadful events of last week the Great Manchester Run on Sunday provided a welcome relief. Many expected it to be cancelled but fortunately it went ahead, allowing a show of defiance against terrorists from competitors and spectators alike.

Amid heightened security and in an emotional atmosphere a minute’s silence was observed by over 40,000 people before Tony Walsh’s poem “Do It for Manchester” was read. Lytham’s Mel Koth was still suffering from blistered feet after a recent triathlon but she was going to run no matter what to show respect for the city and its people. Joining her from the club in the various races making up the event were Neil Baynton-Roberts and Jacqui Murray as well as several juniors.

In warm, dry weather Mel had an enjoyable run in the 10K event to finish as the fifth FV40 in 44:01. Also in the 10K was Neil who was 512th overall in 42:31 while Jacqui tackled the half-marathon, coming a respectable 121st in the FV40-44 category with a time of 02:09:42.

Taking part in the mini-Manchester 1500M run from the club were Mel’s 5 year-old son, Sebastien, and Alisha Wrigley. In the 2.5K junior run George Denye and Eric Wrigley were fifth and twelfth respectively. Sydney Ramsden was 19th in the U15 girls and sister Jessica 22nd in the U12s.

Lytham’s only world champion is Barbara Holmes, who holds the title in the FV55-59 category for the triathlon. On Saturday she was at it again, winning the British Triathlon Championship in the same age group at Sprint distance. At the event in Strathclyde, Barbara had to do a 750m open water swim, a 20km bike ride and a 5km run. So now she is a British champion as well as a world one.

Tom Haworth, Alan Elstone, Alex Tate, Neil Tate, Sue Hawitt,
Ruth Bye and Mike Toft at the Blackpool Prom 10 miler

In an extremely busy bank holiday weekend of running seven Lytham club members took part in the Blackpool Promenade 10 Miler, all wearing yellow ribbons in memory of those who suffered in Manchester. Lytham provided three in the top ten including Mike Toft in second place.  In a tight finish Mike just beat the third placed by under two seconds.

Neil Tate, also enjoying a good run of form, was sixth and Tom Haworth eighth. Other men from the club were Alex Tate (12th), and Alan Elstone (46th).

In the heat and the wind FV50 competitor Sue Hawitt ran her slowest ten mile race to date so was pleasantly surprised to win her age category in 01:35:34.  Ruth Bye was the 13th FV35.

Alicia Middlehurst

The second Mid Lancs. Track and Field meeting of 2017 took place at Witton Park, Blackburn on Saturday and Lytham St Annes RRC had just two athletes competing. First to toe the line for the club and making her debut was U15 girl Alicia Middlehurst. In a competitive 800m race Alicia ran well in to finish 4th overall and 2nd in division 2 in a time of 2m 32.4s. Alicia also ran the 200m finishing 4th in her heat and 4th in division 2 in a time of 31.4s.

George Denye

George Denye was the other junior making a promising track debut, opting for the 1500m. At just 11 years old George was one of the youngest athletes competing in the under 13s and his inexperience on the track showed when he set of a little too quickly but recovered very well to finish 3rd in 5m 4.2s taking 1st place in division 2. George also did well in the 200m when he finished 4th in his heat and 1st in division 2 in 31.5s.

The weather conditions for Saturday's Catforth Canter 5k proved a challenge for runners on what is usually a quick course. Andy Draper was first home for Lytham in 6th place (17:38) while his wife Gill continued her run of PBs in 33rd place and 4th lady (22:01). Dawn Bloor completed her first race of an injury-ridden year in 44th place and 7th lady (24:30).

Michelle Hook ran the Edinburgh Marathon Festival 10k on Saturday as a 'tourist' rather than racing. The course climbs through Holyrood Park around the side of Arthur’s Seat allowing Michelle to admire the views of the city below. Despite the relaxed approach and the heat, she still managed a time of 46.45, good enough for the position of 16th woman.

Kirsten Burnett ran her third marathon in a couple of months on Sunday, the Liverpool Rock and Roll marathon. A time of 4:32:36 didn’t provide a personal best but Kirsten was happy with a time of 45 minutes faster than the last time she competed here. Ruth Wheatley tackled the half-marathon in 01:58:26 to come 2,572nd.

The club’s monthly handicap is run on the last Thursday of each month. But when it was run last week competitors found an additional handicap to deal with; the heat! On the hottest day of the year to date 21 club members struggled in the conditions to complete the 4.3 mile course.  Pam Binns was first back on the night but Paula McCandless leads the table so far this season.

LSARRC News 23rd May 2017

The prize winners at the LSARRC Presentation Evening

Friday night was presentation night for Lytham St Annes Road Runners. The annual event is a celebration of another year of competing, and of the club’s successes

One of the club’s most successful athletes over the years is Sue Samme, and she was the guest of honour. In his preamble club chairman Nigel Simpkin listed some of her memorable achievements including her team and individual medals when competing for England in the vets team; and her amazing achievement as the mid-Lancs cross country champion at the FV35 and FV45 levels as well as all of the senior ladies.

Nigel also listed some of the club’s successes over the last twelve months , including the senior ladies cross-country team silver medal and the men’s gold medal in their respective divisions. Barbara Holmes also became the world triathlon champion in the FV55-59 category, and how well the club had performed in various relays.

Chris McCarthy was the Seniors Men’s Champion for the first time, while Joanna Goorney, runner-up last year, was the Women’s Champion.

Dave Wood and Sue Samme

A special award was made to Dave Wood for his unstinting service as a race photographer. He performs this task admirably for all local clubs, and many of the photos featured in the local press are taken by him.

Back in the racing world Pam Hardman and Rebecca Willetts travelled to Western Australia to take part in the Busselton Ironman 70.3 as a relay team with ex Lytham resident Lucy Goodall. The weather and the atmosphere were fantastic. The individual competitors started at 6am, 7am and 8am but there was a shark sighting in the bay and the 8 o’clock swimmers got dragged out of the sea and the beach was closed.  For the first time in Ironman history the swim leg of the team event was cancelled. The 90.1km cycle and the 20.1km run went ahead but the sun was blazing and both Lucy and Pam suffered with the temperature of the tarmac. Both still managed to finish however.

Lucy Goodall, Pam Hardman and Rebecca Willetts

Pam Hardman and Rebecca Willetts returned to the UK and took part in the St Annes sprint Triathlon on Sunday, with a great flat course they finished in positions 322nd and 258th with commendable times of 1:44:49 and 1:33:10 respectively.

Also on Sunday Mel Koth took part in the Outlaw half ironman distance in Nottingham. The race started at 6am with the men, and the ladies started 7am although they a long wait as they had to rack their bikes at 5am.

The swim of 1.2 miles is very tough as everyone tries to get into the best position. Mel was kicked twice in the face but at least her goggles stayed in place! When transitioning from the water they had to run back where the bikes were racked to cycle 56 miles over quite flat terrain with a couple of hills.

Then came the run.  Someone cheekily pinched Mel’s socks out of her running shoes while the cycling was going on so she had to run a half-marathon distance of 13.1 miles without socks and so with blistering. But she did it, and managed to finish more than three minutes faster than a couple of years ago. The official results are still awaited.

A contingent of Lytham club members ran the Crazy Cow 10K in Avenham Park in Preston on Saturday in rather hot conditions. Jennifer Aldworth was the first back out of the gang, finishing 102nd, and 12th woman with a chip time of 46:16. Lee Morrison was next, 211th from 733 competitors, followed by Robert Parker a couple of minutes later in 264th.  Laura Byrne in 418th, Penny Morrison in 564th and Michelle Sheridan, 600th, made up the rest of the group.

Juniors George Denye and Sydney Ramsden ran the Lancaster 5k on Saturday with George using it as a training run in preparing for next weeks Great Manchester junior run where he is hoping to be on the podium again. George broke the 20 minute barrier by six seconds, and finished 28th out of over 100 despite him being one of the few juniors. Sydney was 50th in 23:59.

George then did the Lytham Park View junior Parkrun for the 5th time clocking up his 5th win.

LSARRC News 16th May 2017

Ross McKelvie and Mike Toft at start of Lytham Inter Club

Barbara Holmes followed by Mel Koth

Lytham St Annes Road Runners hosted a record-breaking, highly successful inter-club race on Thursday. Ably organised by Bob Clough, the second race of the summer series broke all attendance records with 413 competitors running the five miles making for a superb atmosphere.

Despite many Lytham club members putting their racing shoes to one side for marshalling duties, the club also enjoyed its most successful inter-club race for many years. Chris McCarthy, Mike Toft and Joe Greenwood braved the strong headwind, typical of St Annes Promenade, to finish in the top ten and lead the open team to third place.

Lytham top ten finishers: Chris McCarthy, 5th, 27:49; Mike Toft, 8TH, 28:27; Joe Greenwood, 9th, 28:36; Andy Draper, 12th, 29:20; Alex Tate, 19th, 29:55; Tom Howarth, 2926th, 30:10; Neil Tate, 30th, 30:20; Paul Veevers, 35th, 30:39; Catherine Carrdus 48th, 31:39  and Ross McKelvie 49th, 31:43.

Catherine Carrdus

This was bettered by the ladies who, lead home by Catherine Carrdus in second, Jo Goorney in third, and with Michelle Hook also in the ladies’ top ten, finished first, beating Blackpool by a single point. Barbara Holmes and Mel Koth were the other members of the successful team.

The same ladies but with Kathy Gaunt instead of Michelle Hook finished second in the FV40 category while Graham Webster, Terry Hellings and Colin Laidlaw were third in the vet 60s to round off an excellent night for Lytham.

Gill Draper, Jennifer Aldworth and Stephen Tate at the start of the Inter Club

One of Lytham’s best ever athletes is Sue Samme but on Saturday it was her daughter’s turn to show what she can do. Proud mother Sue watched from the stands as Layla Foley ran in her first 1500 metres race at the Lancashire County Championships in Blackpool. Proving that genes really do make a difference, 20 year-old Layla, a Manchester University student, ran a tactical race to gradually make her way through the field. Despite having little track experience, Layla overtook four athletes on the final lap to win in 04:56.9. 

Layla Foley at the Lancashire Track and Field Championships

On Sunday Lytham juniors were well-represented in the Worden Park 1mile fun run in Leyland on Sunday, taking the first five places and with a total of twelve in the top 20. First as ever was 11 year-old George Denye in 6:07, closely followed by Morgan Pritchard and Sophie Bohannon. In contrast, Neil Tate ploughed a lonely furrow for the club in the full 10K race to take 17th spot in 38:58.

On Friday Greg Oulton ran the 5.1 mile Pinhaw fell race from Earby, in Pendle. The race includes 800 feet of ascent in the first half before rounding the trig point and returning down the same way. After the recent good weather there was no mud to contend with on the off road sections, but it still wasn't easy. Greg finished in 52:22, well within his target time of an hour.

LSARRC News 9th May 2017

Morgan Pritchard with a new PB at Lytham Hall parkrun

Saturday 6th May saw the Lytham Road Runners take part in 4 different parkruns. On our doorstep, a nice round 10 runners took to Lytham Hall parkrun in field of 180 runners to kick start the weekend with 4 new PB times, a brilliant result! First home for the club in 2nd place overall was Andy Draper in 17:39, just 4 seconds off his personal best. Following Andy for 4th place was Neil Tate in 18:25 and Morgan Pritchard for 3rd Lytham runner home and 10th overall in 20:35 setting a new PB time. Next was Neil Bayntun-Roberts in 20:40 for 12th, Terry Hellings in 21:33 for 18th, junior Finlay Hughes in 22:31 for 27th and a new PB time, and Roy Stevens in 23:48 in 27th and also setting a new PB. Following Roy was our 4th PB time of the parkrun for Rob Parker in 24:14 for 39th, Kirsten Burnett in 24:25 for 43rd overall and 4th lady and Sarah Bradshaw in 32:19 for 144th.

Just down the road, 4 Lytham runners completed the Blackpool parkrun out of 187 for the first time. First home for the club in 19:25 and 8th place overall was Tom Howarth, followed closely by the first female finisher Catherine Carrdus in 19:34 for 10th place overall. Graham Webster was next for the club finishing in 20:29 and 14th place, and Clare England in 26:07 for 65th.

Further afield, Ian Tate completed the Warrington parkrun in 20:44 for 10th place overall out of 482 runners, and Joanna Goorney at Dewsbury parkrun finishing the course in 19:58 for 4th out of 100 runners and first overall lady.

On Sunday 7th May, our 7 of our juniors took part in the Park View junior parkrun with 5 setting PB times. First junior home, and also first junior overall on the back of his PB the previous day, was Morgan Pritchard setting another PB finishing in 07:38 for a great weekend of racing, well done Morgan. 2nd junior overall and for Lytham was Sophie Bohannon in 07:45 for another PB, followed by Finlay Hughes in 5th place in 08:18. Lucy Bohannon was 10th in 09:00, Jessica Ramsden in 09:07, Clemmie Tierney in 09:16 and Holly Anderson in 09:45.

Mike Toft winning the Blackpool Beaverbrooks 10k

 For the seniors, and also 3 juniors, our runners represented across 3 races in the North West on Sunday in beautiful conditions, if a little warm for racing! The annual Blackpool Beaverbrooks 10k in its 36th year is a popular race in any calendar, whether a serious runner or fun runner. The course starts at the Savoy Hotel on the Promenade, running down the Golden Mile past the Pleasure Beach before turning and heading back up the Promenade for the big finish on Gynn Square. The fun run attracted 2080 people of all levels, no doubt helped along by the glorious clear sunny skies and very little wind, which is usual for Blackpool and clearly brought out the crowd support generating a fantastically fun atmosphere! Winning the race for the club in a sprint finish was Mike Toft in an incredible time of 35:54. Hot on his heels was Chris McCarthy, finishing in 4th place in 36:21 followed by Neil Tate in 41:26 running with one of the club juniors, George Denye in his debut 10k race in an astonishing 41:27 for the 1st under 16 and 40th overall. Next was Lee Morrison finishing in 42:43, Ian Tate in 43:47, Michelle Hook in 44:59 for 4th overall female, and Kathy Gaunt in 47:35. Running in memory of their mum and support of Trinity Hospice, raising over £800 in the process, Gill Draper along with her sister Alex Capstick completed the course in 50:04, a fantastic achievement ladies!  Completing the finish line up for the club were juniors Sydney Ramsden in her debut 10k race, in 50:31, and Francis Morrison in 55:05, Ruth Wheatley in 55:54, Olivia Johnson-Allen in 56:18, Natalie Toft in 58:44, Steve Tate in 59:12, Laura Byrne in 1:01:06, Penny Morrison in 1:05:45 and Michelle Sheridan in 1:10:39.

Neil Tate and George Denye

Michelle Sheridan

Another staple favourite in local runners calendars is the Blacksticks Blue 10k race, where runners are rewarded with the infamous Blacksticks Blue cheese! The race starts starts at Goosnargh Whitechapel Primary School taking an anticlockwise route towards Beacon Fell. After about a mile the race comes into its own, climbing continually for about two miles up Carwags Lane and Beacon Fell Road. Over the next mile the course undulates for a total climb over the race of 450 feet, before finishing downhill, with a final climb back to the school from the 6 mile mark. 4 Lytham runners took on the hills in the heat; first home for Lytham was Graham Webster, recently turned 65, in 43:49 (31st), followed by Richard Storey (53rd in 49:22), Roy Stevens (64th in 51:45), Bob Clough (96th in 59:00) and Greg Oulton (100th in 59:08). A great effort on a challenging course.
Finally, Felicity Wolohan was the clubs sole representative in the Liverpool Spring 10k. While the course was reasonably flat, the heat also made for a challenging race. In spite of this, including some deceptively tough inclines, F

Felicity recorded a PB by 2 minutes in 41:03 and was 8th lady out of 1712 and 110 out of 3471 overall. Another fantastic run!

LSARRC News 2nd May 2017

Joe Greenwood coming down into Marsden in the Cake Race

The name “Cake Race” conjures up images of a nice, comfortable run finishing with something nice to eat. Well, contrary to that image, it’s a tough, 9.9 mile fell race with a total of 1699 feet of ascent over the moors. Saturday’s event was also the first race used in the local inter-club fell series.

Starting in the village of Diggle, near Oldham the competitors crossed the county border to Marsden in West Yorkshire before heading back into Greater Manchester. But why the name? Well, the race is free to enter if you brought a home-made cake.  There were 278 finishers, and that is a lot of cake!

Following the race there were also competitions for best design and best tasting cake then, for £2, the competitors were allowed to eat as much cake as they wished. So at least the something nice to eat at the end part of the image is true.

Fortunately for Lytham St Annes Road Runners their competitors fared better in the race than in the cake competition. First back for the club was Joe Greenwood in 13th place in 1:14:12.  Joanna Goorney was 1st lady in 29th place in 1:19:19.  Debbie Cooper was 158th in 1:39:25 and Greg Oulton was 256th in 2:04:17.

Michelle Hook and Als Everest

Four Lytham Runners took on the Lancaster 3 Bridges 10k on Sunday. The day started out windy and cool, however as the morning went on it warmed up and the sun made a welcome appearance. The course is definitely 'fast and flat', following a lovely scenic route along the River Lune although it featured some pretty nasty stairs up to the viaduct at the halfway point!

Neil Tate

First home for the club was Neil Tate off the back of the Blackpool Marathon the previous weekend, finishing 9th in 38:26. Second for the club, and second lady overall, was Michelle Hook in 41:50, a 1:06 minute PB. Next was Lee Morrison in 36th place, and the fourth Lytham club member was Alex Everest in 112th from 273 finishers.

The first Mid Lancs. Track and Field meeting of 2017 took place at Stanley Park on Saturday 29th April and Lytham had just two athletes competing.  Under 15 girl Laura Bremner competing in her first ever track race did well in the 1500m finishing in a time of 5m 59.7s for 6th place overall and first in division 2 picking up seven points for the club. At the other end of the scale MV65 Graham Webster, less than a week after completing the London Marathon, ran in the 3000m finishing as 5th man in a time of 11m 50.5s.

Laura Bremner at the Mid Lancs T and F

The Wray Caton Moor Fell Race is held as part of the annual Scarecrow Festival in Wray and heads off up Caton Moor, with 1099 feet of ascent in the 6.8 mile course over wild moorland.  After just a two day break from the Cake Race, Joanna Goorney was back in 52:25, 5th female and 1st Vet 45.  She was rewarded for her efforts, as were the other prize winners, with an excellent hand made scarecrow. Debbie Cooper was 63rd in 1:03:25 and Greg Oulton was 98th in 1:22:10. 

Felicity Wolohan had perfect race conditions for the mid Cheshire 5km in Kingsley on Friday evening. The race incorporated the England Athletics 5k Road Running Championships. Running a sub 20 minute for the first time, Felicity set a new personal best with 19.56.

The following morning Felicity was at it again, running the Princes Parkrun in Liverpool. Here she finished as the second lady, knocking nearly 30 seconds from her Parkrun PB with a time of 20.26.

With a new handicapper and earlier start time, the club’s monthly handicap had a high turnout with 24 competitors. First back was Maria Tierney but she is equal second in the season’s totals as both second and third placed on the night, Paula McCandless and Alex Tate respectively, received two bonus points each for course PBs so Paula is the current leader.

At the Avenham Park 5K, Preston Kirsten Burnett was 3rd FV40 in 24:35, a new pb.  James Whitworth claimed the 1st position in the V70 category. Robert Parker finished in 27:11 and Lorna Cragg in 39:14 (positions not available).