LSARRC News 16th February 2022

Lytham Ladies at Leigh XC

Cross-Country lived up to its name with Lytham’s runners facing a muddy challenge at the penultimate fixture of the season.

And it was the women who continue to impress in the Mid-Lancs league, sealing two veteran titles with one race to go.

Strong performances on Saturday at Leigh Sports Village from Joanna Goorney, Mel Koth and Barbara Holmes mean Lytham will be crowned V35 and V45 team champions. The trio finished 5th on Saturday, putting the club 3rd in the women’s overall league going into the final race.  Holmes is also part of the club’s V55 team with Julia Rolfe and Sylvia Gittins, who finished 5th on the day to guarantee a top two finish for the season.  Goorney (12th in 23:09) also has a shot at individual glory, her time saw her finish 1st FV50 in Leigh and she sits 2nd FV35 and FV45 for the season.  Koth ran 24:42 (24th) and Holmes is guaranteed 1st FV55 for the season after finishing in 25:20 for 32nd place.  Also running for Lytham were Catherine Carrdus (34th 25:31), Maddy Markham (47th overall and 8th under 20 female in 26:47), Claire Markham (68th 28:52), Kirsten Burnett (86th 30:42), Julia Rolfe (98th 31:43) and (Sylvia Gittins 119th 38:46).

Joanna Goorney at Leigh XC

The men were also in action on a three lap 10km course, with Ross McKelvie the club’s first finisher - 52nd in 43:16 - closely followed by Jonathon Tuck (61st 43:55).  Next across the finish line were Mark Hughes (150th, 51:23) and Dan Gregson (151st, 51:23), followed by Peter Thomson (187th, 1:02:11) and Greg Oulton (1:08:02).  All the men counted for the team, who finished 15th overall on the day and sit 7th in division one for the season. The men’s vet 40 team of Tuck, Hughes, Gregson and Thomson finished 12th in the category and are currently 3rd in Division 2.  

The juniors also competed in Leigh, with an impressive display from Georgina Andrews first up, as she finished 12th in 7:30 for the 2k course.  The under 11 boys ran the same 2k course and first home for Lytham was Archie Belfield (ninth in 6:46), with team mate Reuben May in his first cross country race finishing 29th in 7:42.  Also representing Lytham juniors were Freddie Markham in the under 13 boys finishing 28th in 14:28 for the 3k course and Oliver Thomson who completed the 4k under 15 boys course in 15:16 for 17th position.

Also facing tough conditions on Saturday was Pamela Hardman, who completed the Anglezarke Amble 17 miler - a race from Rivington taking in the Tower, Winter Hill and Darwen Tower before finishing at White Coppice.  Hardman battled the windy weather and boggy terrain to finish in four hours.

Away from the mud there was a road race and a club gold standard for Sue Hawitt, who ran the Valentines Day 10km in Lancaster.  She finished in 52:44 for first FV55.

At Lytham Hall parkrun, three of the club’s juniors joined the seniors for the 5km run, and all produced personal best performances.  Jayden Richardson was 5th overall with a 2nd consecutive PB of 20:13, Joe Alker ran 23:19 (24th) and Evie Alker took 1:38 off her previous PB to finish in 27:07.  Also running were Alex Tate (3rd 19:15), Mark Selby (21:30), Chris Cottam (21:58), Gill Draper (24:14), Jennifer Hill (24:17), Stephen Wise (26:21), Elizabeth Canavan (27:41), Vicki Richardson (29:22), Pamela Binns (29:58), Stephen Tate (32:30), Ruth Bye (33:09) and Michelle Sheridan (34:41).

At junior parkrun there was a club 1-2 for Jayden Richardson (7:24) and Joe Alker (8:39), with Evie Alker first girl in 9:37.  Kiefer Richardson (9:55) and Joshua McAfee (10:18) also represented the club.

LSARRC News 9th February 2022

 

LSARRC News 2nd February 2022

LSARRC at St Annes 10 miler

A strong team showing reaped rewards for Lytham St Annes Road Runners as the seniors stayed home for the town’s annual 10 miler.  Both the club’s senior men and ladies took the team prizes in Sunday’s St Annes 10 mile race, with runners braving the elements from St Annes beach huts to the end of Lytham Green and back again.  The victorious mens’ team was made up of Ross McKelvie, who ran a strong race to finish 8th in 58:01, Joe Greenwood who ran 1:00:53 for 14th and Tom Howarth, 1:04:34 and 31st overall.

Jill Draper and Barbara Holmes

There was individual success for Gill Draper, who set herself a new 10 mile personal best of 1:05:39 on her way to second place for the ladies.  And she guided the womens’ team to a comfortable victory, joined in the celebrations by 4th placed Jennifer Hill - who also ran a new personal best of 1:10:10 - and Claire Markham who finished in 1:21:53.  There was an age category win for the club too, with Barbara Holmes claiming the FV60 trophy, finishing in 1:17:15.

In total 20 of the club’s runners donned their green vests for the race, including Sue Henry who took on the job of tail-walker.

Neil Tate finished in 1:11:04, just ahead of team-mate Darren Ames, 1:11:45, and Chris Cottam who ran a 1:12:53 personal best over the distance.  Next home was Mick Widdop in 1:23:53, Peter Reid in 1:25:51, Sue Hawitt in 1:27:24 and Paul McAllister in 1:28:06.  Roy Stevens was just behind in 1:29:36, followed by Kev Murray 1:30:37, Kirsten Burnett 1:32:47, Sylvia Gittins 1:40:11 and Julie Wiseman, 1:42:07.

Ross McKelvie at the St Annes 10 miler

24 hours before taking on the 10-miler, Ross McKelvie ran well to finish 1st at Lytham Hall parkrun in 17:12, followed by Andy Unsworth (20:49) and a new personal best from junior Jayden Richardson, who ran superbly to finish 9th in 20:52.  Neil Tate (21:57) and Mark Selby (22:05) made it inside the top 20.  Other club members running were: Chris Bowker (22:41), Chris Cottam (25:13), Terry Hellings (25:19), Jennifer Hill (25:36), Barry Broughton (26:19), junior Archie Belfield (27:09), Pamela Binns (30:40), Ruth Bye (31:44), Michelle Sheridan (35:00) and Sue Henry (58:48 – tailwalker).

Five of Lytham's juniors took part in the junior parkrun at Park View on Sunday, with Joe Alker crossing the line first in 8:11.  Georgina Andrews was next home for Lytham – 1st girl and 4th overall in 8:38 – with Reuben May just behind in 8:43 for his second consecutive personal best.  Also representing the club were Evie Alker, 9th overall and 2nd girl in 9:43 and Joshua McAfee, 12th in 10:13.

LSARRC News 25th January 2022

Ross McKelvie, Graham Webster, Gill Draper and Greg Oulton at Power of 5k

The personal bests keep on coming for Lytham St Annes Road Runners’ ladies.

Seconds have been tumbling from 5k times, with both Gill Draper and Jennifer Hill hitting new heights this weekend.  Draper’s success came under the lights at Lancaster in the Power of 5k, on the cycle track at Salt Ayre Leisure Centre.  Targeting the club’s diamond standard for her age category of 19:10, a superb performance in the night’s A race saw her record an impressive 18:27 - taking a staggering 56 seconds off her personal best.

Also running in the A race on Friday night was Ross McKelvie. And he also did the club proud, running 15:59 for 10th place - his second fastest time over the distance, just eight seconds off his own club record.

Team-mates Graham Webster and Greg Oulton ran in the B-race, finishing in 21:45 and 25:45 for 8th and 10th respectively.

Jennifer Hill at Blackpool parkrun

Hill’s new personal best came a day later, at Blackpool parkrun.  She finished first lady in a time of 20:29, smashing her target of a sub-21 race to record a new 5km and parkrun PB.

Gillian Oliver was also in action this weekend, running in the Lancaster a race Series 10k in Pilling.  She finished in 1:08:19.

Marathon training squad on Sunday

Sunday saw the launch of the club’s marathon training runs - open to anyone locally who fancies company on their long Sunday runs.  This first week saw 10 club members head from Fairhaven toward Warton on an out-and-back run, with runners splitting up according to pace. Members are taking part in St Annes 10-mile race this weekend before tackling 13 miles on February 6.  The group will meet at the Fairhaven ice cream kiosk at 9:45am - all runners are welcome and can run as much or as little of the planned route as they wish.
            
Lytham’s juniors had a busy weekend of parkrun action, with impressive performances at Lytham Hall and Park View.  In the 5km run, Jayden Richardson ran superbly to finish 11th overall and first in his JM11-14 category in 21:18.  Joshua McAfee finished 2nd JM10 in 33:26.

On Sunday, at junior parkrun, 11 of the club’s juniors took part.  Lytham filled the first four places with Jayden Richardson first home in 7:23 with Oliver McBurney, Adam Jackson and Joe Alker taking the next three places in 7:51, 8:20 and 8:35 respectively.  Georgina Andrews finished as first girl and sixth overall in 8:37.  Also running were: Reuben May (8:50 - new PB), Jessica McNiven (9:19), Evie Alker (9:34 - new PB), Kiefer Richardson (9:49), Jack McNiven (10:02), Joshua McAfee (10:15).

Full Lytham Hall parkrun club results: Jonathan Tuck (3rd - 19:06), Neil Tate (21:17), Darran Ames (21:59), Chris Bowker (22:24), Dan Gregson (23:29), Chris Cottam (23:48), Maddy Markham (25:45), Claire Markham (26:10), Barry Broughton (26:13), Kev Murray (27:19), Liz Canavan (27:23), Gill Draper (27:24), Bob Clough (29:01), Adrian Sargent (29:30), Pamela Binns (30:43), Stephen Tate (31:04), Sylvia Gittins (31:57), Ruth Bye (32:44), Jacqui Murray (33:26) and Lewis McAfee (33:48).

LSARRC News 18th January 2022

Lytham men at Blackpool XC

Cross Country was the main event for Lytham St Annes Road Runners, with the local fixture of the Mid-Lancs League attracting a strong turn-out from both the junior and senior teams.

And there were some excellent performances from the 29 athletes who headed to Blackpool's Lawson's Field, with top ten finishes from both the men's and women's teams.

Joanna Goorney was Lytham's stand-out performer, finishing 10th in the 6km ladies' race and 1st FV50.  Goorney is part of Lytham's over-35 and over-45 teams, both along with Catherine Carrdus (35th, 27:34) and Mel Koth (38th, 28:22), who finished second on the day in both categories and sit top of both Mid-Lancs Leagues with now un-assailable leads with just two fixtures remaining.  The trio also finished 5th team overall to sit third in the season's division one standings.  Also top of the pile for the season so far are the club's female over-55s, with Barbara Holmes finishing 1st FV60 at Blackpool in 28:49 (46th) and Sylvia Gittins first FV75 in 41:15. Julie Wiseman (37:17) completes the team, who celebrated their third victory of the season at Blackpool.  The ladies B team of Clare Taylor (61st, 30:10), Maddy Markham (73rd, 31:12) and Claire Markham (75th, 31:39) finished 14th overall, while Kirsten Burnett (104th, 36:13) completed the ladies line-up.

Mel Koth at Blackpool XC

There was a strong turn-out of 14 Lytham runners for the 10km mens' race, and Ross McKelvie was the first green runner home, 23rd in 35:54, followed by Joe Greenwood in 36:53 (34th).  The rest of the A team. Jonathon Tuck (54th, 38:28), Andrew draper (61st, 38:41), Dominic Garrett (72nd, 39:17) and Alex Tate (39:28) followed home in quick succession to secure 8th place for the team.  The B team was made up of Thomas Howarth (42:52), Mark Hughes (45:44), Dan Gregson (46:34), Richard Storey (48:21), Neil Tate (52:16) and Paul McAllister (53:56), and finished 22nd overall.   Peter Thomson (54:18) and Greg Oulton (58:14) also finished for the greens.  Tuck, Draper, Hughes and Gregson combined to secure a 9th place finish in the vet 40 category, while Storey, McAllister and Thompson were 12th in the vert 50 category.

In the junior races, five of the club's youngsters competed.

First up was Georgina Andrews who finished 20th in 2km under-11 girls race in 9:34, while in the under-11 boys race, Archie Belfield ran 8:38 over the same distance to finish 10th.

Lytham had two representatives in the 3km under-13 boys race, with Adam Jackson (26th in 14:03), getting the better of team-mate Freddie Markham, who was just behind in 15:07 (32nd).

Finally Oliver Thomson's run of 16:19 was good enough for 20th place in the 4km under-15 boys race.

At parkrun, Lytham's stand-out performances this weekend came from Gill Draper who ran a new PB at Blackpool parkrun to finish 1st lady in 19:33, while Neil Tate was first home for the club at Lytham Hall, 5th in 20:36.

At Sunday's junior parkrun Joe Alker and jack McNiven took first and second in 8:20 and 8:26, while Evie Alker was first girl in 9:43.  Joshua McAfee ran a new PB of 10:00, while Reuben May (9:02) and Jessica McNiven (10:49) also ran.

LSARRC News 11th January 2022

Competitive racing was back with bang for Lytham St Annes Road Runners Seniors.

With 2022 barely a week old, there was a first victory and opening personal best of the year for Gill Draper at the Lancaster Winter Series 5km.  Gill's finishing time of 19:23 saw her as first and seventh overall in the event, which took place in driving wind and rain last Saturday morning.

Also racing in Saturday's inclement weather were the club's cross country runners who braved the mud bath at Blackburn's Witton Park for the Lancashire Cross Country Championships.  The Championships are perfectly placed for runners to assess how much they have overdone it over the festive period, with 10 Road Runners making the trip.

It was a strong for the men's team with 7 runners taking on the 9.8km 4 lap course.  First back for Lytham was Joe Greenwood, finishing 41st in a time of 40:49.  Next home was Jonathon Tuck, who crossed the line 60th in a time of 43:46 followed by Thomas Howarth (72nd, 45:14).  Next across the finish line was Neil Tate (93rd, 49:22) with Stephen Wise (116th, 58:47), Paul McAllister (117th, 1:00:19) and Lewis McAffee (119th, 1:01:28) bring home the Lytham Runners.

Overall, the men's team consisting of Greenwood, Tuck, Hawarth, Tate, Wise and McAllister finished in 10th position.  The vets team consisting of Tuck, Tate, Wise and McAllister also finished 10th.

Just two ladies race the 6.7km course with Joanna Goorney 13th in 29:10 picking up a silver medal in the Vet50 category.  Kate Price Edwards also ran well finishing 36th in 36:03.

 Archie Belfield was Lytham's sole junior representative, doing the club proud with a 4th place finish in the U11s' race, coming home three seconds off the podium.

On Sunday  morning, Michelle Sheridan ran the Garstang 10k,  completing the undulating course in a time of 1:12:19.

Pamela Hardman headed to Delamere Forest to compete in the Trail 13 Half Marathon, finishing as first Vet60 in 2:20.

Last weekend's parkruns saw Andy Draper take first place for Lytham, finishing top of the pile at Lytham  Hall in 19:30.  Jennifer Hill was first lady in 22:43 hot on the heels of clubmates Mark Selby (22:16) and Darren Ames (22:38).

There  was also a first placed spot for the club at thee Park View junior parkrun with Jayden Richardson finishing first in 7:59 with Joe Alker second in 8:24.  Jack and Jessica McNiven finished 7th and 8th in 8:56 and 9:20 while there was a personal best for Evie Alker, who was 10th in 9:39.  Finally Keifer Richardson racked up his 150th parkrun as he was 15th in 9:34.

The remaining Lytham Hall parkrun results were as follows: Chris Cottam (22:46), Chris Bowker (23:39),  Jayden Richardson (24:10), Claire Markham (26:25), Barry Broughton (27:52), Freddie Markham (28:10) and Adrian Sargent (30:37).

LSARRC News 5th January 2022

Julie Wiseman

It was a strong turn-out to ring in the New Year with a parkrun from Lytham St Annes Road Runners.  Ross McKelvie stormed home on New Year’s Day to take first place at Lytham Hall, in a time of 17:56.  He was followed by club mate Joe Greenwood who made it a one-two for the club in the first event of 2022, finishing second in 18:51.  Gill Draper led the ladies home and was the next of the green team to finish, First Lady and sixth overall in 20:39.  Also inside the top 10 was Mark Selby, who finished ninth with a time of 21:38.  In total, there were 27 finishers from LSARRC on Saturday, including juniors Oliver Thomson who came 11th in 22:46 and Maddy Markham who finished 84th in 28:00.

And there was a 100th volunteering credit to celebrate for Julie Wiseman, who tail-walked with club mates Sue Henry and Rebecca Willetts - complete with celebratory balloons.

The club’s first competitive race of the New Year was run by Mick Widdop on Sunday - the Central Lancashire Half Marathon.  The 13.1 mile race from Lea Town is organised by Fylde Coast Runners, and Mick finished in 1hr 55.

And there was a strong junior turn-out for 2022’s first junior parkrun at Park View on Sunday.  First to finish for Lytham was Jayden Richardson in a time of 7:56 for second place with club mate Archie Belfield close behind in 8:09 for third place.  Georgina Andrews finished fifth overall and second girl in 8:34.  Reuben May eighth in 9:05 and Jessica McNiven ninth in 9:16 were next home for Lytham, while Evie Alker ran a new personal best to finish 12th in 9:53.  Also representing Lytham were Kiefer Richardson (16th in 10:17), Joshua McAfee (21st in 10:44) and James McAfee (22nd in 11:13).

Full Lytham Hall parkrun club results: Darran Ames (21:59), Andy Draper (22:02), Jennifer Hill (22:26), Chris Cottam (23:20), Barbara Holmes (23:34), Chris Bowker (24:28), Stephen Wise (24:37), Peter Thomson (26:45), Greg Oulton (26:51), Barry Broughton (28:24), Claire Markham (28:28), Liz Canavan (29:24), Bob Clough (30:53), Adrian Sargent(31:35), Pam Binns (32:20), Louise Charnock (33:00), Michelle Sheridan (36:35).