LSARRC Press Report 20th December 2011

On the final Sunday before Christmas of each year Lytham St Annes Road Runners hold their fancy-dress Christmas Relay. Last Sunday morning the regular dog-walkers were surprised to see a gathering of santas, elves and a fairy in the morning sun by the windmill.

Victors over the 5k course along the Green were the Sprouts team comprising of Bec Willets, Debbie Cooper and Joe Shaw whose combined time of 73:46 put them just ahead of the Crackers of Sylvia Gittens, Ed Bowes and Mel Koth.

Despite having the fastest leg runner in Joe Greenwood the Turkeys, also with Rob Goodall and Louise Charnock, could only manage third whilst, appropriately enough, the Puddings, Dawn Lock, Terry Hellings and Graham Young were in the final position.

LSARRC Press Report 13th December 2011

Cross-country races these days are often run just on grass, usually without a stream to negiotiate and sometimes without even a speck of mud in sight. This was happily not the case in Astley Park, Chorley on Saturday where the third of this season’s mid-Lancs league races was held at a “proper” cross-country venue.

Heavy rains had waterlogged the ground so that even the flat playing fields presented a tiring surface for competitors. But the real challenge came when, after a complete lap of the open area, the competitors plunged into the woods. Hidden there were two water crossings with steep muddy inclines on each bank. Probably the most testing section however was the steep climb into the finish negotiated once by the U13Bs and U15Bs, twice by the senior women and three times by the senior men.

There were mixed fortunes for Lytham St Annes Road Runners’ five junior athletes with three good finishes and two having to withdraw through injury. Robbie Webb and Ross Hart were first to go in the U13b 3.2K race which incorporated a full lap of the challenging course. Both the young athletes were close throughout the race with Robbie just having the edge finishing 18th in 13:57 with Ross 19th in 14:05. George Rowley and Kirsty Fraser were next to race in the combined U15B & U17W 4.1K race. George produced a superb performance to finish 11th in 16:16 but unfortunately Kirsty, who started the race strongly had to pull up with an ankle injury. Jonny Benz started in the U17m race and he too was forced to pull up during the second lap of the race.

Sue Samme was pipped to the post in the senior womens’ race finishing just four seconds behind the leader. This was a suberb performance by Sue beating athletes over twenty-five years younger. It ensured the club’s WV45 team retained first place in their division. Completing this team were Julia Rolfe and Dawn Lock.

Counting for the vet 35 team that finished seventh were Sue, Mel Koth and Laura Ashworth. Louise Charnock made a welcome return to the team in 94th place after a layoff.

Best of Lytham's men was Andy Draper who managed a good 68th place in this high-class field of 255. Senior men's team counters with Andy were Terry Hellings, Tony Croft, Joe Shaw, Colin Laidlaw and Colin Nelson. Roy Upton finished a couple of places back just missing out on a team place. The team finished nineteenth overall and fifth in division three. Terry, Tony and Colin made up the MV50 team who finished ninth and with Joe Shaw, fourteenth in the MV40s.

Lytham seniors Chorley results. Women: Sue Samme 2nd, 1st LV45, 25:34; Mel Koth 37th, 30:26; Laura Ashworth 81st, 34:24; Julia Rolfe 86th, 35:45; Louise Charnock 94th, 37:06 and Dawn Lock 114th; 48:05.
Men: Andy Draper 72nd, 44:17; Terry Hellings 109th, 46:42; Tony Croft 116th, 47:04; Joe Shaw 156th, 50:01; Colin Laidlaw 176th, 51:21; Colin Nelson 178th, 51:25; Roy Upton 180th, 51:41 and Steve Quarmby 189th, 52:36.

Christmas is just about here and with it are the seasonal races. In the Lake District newer club members Jo Pendered and Dawn Bloor joined 425 others in the first of two Great Langdale Xmas Pudding 10Ks near Ambleside. The hills made the race tough but both ladies did well to finish 245th and 247th respectively, and thirteenth and fourteenth in the FV45 category. And the reward for their efforts? A Christmas pudding each.

The second race was the following day where, despite the previous day’s cross-country, Andy Draper finished second with a time of 35:55. This was an excellent result from a race of nearly 300.
Closer to home was the Longridge Xmas Pudding race on Sunday. Mel Koth achieved a personal best in this seven-mile race finishing 56th with a time of 51:02. She was also the fifth lady and second LV35.

Sylvia Gittins was the first in the FV65 category in 1:04:36 while Bec Willets was the ninth FV40 in 1:06:24.

Link to Lytham St Annes Road Runners Website

LSARRC Press Report 6th December 2011

On Sunday Garstang Running Club hosted the Guys 10 mile road race from Bilsborrow. The flat country course lends itself to fast times but atrocious weather conditions played their part this year.

Seven Lytham St Annes Club members were amongst the 321 competitors who braved the cold wind, freezing rain and hailstones. Joe Shaw described this as the “worst running conditions ever”. Despite this he still managed to finish 78th in a time of 1:09:59 achieving a personal best at this distance. Bad conditions can be a great motivator to finish quickly.

Peter Cruse was fifteenth and the first in the MV45 age category, again running ten miles in just under an hour; 59:38 to be precise. This is an excellent time and position but is what we have come to expect from Peter.

Other Lytham results: Kevin Ashworth 120th, 1:14:02; Steve Quarmby 139th, 1:15:55; Richard Storey 159th, 01:17:44; Trevor Willoughby 170th, 1:18:40 and Sylvia Gittins 234th, 1:27:57.


Link to Lytham St Annes Road Runners Website

LSARRC Press Report 29th November 2011

Susan Samme

Sue Samme of Lytham St Annes Road Runners represented England in the 24th running of the British and Irish Masters Cross Country International on Sunday in Glasgow. This annual event attracts the best veteran athletes from the UK and Republic of Ireland and this is the third time in four years Sue has been selected.

An already challenging course was made tougher by the heavy rain and gale force winds. In a very competitive race with just 37 seconds covering the first ten places Sue enjoyed her best ever performance in this event. Completing the 6k course in 22:19 earned her the individual silver medal in the women’s 45 age category. Finishing tenth overall from a field of 126 Sue led the England W45 team home for the team gold medal.

The UKA McCain Cross-challenge took place at Sefton Park, Liverpool on Saturday. This high-profile event allows all club members to race against established internationals no matter what their standard. Many top cross-country athletes use the race to gain selection for European cross-country competition. It also counts as the second of the mid-Lancs league meetings so there was plenty to race for.

Ross Hart at Sefton Park

Lytham was represented by fourteen members including four juniors amongst the 1500 competitors. In the U13 boys competition Robbie Webb was first back for Lytham finishing 58th in 12:21 with Ross Hart not far behind in 12:42 to finish 69th. George Rowley, running his first race of the season in the U15 boys category, ran well to finish 62nd in 10:59. Kirsty Fraser also had a good race to cross the line in 19:27 to finish 52nd in the U17 girls competition

Completing for the women’s vet 35 and senior team was Linda Baxter, 118th in 39:31, five places ahead of Laura Ashworth in 40:12 and women's captain Julia Rolfe, 140th in 41:41. Making her first appearance at cross-country and gamely braving the highest level, was sixty-five year old Sylvia Gittins who helped Linda and Julia to a useful points score in the vet 45s with 155th place in 47:25.

The men faced a tough challenge in the 508 strong field. Andy Draper led the incomplete senior men's team home in 38:05 for 227th. Graham Webster ran well to finish 302nd in 40:12 and Tony Croft finished 324th in 41:08. Best score for the men was in the vet 50s where Graham, Tony and Colin Laidlaw, 441st in 45:41, consolidated the team’s position with a strong performance.

Other LSARRC Results: Senior Women: Dawn Lock, 164th, 57:53. Senior men: Colin Nelson 401st, 44:12.


Meanwhile on the same day closer to home the Wesham 10k was ran from Salwick. Peter Cruse won the MV45 category in a time of 38:52. In a large field of over 450 Karen Lanigan was the 92nd woman. Karen, a graduate from the club’s beginners group, finished in a time 01:00:11.

Other LSARRC results from Wesham: Willie Richmond 144th, 43:54; Kevin Ashworth 164th, 45:00; Tony Rudd 266th, 49:52; Graham Young 326th, 53:07; Andrew Reid 340th, 54:11 and Chris Holland 363rd, 55:43.

On Sunday Jonny Benz ran in the Best 5k race in Preston which follows a course around the footpaths of Moor Park. The 16 year old raced superbly in the challenging conditions to finish 17th with a personal best time of 19:43. New club member Jim Whitworth, an MV60, finished the 5k in a time of 27:34 to earn 97th place in a field of 185 runners.

In the monthly handicap race Debbie Cooper knocked almost two minutes from last month’s time to win. It was also an excellent performance by Patrick Houghton, a junior running his first handicap. Starting together with Debbie he stayed with her to finish second and the first junior. Taking full advantage of Linda Baxter’s absence Kevin Ashcroft ran a PB to finish second senior to gain an 18 points lead at the top of the table. Rob Goodall and Steve Quarmby were two others who ran well to record PBs. Joe Greenwood was fastest on the night with 20:30 and junior Kirsty Fraser’s 25:14 the quickest by a lady.

LSARRC Press Report 22nd November 2011

Mel Koth & Simon Denye

Preston Harriers staged the 30th running of their popular race, the Preston 10, on Sunday. Cool, still, damp and overcast conditions were not ideal for spectators but suited runners perfectly speeding Salford Harriers' national star Andi Jones to a course record in a staggering 49:43, ten miles at under 5 minutes a mile!

Best of Lytham St. Annes RRC's eleven-strong contingent was Peter Cruse who finished 25th in 59:09, a good under-hour performance for him. Simon Denye, unlikely to be familiar with this racing distance, finished 85th in 1:06:40 ahead of club-mate Mark Willett who often beats him on the shorter distances but this time finished ten places back in 1:06:59. Colin Laidlaw, recovering his form after a racing layoff, finished 171st in 1:13:19.

Mel Koth was once again best of the Lytham women finishing in 1:08:54 and 119th place, another course personal best despite suffering a cold. Behind her were Linda Baxter who is rapidly improving in 204th and 3rd FV45 in 1:16:19, and Laura Ashworth in 222nd in 1:17:28. A good but not record field of 384 completed this year's race while next year's Preston 10 will form part of the Preston Guild celebrations.

Other Lytham Results from Preston: Joe Shaw 139th, 1:10:31; Bill Lock 381st, 1:47:46 and Dawn Lock 384th, 1:47:18.

Simon Denye

Linda Baxter

Peter Cruse

Link to Lytham St Annes Road Runners Website

LSARRC Press Report 15th November 2011

A large entry of over 400 competed in the inaugural Windmill 10k in Lytham on Sunday. Many of these were unattached, that is to say not members of any running club. Lytham St Annes Road Runners were well represented by thirteen members, some achieving excellent positions.

Befitting for Remembrance Sunday a two-minute silence was observed prior to the start. The race commenced opposite Lowther gardens taking a route down to the old Land Registry before circling Fairhaven Lake. The finish was also opposite Lowther gardens. “Windmill” is an appropriate name for the race given the conditions competitors had to face. A strong headwind proved testing but they did have its benefit in the opposite direction.

Nigel tries valiantly to
out sprint his vest

First back for Lytham was Nigel Thompson in fourth place and the first vet in 35:51. Club champion Nigel has suffered injury setbacks recently so his racing appearances are rare but this was a good time.

Lytham’s Sue Samme was the first woman back in 37:37. Finishing thirteenth overall it is indicative of her current form that she was over four minutes in front of the next woman.

Other performances of note were that of Peter Cruse in seventh, and Joe Greenwood who achieved a personal best and was the final member of the quartet that made up Lytham’s winning team. Pam Hardman was third in the female vet 50s, also with a pb.

Full Lytham results: Nigel Thompson 4th & 1st vet, 35:51; Peter Cruse 7th & 3rd vet, 36:27; Sue Samme 1st woman, 37:37; Joe Greenwood 14th, 37:39; Simon Denye 22nd, 40:10; Roy Upton 29th, 40:58; Joe Shaw 48th, 42:59; Colin Laidlaw 71st, 44:27; Rob Goodall 156th, 49:57; Pam Hardman 165th & 3rd FV50, 50:33; Graham Young 197th, 52:11; Dawn Bloor 249th, 54:51 and Mark Willett 301st, 57:51.

Ultra distance races are those in excess of the 26.2 mile marathon distance. Few athletes are up to such a challenge but Mark Willett joined this elite group in spectacular fashion last week in Norwich. The Marriott’s Way ultra marathon is 36 miles, ten miles further than the London Marathon. This is a race held with ultra debutants in mind; even the entry is free to encourage participation.

Mark knew this would be a tough challenge, and a journey into the unknown never having ran further than the marathon distance. Despite sore, blistered feet and a niggling ankle Mark soldiered on to finish in a superb third place in 5:13:22; yes five hours of running!

Saturday week saw a men's team representing Lytham St. Annes RRC at the English Cross Country Association in Mansfield. A team of Men's Captain Colin Nelson, Terry Hellings, Willie Richmond and Graham Webster competed on this exciting looping course with hundreds of other runners from all over England including some of the country's foremost cross-country athletes.

The men were lucky in that the heavy rain eased for their race although the ground was very muddy. Terry Hellings led the team out on the two-lap course finishing in 21:46 before handing over to the captain for a 23:05 second leg. Willie Richmond worked hard for his 23:54 on third and was followed by Graham
Webster on his chosen final leg bringing the team back with LSARRC's fastest leg of 21:28 gaining thirteen places. The team finished very creditably in 142nd with a combined time of 1:30:15.

Finally returning to racing on Wednesday following a period of interrupted training Colin Laidlaw took part in the Civil Service Athletic Association annual cross-country championships, which this year were held at the renowned cross-country venue of Parliament Hill in London. On a perfect day for running Colin completed the 5.9 mile course in 46:58 to take 75th place out of the 105 runners.


Link to Lytham St Annes Road Runners Website

Mark Willett - Beyond the Marathon ...

About 10 miles beyond in fact - as a huge 36 miles was the distance of my first Ultramarathon along Marriott's Way in Norwich, on Sunday 6th November. And I loved it! I'd driven down to Norwich on the Friday afternoon, to stay with my cousins - and then spent Saturday doingabsolutely nothing. I wanted to completely rest my body ahead of Sunday's race, so did just that - and was even tucked-up in bed for 9pm. I awoke at 5.30am on race day ready and excited for the race - which was due off at 8am. I had a light breakfast (my usual cereal bars and diluted lucozade), prepared my kit for the day (including backpack / bladder with gels and spare socks, t-shirt etc.), used the bathroom (very important ahead of such a long race) and then headed out at 7am. I arrived at Halford's Car Park in the centre of town at dead on 7.30am and soon after everyone else arrived to register.

The Marriott's Way Ultra is organised by Tri-Anglia, who volunteer their time to allow people like me (ie. debutants over 26.2 miles) to get a feel for Ultra running. There is no race fee - but I'm sure that they could charge a decent sum if they wished, as they all did a fantastic job ahead of and during the race. I was issued with my race number - well, a big number 8 was written on my hand in black marker pen (I said it was free) - and then it was time for the off! The out-and-back route to Reepham Station meant that the 60 runners could choose from 18 or 36 miles but I hadn't a clue who was doing what as we set off. 

Prior to the race I'd decided to target around 8.30/mile pace - which would be just over 5 hours for the full 36 miles if I could hang on - or roughly 1 min slower than my marathon PB pace. Early on I just couldn't seem to resist going that bit too fast, so ended up between 8.05-8.15/mile! I got chatting to a couple of guys from Reepham Road Runners who were moving at that quicker pace and it felt comfortable to stay with them for the first 13-15 miles or so. On reflection it was pretty obvious why they were running that bit quicker than me - they were all stopping at Reepham as it was "home" for them!

So the turn arrived at around 2hrs 28 - or 8.13/mile - and I pretty much knew that those 15-25 secs per mile of extra speed would come back to haunt me later. I'd actually made it to halfway before my cousins arrived there to cheer me on - so I must have been too fast!

As I'd approached the station I'd started to count off the runners coming back towards me, starting their "home" legs. One, two, three .... and that was it .... I was in 4th place! I registered my arrival at the checkpoint, took some water and jelly beans on board and then walked out of the station to ease my legs back into it.Immediately after that I was passed by another runner - but rather than react, I decided there and then that I'd simply look to consolidate that 5th place as best as I could. This seemed a wise choice as I watched the guy in front disappear off into the distance rather rapidly (he would finish 2nd).

I was soon back into my running, albeit deliberately slower than earlier - and I must say that the second half of the race was a lonely old business after my "social" first 18 miles. I listened to a few tracks on my iPod and began to split the remaining race distance into manageable chunks in my head. The 20 mile point soon came up and then 22 was reached (notable as my cousins turned up unexpectedly to give me a much needed boost!) - then my focus turned to reaching full marathon distance. Those 4-and-a-bit miles seemed to take an age but I eventually got there at about 3.44 - so the 8-ish miles since the turn had been at just over 9 minute miles (I'd had a couple of walking breaks). 

I was now into unknown territory - and I was already suffering a fair bit. 

From about 5 miles in, despite wearing strategically placed compeed plasters, both of my feet had started to blister and feel really sore. Whilst running and talking with others I'd been able to put it to the back of my head, now they were really aching. I considered taking some ibuprofen (carried in case my ankle niggle played up) but decided to try and block the pain out instead. Between 26 and 32 miles was actually the hardest part of the race for me - with the walking breaks becoming more and more frequent. I was feeling drained mentally too, continually fighting with myself, forcing myself to keep going - then I spotted another runner ahead of me. I actually got a real lift from that - there was actually someone else in sight! 

I vowed to keep running until I got halfway across the gap, then managed to push on until I was alongside him. We exchanged a few words whilst walk / running (Ultras are very friendly / social occasions you know) and then I moved away .... seeing a second runner slightly further ahead (blimey it was total gridlock by now!). It took me a while to catch him up - and when I did we chatted and ran together for a couple of minutes. Then I put my head down and somehow managed to up the pace. 

By now there was only a couple of miles to go, so I tried to run as much as I could. Earlier on I'd worked out that I'd likely finish somewhere between 5hrs15 and 5hrs30 - but now I wanted to squeeze under the5hrs15 mark if I could. Two of the support cyclists working the route pulled alongside with about a mile to go and so I talked a little with them to get my mind off the plodding - it really helped. When they finally rode off there was only 500m to go and soon after I could see the finish line. I upped my pace (probably only in my head) to do a sort of sprint finish and then that was it - race finished - first Ultra done!

 

And I'd finished in 3rd place - in 5.13.22! 

I took a long drink and chatted with the organisers and the first two runners back - the winning time was a creditable 4hrs 51, second was 5hrs05. After a few handshakes and once a few more runners had crossed the line I then said my goodbyes and headed off. Once back at my cousins I took a nice long soak in the bathand nursed my quite badly blistered feet. Ouch! After the bath I got dressed and headed out to the pub with my cousins, Aunt and Uncle - where we had an absolutely superb 3 course meal. I had the steak. 

 

So a fantastic end to a fantastic experience! I certainly won't forget my first Ultra ..... nor will my feet!

Link to Lytham St Annes Road Runners Website