LSARRC News 29th March 2016

Calder Vale 10 miler

There were plenty of races on offer over the Easter weekend for Lytham St Annes runners to get their teeth into, the closest and most popular being the Calder Vale 10 mile on Good Friday which attracted 196 runners.  The race was won by Gary Pennington of Preston Harriers over 4 minutes clear of the rest of the field.  Ian Tate was first home for the club in 76th place with a time of 1:18:59.  Claire England had an excellent run to win 1st vet 50 in 105th place and a time of 1:26:51 whilst not far behind Sue Hawitt finished in 122nd place and 1:29:37

Also on Friday morning was the fast, flat Salford 10k, a 2 lap course from Salford Sports Village.  With 573 finishers, first home was Willian Mycroft of Enfield and Haringey AC.  Andy Draper was the club's sole representative finishing in 58th place in a time of 35:44.

The World Half Marathon Championships were held in Cardiff on Saturday.  With far from perfect weather conditions deteriorating badly towards the end, Steve Hargreaves still managed to finish in 106th place in a time of 1:15:40

On Saturday afternoon, Joanna Goorney headed over to Horwich for the Rivington Pike Fell Race.  Organised by Horwich RMI Harriers, the race is a straight up and down 3.2mile race with 699 feet of ascent.  The great Ron Hill was making his 40th appearance at the race and was later presented with a tankard to commemorate the occasion.  Incidentally, Lytham St Annes' Sue Samme used to hold the Ladies course record having won the race back in 1980 by over a minute and a quarter.  Joanna finished in 86th place and was 7th lady and 1st vet 45.

On Easter Monday, Greg Oulton ran the Ackworth Half Marathon, near Wakefield.  The undulating scenic one lap course was not made any easier by the rain and gale force wind and the final hill, arrived at mile 12 for half a mile, along with a strong head wind was not a good combination.  On the plus side, it was also the first half marathon that Greg has finished where he didn't need to walk for a rest before the end.  Greg managed to get round in 2:03:09 in 218th place.

Johnny Wild

The previous Saturday (19th),  Johnny Wild ran the Cartmel Trail 18k Challenge which is part of the Lakeland Trails series.  He finished in 2:13:54 coming in 293rd place out of 490 finishers

Chris McCarthy

The 17th Lytham Hall parkrun on Saturday morning successfully moved back onto the 3 lap “A” course which has had new paths laid on it vastly improving the track.  With 191 runners,  the second highest since the parkrun began, the rain luckily held off till after the event.  Lytham St Annes had the first male and first female finishers also this week with Chris McCarthy getting round the course in 17:49 whilst Joanna Goorney in 12th place overall finished in 20:06.  Alan Elstone was 18th in 21:09.  Felicity Wolohan was 3rd lady in 21st place in 21:36 with Sue Samme just behind in 23rd and 21:46.  Neil Bayntun-Roberts was 32nd in 22:52, Morgan Pritchard was 43rd in 23:45 Graham Webster was 44th in 23:46, Dawn Bloor  was 47th in 23:50, Jeremy McCandless was 107th in 29:24, Karen Lanigan in her first ever parkrun was 127th in 30:43, Clemmie Tierney was 164th in 34:56 and Hebe Tierney was 165th in 34:57.

Morgan Pritchard followed by Graham Webster

LSARRC News 21st March 2016

LSARRC at Grasmere YHA club training weekend

Sylvia Gittins and Richard Storey represented the club at the Coniston 14 mile road race on Saturday.  Conditions were perfect as over 1100 runners set off from the village for a circuit of the stunning lake.  Sylvia was 1st WV70, 790th overall, in 2:14:10, Richard coming 381th overall in 1:54:09. The race was won by Sam Stead of Keswick AC is 1:16:27.

LSARRC at the Trimpell 20

Steve Ashton and Rachael Wignall

The big attraction for Lytham St Annes athletes this weekend was the Trimpell 20 on Sunday morning.  Starting from Lancaster Castle, this very popular 20 mile race is a great warmup for anyone with a spring marathon approaching with a number in the club preparing for London.  The race was comfortably won by Iraitz Arrospide, over 3 minutes clear in 1:52:36.  Andy Draper was first home for LSARRC in an excellent 16th place and 2:07:57 with Tom Howarth not far behind in 19th with 2:09:11 followed by Neil Tate in 30th place and 2:10:48.  Graham Webster was 1st vet 60 in 143rd place with 2:30:16, Mel Koth was 213th in 2:37:59, Ian Tate was 293rd in 2:48:21, Steve Ashton was 522nd in 3:15:51, Ruth Wheatly was 561st in 3:23:37 and Rachael Wignall was 651st in 3:43:04.  There were 718 finishers


The Fleetwood Rotary 10k was held on Sunday morning.  Starting on the promenade behind the Marine Hall and finishing in the Marine Gardens, the race was held in perfect spring conditions.  Paul Muller of Horwich RMI was first home in 36.17.  There were 2 representatives from LSARRC.  Joanna finished 1st lady and 4th overall in 39:33 whilst Dave Dunn was 20th in a time of 46:10.

Morgan Prichard at the Lytham Hall Parkrun

The 16th Lytham Hall parkrun on Saturday morning was won by Paul Muller of Horwich RMI in 17:29 and more significantly with an superb age grade percentage of 90.94.  With 164 runners, LSARRC was well represented.  Chris McCarthy was 2nd in 17:40, Andy Unsworth  was 7th with a new course PB of 19:13, Joanna Goorney was 9th and 1st lady in 19:50, Alan Elstone  was 13th in 20:35 and Neil Bayntun-Roberts was 18th in 21:28.  10 year old Morgan Pritchard was 30th in only his 2nd parkrun running a course PB of 23:14.  There were also course PBs for Claire England in 35th place with 23:31, Rebecca Tate in 46th with 24:39, Sue Hawitt in 50th with 24:52, Hebe Tierney in 133rd and  35:17 and Clemmie Tierney in 138th 35:46.

Joanna Goorney followed by Alan Elstone

 Over in Liverpool, Felicity Wolohan ran the Princes parkrun.  She finished 3rd lady in 36th place overall in 21:12, a new course PB. There were 231 finishers.

Over on the other side of the world, Bob Clough ran in the Maitland parkrun in Walka Recreation & Wildlife Reserve, Oakhampton Heights, New South Wales, Australia.  With 384 runners, Bob finished in 114th place in 27:17

Training weekend

Eleven members of Lytham St Annes RRC headed off to the Lake District for the weekend with a return to Grasmere YHA for their latest biannual training weekend and 2 days of hard activity.

The weekend’s training included a short run before dinner on Friday.  Saturday started with an early morning pre-breakfast run, followed by a 6.7 mile late morning run across Loughrigg Terrace with spectacular views of Grasmere and Rydal lakes and the surrounding hills then back along the lakeside.

Sunday started again with the pre-breakfast run followed by a mid-morning undulating run again taking in Loughrigg Terrace and a full loop around Loughrigg Fell covering 10 miles and over 1200 feet of hill climbs.

Sunday lunch time was a final get together at YHA hostel for lunch before heading back to the real world.  The weather was very kind and everyone enjoyed the weekend and are looking forward to the next trip which is planned autumn 2016.

LSARRC News 15th March 2015

LSARRC runners at the Lytham Hall parkrun

Lytham St Annes RRC took over the organising of the Lytham Hall Park run this week and were out in force. There was something for everyone with Lytham providing 20 helpers and 21 competitors from age 9 to over 70 and from complete beginners to former GB internationals athletes.

Colin Laidlaw

First home for Lytham was new recruit Chris McCarthy in 17:39 for 3rd place, Andy Unsworth , Neil Roberts and Ian Tate were next in 19:19, 21:09 and 21:17 respectively (10th, 17th and 18th) all recording personal best times for the Lytham Hall parkrun. Others competing for Lytham were Alan Elstone (24th, 22:00), Mark Selby (32nd, 22:51) and Graham Webster (42nd, 23:32) running with Morgan Pritchard in his first ever 5k race. Morgan ran exceptionally well to record a time of 23:3 for 41st place overall and first under 11 boy. John Wild was next home in 28>22 (95th), 10 year old girls Keira Van Bogerijen and Amara Thorpe also in their first 5ks were next home for Lytham in 31:29 and 32:12 with Rebecca Willets keeping Amara company in (131st, 32:13) closely followed by Louise Charnock (32:19, 134th). Neil Tate ran with his 7 year old daughter Sophie who ran very well finishing in 35.44 for 163rd place. Other Lytham juniors were under 11 siblings Clemmie and Hebe Tierney finishing in 37:34 and 37:35 for 171st and 172nd place.

LSARRC marshalls at the Lytham Hall parkrun

Vicky Wylie (32:25), Michelle Theobald (34:09), Sarah Bagshaw (35:38), Katie Newton (35:36), Vicky Benson (35:37)Jenny Lewandowski (36:03) and Nina Dyer from the Lytham St Annes Road Runners beginners group were accompanied by experienced runners Sue Samme and Nigel Simpkin and did well to complete their first parkrun after just a few weeks of training. Jeremy Mcandless accompanied by his dog Ella in a Lytham club vest acted as sweep.

Over in Liverpool, Felicity Wolohan ran the Princes parkrun whwew there were 209 finishers.  She finished in 47th and 2nd lady in a time of 23:35

On Saturday, Debbie Cooper ran the Howarth Hobble which traverses gritstone moors around Haworth, Todmorden and Hebden Bridge.  The course if 34 miles with 4400 feet of ascent/descent.  She completed the course in 6:27:30 in167th place.

Andy Draper

Claire England

The Sweatshop 10 was the big local race on Sunday morning attracting a large contingent of LSARRC runners.  The 10 mile race from Bispham, Blackpool takes in 2 laps of the north promenade.  The race was won by James Kevan of Horwich RMI Harriers in 53:04 whilst Sharon Johnstone of Wilmslow RC was first lady in 1:03:35.  Andy Draper was first home for the club in 15th place just missing sub 1 hour in 1:00:25.  Just behind in 19th place was Tom Howarth in 1:01:19.  Graham Webster showing his current excellent form was 65th and 1st vet 60 in 1:09:31.  Dave Dunn was 109th in 1:16:26, Claire England was 141st in 1:21:51,  Sue Hawitt was 166th in 1:27:17 LC, Sylvia Gittins was 190th and 1st vet70 1:33:25 which was also a club record, Jeremy McCandless was 191st in 1:33:28 and Pamela Hardman was 201st in 1:35:43.

The Don Morrison Memorial Edale Skyline Fell Race was held on Sunday.  Weather conditions for this tough 21.1 mile race with 4505 feet of ascent in the heart of the Peak District were nearly perfect although the previous weekend's snowfall had left the second half of the course on the southern edge of the Kinder plateau difficult underfoot with slushy snow covering much of the terrain.  Joanna Goorney was pleased to complete the course in 4:22:00 finishing in 114th place.

Greg Oulton ran the Roddlesworth Roller 5.5 trail race from Abbey Village finishing in 199th place in 58:42   He found it a great race in beautiful surroundings (Roddlesworth reservoir / Tockholes woodland) with lots of hills included.

After the Roller there was a junior race, the Daffodil Doddle which went along the road alongside the reservoir and then into the woods.  Eleven year old Max Talbert represented the club doing really well, with a brilliant sprint finish at the end to pass another runner and pip him at the post.  Max finished in 24th place in 8:57 for the 2.2km course out of 183 finishers.

Als and Rachael

Racheal Wignall and Alex Everest completed the Vitality Liverpool Half Marathon on Sunday.  For Racheal, this run was treated as a training run to help prepare her for the London Marathon this year whilst for Alex, it  was her first half marathon.

The race began with very mild conditions, which became very sunnier as the race progressed, with Rachel getting sunburnt whilst running!  The race started at the Albert Docks, through Princes Road, Devonshire Road, Belvidere Road and onto Sefton Park.  It then went round Sefton park and back along the Liverpool Leeds Canal, eventually finishing back at the Albert Docks.

As runners from the the Fylde coast, the girls don't encounter many hills so when they had to run up and down 4 before the 5th mile, they were a little worried about the ‘undulating’ Sefton Park part of the race.  By the time they got to Sefton Park, the course had settled down though and they we were only faced with very slight undulation.  Around eight miles, Alex started to feel her body crash but was spurred on by a friendly face, fellow LSARRC Felicity Wolohon.  The last three miles were very picturesque, running along the Liverpool, Leeds canal!  All in all, Alex found it a very hard course, with a few more hills than she was used to, very hot towards the end and thoroughly enjoyable.

Alex finished in 2061st place in an excellent first half marathon time of 1:53:53 whilst Racheal was 3294th  in a time of 2:07:34.

LSARRC News 8th March 2016

Sue Hawitt and Rebecca Tate followed by Julia Rolfe at Lytham Hall parkrun

 The final fixture in the Mid Lancs Cross Country League should have been the highlight of the weekend but due to flooding earlier in the week at Cuerden Valley Country Park where it was due to be held, it was sadly cancelled.

Graham Webster and Terry Hellings still found their fix of cross country at Northern Masters Cross Country Championships on Sunday which were held at Victoria Park, Warrington.  The men's race was a flat 4 lap 10k course with very varied conditions underfoot from deep mud to some quite firm patches.  In a competitive competition, Graham Webster finished 2nd MV60 (16th overall) taking the silver medal in a time of 45:14 with Terry Hellings taking 4th MV60 (18th overall) in 46:21.

Lancaster Race Series ran a well organised Mother's Day 10k from Salt Ayre Leisure Centre in Lancaster on Sunday morning.  Starting and finishing on the Lancaster and Morecambe AC track, the course was a very pleasant out and back route held in spring sunshine.  Joanna Goorney was the club's sole representative finishing in 12th place and 1st female in a time of 39:29.

Over in Bolton, the Trotters 5 mile trail race organised by Burnden Road Runners proved popular with over 300 finishers.  The race starts by Smithills Coaching House and takes in two laps of Smithills Country park.  Representing LSARRC were Greg Oulton and Pam Hardman.  Greg finished 213th in 46:35 whilst Pam was 242nd in 48:25.

Sylvia Gittins went much further afield for the weekend heading down to the South coast for the Eastbourne Half Marathon.  Sylvia finished 749th in 2.09.53 out of 1095 finishers.

Debbie Cooper followed by Claire England

The 14th Lytham Hall parkrun on Saturday morning was held sunny conditions attracting 156 runners for the 5k course.  Nathan Townsend of Trafford AC was first home just missing the 17 minute barrier in 17:01. Lytham St Annes was well represented again both as marshals and runners.  First home for the club in 4th place and a new PB for the course was Neil Tate in 18:19.  Joanna Goorney was 1st lady in 9th place in 19:42.  There was a PB for Will McAllister in 14th place and 21:09 and Neil Bayntun-Roberts was16th in 21:15.  There were PBs for Gerry Browne in 38th place and 23:22, Debbie Cooper just behind in 41st place and a time of 23:29 and Claire England in 48th place with 24:11.  Making her debut at the Lytham Hall parkrun was Julia Rolfe who finished 55th  24:42.  Sue Hawitt was 59th 25:25 whilst Greg Oulton was 64th in 26:03, a PB.  Also running a PB in 88th place was Jeremy McCandless along with his dog Ella in 28:12 and Graham Young was 105th in 29:54.

Neil Bayntun-Roberts

Next week (12th March), Lytham St Annes Road Runners with be taking over the running of the Lytham Hall parkrun for the day providing marshals and runners.  For anybody interested in joining the club, this is a great opportunity to meet some of its members including those from the senior, junior and beginner sections.

Graham Young

Will McAllister

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