News reports - January 2012

29th January 2012: SWAC ladies take Chernobyl 10K team prize (by Sue Cooper)

It may seem a bit risky pre-entering a local road race in January, because you never know what the weather conditions might be like but, for those of us who ran the Chernobyl 10K yesterday, it was a risk worth taking. 

There were only a handful of entries available on the day and so a lot of late comers had to be turned away disappointed.  Sadly this fate befell Sarah Reynolds who had taken a wrong turning in Preston city centre and arrived just twenty minutes before the start. So Sarah had to make do with acting as chief cheer leader for the rest of us and delay her Sunday run until the afternoon.

In fact the weather conditions for racing were ideal; it was cold and damp but there wasn’t a breath of wind. Rob McGrath was first in for the Club, finishing 12th and 2nd V45 in 36.31, a good three minutes faster than the last time he did this event, so well done Rob!  Next home was Clare Constable, who was using the race as part of her build-up to the Dubai Half Marathon next month.  Clare was third lady and finished the race in 41.56. Angela Delaney was next in and was delighted with her time of 43.08.  Angela has had a long period out of racing and the Chernobyl 10K was planned as her comeback.  She had set herself a target of finishing in less than 45 minutes, so no wonder she was pleased!  I completed the female trio, finishing 1st W55 in 43.23, certainly not as fast as I would have liked but better than I had feared.  We also had another Club member, David Marsh, running the event.  David completed the race in 52.46.

The surprise of the day was achieving the Ladies’ Team Award, based on our positions of third, fifth and sixth, which won us a bottle of wine each.  Sadly mine turned out to be a low-alcohol variety but never mind!

Full results

28th January 2012: Two top 20 finishes at Northern XC Champs

The 2012 Northern Cross Country Championships were held in a sunny Pontefract Park, inside the Pontefract race course with the event village nestling below the Grandstand. The Northerns were last held here in 1993 so some runners then would be back as parents or coaches if not featuring in the senior races. The course was very straightforward, based around one loop extended to two loops and extended again to a third loop. The ground was described by the Referee as good to firm and it was probably the first cross country venue we have been to this season where the runners did not finish covered in mud. There were two or three places where the ground cut up but there was very little mud.

Apart from a challenging uphill start and an uphill finish, the course for all the age groups was a gently undulating downhill on the way out and uphill on the way back. But the good ground made for a fast course that caught out a number of runners who set off too fast.

There were not that many Southport Waterloo runners entered but a lot more than last year. Most noticeable was the absence of any of our senior women who I'm sure would have enjoyed this course. It was left to the men to finish a team and, with James Tartt a top 20 finisher, our Senior Men finished an impressive 10th team. Andrew Kershaw was our highest placed individual finisher, 11th in the Under 15 Boys' race.

The first race with club interest was the Under 13 Girls' race where Emma Alderson carried club colours. Over 3.1 kms, she finished 45th of 171 in 13:29. Emma is a first year Under 13 and competing here in her first major event so this was a really good result.

Also running in his first major event was Under 13 Boy Jack Lenehan. Jack has demonstrated some quality running before and quickly settled in to about 20th place in his 3.1 km race, before finally getting his timing chip across the line in 23rd place of 171 finishers in 12:00.

Ellie Roberts, after a local schools win on Wednesday, ran in the Under 15 Girls' race, improving on her 62nd position in last year's Northerns at Sunderland with a 52nd place finish in 19:11 for the 4 kms. Ellie needed some first aid at the end but is thankfully OK.

In the Under 15 Boys' race, Andrew Kershaw and Luke Tyson were in action over 4 kms. After a 1st and 2nd in their schools' race on Wednesday, both ran well again here at Pontefract. Andrew was 29th at Sunderland last year and was reasonably well pleased with an 11th place in 15:47, our highest placed finisher at Pontefract. Luke has suffered a lack of fitness recently but is rapidly recovering his form and finished 51st in 16:42. Both boys should continue to improve this season and move up to Under 17s for the track.

Next up were the Junior Men and here Joe and Patrick Vis made the trip from their university towns to take part. Patrick, the Merseyside bronze medallist, ran particularly well for a 21st place finish in 29:42 for a fast 8 kms course. Joe has spent more time in exams than running recently and finished 42nd in 30:57.

Finally, then, 8 of the club's Senior Men joined in the mass start for the final race of the day over three 4 kms laps for 12K. By the end of the uphill start straight, James Tartt was nicely tucked into 4th place; but this was a class field with the likes of Steve Vernon and James Wilkinson, finishing 1st and 2nd, so it was tough at the front. Barrow's Peter Huck finished 3rd and Liverpool's Johnny Mellor was just outside the medals in 4th position.

James Tartt led our team home, finishing in 19th place - a great result at this level of competition - in 41:27. Also having a good run was our 2nd team counter, Mike Evans, who was 85th of 685 finishers in 44:59. 3rd counter was Ben Johnson, 94th in 45:27, then Steve Wilkinson, 121st in 46:06, Rob Berry, 136th in 46:34, and David Hamilton, 195th in 48:22. The team finished an excellent 10th of 52 complete teams and 2nd Merseyside club behind Liverpool Harriers. Backing up the 'A' team were Gerry Lenehan, 221st in 48:57, Phil Bailey, 396th in 53:35, and Steve Lewis, 460th in 55:55.

Next weekend sees the Merseyside Schools cross country champs at Sefton Park and the weekend after many will make the long trip to Barrow for the penultimate round in the Mid Lancs League.

Full Results

23rd January 2012: Fell Running Grand Prix 2012 (by Brian Davey)

Listed below are the races for the club's 2012 Fell Running Grand Prix.

Again the races are all quite local and are not too difficult for anyone running on the fells for the first time.

Some of the races have been kept from last year with three new events for runners to try. The series will start once again on Easter Saturday at Rivington Pike. This is one of the oldest fell races in the calendar.

The races at Hutton Roof, Clougha Pike, Warton Crags and Moel Fammau are all staged as part of Village Summer fetes so there are things for supporters to do during the race.

The championship will be decided on the best 4 races from the 7 listed above.

The points and scoring would be the same as 2011 championships 10 points for first, 8 points for second down to 2 points for eighth. All finishers will receive 1 point.

22nd January 2012: PBs not an option at windy Helsby (by Peter Roome)

The Helsby Half (a.k.a. Essar Four Villages Half Marathon) is in its 31st year and is a race you must enter early to avoid disappointment.

Run by Helsby Running Club, this race attracts a quality field from around the country and, in 2012, half a dozen from Southport Waterloo AC.

With strong winds to contend with PBs were not an option for many but at least the early date gave almost all the guarantee of a season’s best!

About 1,600 runners out of the 2,000 entrants lined up -  and this despite the very accommodating withdrawal and transfer arrangements (transfers were being done 20 minutes before the start of the race; take note runliverpool!) .

The start of this year’s race was moved to the front of Helsby Sports Centre but even this more sheltered location didn’t stop the start line inflatable having to be taken down before the 11am start time. The new location makes the start more congested than previously but, fortunately, this was a (half) marathon – not a sprint.

Having mislaid my trusty Garmin 305 I had to pace myself using the traditional ‘watch the watch’ method and attempt to do the mental maths on the run. My mental maths isn’t good but even I knew I could write off a pb after the first 10k. The situation deteriorated after 10 miles as I was passed by a steady stream of (mainly) middle aged men.

I was first back for SWAC in 1.24.42; a Helsby and season’s best! I was closely followed by Phil Bailey who came in in 1.26.20 for the 13.1 miles plus a shoelace tying stop to win the M60 category by 2.5 minutes. Next back was Peter Tinsley in 1.38.47. Christine Cutner was our first woman finisher in 1.46.27. Sue Stewart finished in 1.52.46  to win the F65 category (again by 2.5 minutes). David Marsh was our final finisher in 1.54.52

The winner of this year’s race was Martin Williams from Tipton Harriers in 1.08.31 (4 minutes off the course record) and second place went to his team mate Ben Gamble in 1.10.01. First woman was Gemma Connolly of St Helens in 1.21.03 with Louise Blizzard of Belgrave Harriers in 1.21.58

Full results are on www.raceplus.co.uk and photos of the day are on www.mickhall-photos.com

22nd January 2012: Join us on Twitter (by the twitter team)

18th January 2012: An enlightening experience (by Andrew Hudson)

Much improved and indeed almost a tropical evening greeted thirty-four eager participants and a healthy number of much appreciated helpers at the Torchlit Tip venue on Wednesday.

Seemingly darker than the normal extreme darkness! And the route marked with new experimental “blue” glowsticks, the runners headed off across the desolate wasteland no doubt exciting local astronomers with speculative talk of a shooting star!

A breakaway group soon disappeared headed by a rejuvenated Rob McGrath, holding off stiff competition to take victory on his debut in 18 minutes 25 seconds.

Back in the midfield there was a faller at Beeches Brook (hope you are ok Clare!) As the dots of lights became strung out across the winding undulating pathways, Sue Cooper pulled up with mechanical failure (Duracell next time Sue!) whilst Rick and his now legendary apparatus created the feel of a bright summer afternoon at the bridge crossing.

Course photographer, Mr Caton, busied himself with random shots of passing black cats whilst manning a strategic crossing.

Tracy came home in 20 minutes 38 seconds closely followed by Clare Constable despite her two broken legs from the earlier unintended rapid decent to ground level!!

Prizes fell to Paul Talbot, Carol Wright and Paul Warrington with the ceremonial throw of the dice sourced from the family Monopoly set.

Is it possible to have a better time in the dark? Watch out for the FINAL event on the 8th February where forty participants is a realistic target. Lingering question;  Where was defending champion Ben?.................

RESULTS: Rob McGrath 18:25, Steve Mclean18:39, Steve Lewis 18:55, Keith Lunt 19:23, Andrew Hudson 19:55, Paul Talbot 20:08, Martin Sutton 20:12, Neil Silcock  20:21, Simon Tobin 20:28,Tracy Peters 20:38, Clare Constable 20:57, Paul Ashby 21:00, Trevor Williams 21:08, Ed Sherstone 22:48, Matthew Tobin, 22:49, Rob Cosgrove 22:51, Paul Warrington 22:52, Colin Aindow 23:13, Vicki Harvey 23:49, Paul Stennett 24:14, Rachel Thomas 24:42, Chris Cutner 24:50, Carol Wright  24:54, Elaine Sutton 26:08, Sue Stewart 27:09, Donna Spencer 27:19, Jane Blacklin 27:19, Jon Singleton 27:35, Dave Menzies 28:02, Gill Gillison 28:06, Indy Hesketh 29:04, Sheila Marshall 30:00, Brian Grice 30:00.

14th / 15th January: Sprinters compete in indoor champs: 2 new PBs

Several of the club's junior athletes were involved over the weekend in the Northern Athletics Indoor T&F Championships in the magnificent EIS indoor arena in Sheffield. No medals were taken but two PBs made the trip very worthwhile.

On day 1, Beth McBride, Eleanor Newton, Sally Wareing and Mike Evans were all in action. In the Under 20 Women's 60m hurdles, Eleanor Newton ran a great technical race to bring her PB for the distance down from 9.46 to 9.30 secs! In the flat 60m, Under 20 Beth McBride ran a season's best 8.43. Sally Wareing featured in the 300m. She won her heat in 44.11 secs and was then 2nd in her semi final in 43.27. The final didn't go entirely to plan but she finished 5th in 43.22. Finally, on the Saturday, Michael Evans ran in the senior 1500m. He ran indoors in Sheffield last year in the BUCS Indoor Championships to record a PB of 4 mins 06 but he had to settle for 4:12.39 in these championships.

On Day 2 it was Danny Driver's turn in the Under 20 Men's 200m. He had a great run to finish 5th in 24.18 secs. Going into this championships, I think his PB was 24.7 so this performance was a massive confidence booster so early in the season.

Sheffield results.

Meanwhile, Under 20 Jordan Kelly, now studying at Birmingham University, was competing in the Midland Counties indoor open meeting in Birmingham. On the Sunday,he won the long jump competition with a best of 6m 64.

15th January 2012: Running the Houston Marathon (by Matthew Nelson)

While stationary on the tarmac at Heathrow and shortly after a cloud of white smoke from the starboard engine had drifted past the window of the aircraft, the flight attendant cheerily announced that “ the aircraft will take off momentarily!” In an example of how the same language can be so different in the two countries, the word “momentarily” in the US means, shortly or in a moment, rather than for a short time only, which to be honest was quite a relief.

After a couple of days sightseeing with my brother in and around Houston, the day of the race arrived with perfect weather for the 7am start, temperature at around 5 degrees with a very light wind. This was a fortuitous weather window which also covered the US Olympic Marathon Trials which we watched on the Saturday in beautiful crisp sunny conditions. There had been a thunderstorm on the previous Tuesday which registered 400 lightning strikes in one hour and 4 inches of rain in the day. The day after the race, the temperature was back up to over 20c with increased humidity. 

Following the singing of the US National Anthem, some prayers and a short address by former Olympic marathon champion Frank Shorter (remember him?), who described the conditions as a “no excuses day”,  I set off in to the faint dawn light, hoping to derive some performance enhancing inspiration from Charlie Spedding’s astonishing 1984 victory. In the near darkness, it was a bit like Andy H’s dream of the most enormous torchlit 5k of all time.

Although the race flowed freely from the start, I think I went through the first mile in about 8.30 so had little time to make back if I was to achieve a sub 3.15. Anyway, it was all to play for.

Considering it was only 7am, local residents had really pushed the boat out, turning out in numbers, with live music and plenty of other distractions including signs announcing that there was beer available at their houses and that was within the first three miles! There must have been dozens of bands throughout the 26 miles, seemingly covering every musical genre.

At one point, in proximity to a church with bells ringing, two priests were sprinkling everyone with holy water and at around the 15 mile stage, someone was holding up a sign announcing that “ Humpty Dumpty had wall issues  too”. There were endless other humorous signs throughout the route, such as “Go complete stranger!”
In the whole race, only one gentleman was quick enough to read and repeat the name on our club shirt, shouting “Go Southport Waterloo!”. If you happen to be reading this sir, your support was much appreciated. It really was a tremendous turnout by the Houstonians, with too much to describe here.

Back to the serious business, the course is partly undulating rather than completely flat and was very well supplied with water and Gatorade. Time keepers called out the minutes per mile pace at each mile and I recovered the minute or so lost from the first mile within about four miles or so I think. I held a 7.24 pace reasonably comfortably and definitely felt that a sub 3.15 was achievable but once the calf cramp warning light flickered on for the first time at about 19 miles, I knew I would be struggling to make the target time.

I tried stretching the calves  while I was running and managed to avoid pulling up altogether but any attempt to accelerate back to the required pace resulted in painful tightening, particularly in the left. The time keepers were now calling 7.27 and although I felt strong enough otherwise, with the calves pulling and threatening to stop me, I knew the game was up and eventually crossed the line in a chip time of 3.16.53. This race does not come cheap but it was a great experience that I shall not forget.

The men’s race was won by Tariku Jufar in 2.06.51 and the women’s by Alemitu Abera in 2.23.14 with Britain’s Ava Hutchinson finishing a superb 4th  in 2.35.33.

Finally, as I was hobbling up and down stairs on London Underground on Wednesday morning with every fibre of my being howling in protest, I remembered that a few days before I went to Houston, a younger male work colleague who does not do any exercise and also happens to smoke, suggested that 3.15 was not a very ambitious target for a marathon! You couldn’t make it up could you.

14th January 2012: Clean sweep by senior men cross country runners

With county cross country championship medals safely in the bag, it was time to return to Mid Lancs League competition and to the struggle with Barrow and Furness Striders for supremacy in the senior men category. And we couldn't have asked more of our seniors who finished first at Hyndburn in all categories: 1st senior men's team, 1st 'B' team, 1st Vet 40, 1st Vet 50 and 1st Vet 60!

The Mid Lancs League fixture was at Wilson's Playing Fields, Hyndburn. It might have been the coldest day of the year so far, but a brilliant winter sun soon melted the early morning frost. Hyndburn is always a muddy course and, with the frost failing to penetrate much of the wooded areas, this year was no exception. The main problem for many runners on this course is, however, not the mud but the tree roots in the woods waiting to catch the unwary!

57 Southport Waterloo runners made the trip along the M65,mostly seniors with 12 women and 27 men, these numbers neatly illustrating the current strength of the club in cross country running. The best placed finisher was James Tartt who was one place better than at Chorley, a 2nd place in the senior men's race. Overall, we had eight top ten finishes. Emma Alderson was 10th Under 13 Girl, Jack Lenehan was 7th Under 13 Boy, Andrew Kershaw was 4th Under 15 Boy, Luke Tyson was 9th Under 15 Boy, Lauren Clarehugh was 7th Under 17 woman and Patrick Vis was 2nd Under 20 and 10th in the Senior Men's race.

First off were the Under 11 Girls and in an excellent field of 56 girls, Lilly-Ann Grayson was 33rd in 10:15 for the 2 kms course. Molly Morris was 37th in 10:40. Both girls also compete for the club in Sportshall Athletics.

In the Under 11 Boys' race, Ed Peacock and Max Davies carried club colours. Ed was 28th for the 2 kms in 9:45 and Max covered the distance in 13:44.

We had two runners again in the Under 13 Girls' race where another two Sportshall Athletics girls were in action. Emma Alderson was 10th in 9:55 for 2.5 kms and Nisha Kumari-Webster was 28th in 11:25.

We didn't have our strongest Under 13 Boys' team out but we did manage a team result, a 5th team place. The boys have only finished a team in 2 of the 4 league fixtures this season. First home for the club was once again Jack Lenehan, 9th at Burnley and 7th here at Hyndburn in 11:33 for 3 kms. Harry Peacock put in another stout performance, 22nd of the 50 finishers, in 12:27, then Chris Rimmer was 30th in 12:54, Fraser Garner 35th in 13:05 and Jimmy Alderson 46th in 14:06. I think this might have been Jimmy's first cross country race for the club.

With our Under 15 Girls competing in Merseyside for their school this weekend, we had no runners in this age group at Hyndburn.

We did, however, have a team in the Under 15 Boys' race where Andrew Kershaw was again our front runner finishing 4th in 13:59 for 4 kms. Luke Tyson was 9th in 14:25. Another strong run from Tom Shearer brought him home 25th in 16:33 and Matthew Tobin anchored the team in 18:49. A 2nd team placing maintained the silver medal ranking of our Under 15 Boys, behind Preston Harriers . Those medals now look assured as no other club can now complete a team at four meetings.

Lauren Clarehugh was our only Under 17 Woman running at Hyndburn. Lauren was 7th in 19:15 for the 4 kms. It doesn't look as though any club will win a team medal in this age group!

In the Under 17 Men we were again somewhat depleted with just Liam Ellis and Jonathan Foster running. Liam put in another gutsy performance, finishing 13th in 22:13 for 6 kms. with Jonathan 17th in 23:38. If we can get a team out at Barrow and / or Leyland, the Under 17 Men could well take bronze medals in the league this season. Only Chorley AC can spoil their chances!

On then to the Senior Women's race over 6 kms and twelve Southport Waterloo ladies toed the start line. Clare Constable was again our leading lady, finishing 27th in this field of 112 finishers in 25:54 for 6 kms. Tracey Peters and Michelle Spencer were never far apart but it was Tracey who finished 2nd counter in 27:00 and Michelle one place behind in 27:19. Those three completed our 'A' team in 10th place overall and 7th team in Division 1. That leaves the women in the relegation zone after four fixtures. Relegation is by no means a certain outcome, however. A strong performance at the remaining two fixtures, scoring significantly better than Lytham St Annes, will keep us up in Division 1 - but that will almost certainly need a bit of luck and a top ten finisher!

The next three finishers were our 'B' team of Sue Cooper (28:15), Sarah Grayson (28:54) and Helen Lodge (30:52). Sue was also 2nd L55. With two 2nd places and a 3rd so far this season, Sue looks well placed to win another League L55 medal this season. Other finishers were Carole Wright, 31:13, Christine Cutner, 31:15, Paula Davies, 31:45, Elaine Sutton, 32:30, Sue Stewart, 33:36, and Sheila Marshall, 36:10. Sheila was 1st L65.

Sue, Carole and Christine were 3rd L45 team and, once again, the club finished 1st L55 team with Sue Cooper, Christine and Sue Stewart. The L45 ladies are currently in Silver medal position but that could well change. Just one more team result for our L55 ladies will secure their league gold medals for the season.

Finally, 27 Southport Waterloo runners took part in the 3 lap Senior Men's race over approx 10 kms. Another brilliant run by James Tartt, the Merseyside bronze medallist, brought him home in 2nd place, behind Border's impressive James Douglas. He covered the distance in 33:02. Patrick Vis, 2nd Under 20, was our second senior counter, 10th in the senior race in 33:43, with Matt Thompson 17th in 34:17, Ben Johnson, 20th in 34:41, Steve Wilkinson, 24th in 35:00 and Richard Shearer 32nd in 35:30. That was the winning team with 91 points, ahead of Barrow's 99 points, Barrow missing their front runner Peter Huck.

So far in the team competition, Barrow have beaten us twice and we have beaten them twice. With the next fixture a home one for Barrow, combining with a fixture clash with the Parbold Hill race on the Saturday and the Southport Mad Dog 10K on the Sunday, our only realistic chance of retaining the senior title requires a win at the final fixture in Leyland. However, that would give Barrow three wins and SWAC three wins. The tie break rule then comes into play and and we have to total the score points in the season. After 4 fixtures Barrow is significantly ahead with 386 against our 435. Maybe we do need to take them on in Barrow!!

Back to our finishers where David Hamilton (37:49), Gerry Lenehan (38:02), Peter Roome (39:42), Neil Adshead (40:41), Rob Johnson (40:57) and Steve Lewis (41:00) finished 1st 'B' team. Other finishers were Steve McLean (41:06), Keith Lunt (41:54), Rick Bowker (43:00), Phil Bailey (43:32), Tom Peacock (43:39), John Sprackland (43:58), Mike Cunngingham (44:12), Mike Morgan (44:44), Simon Tobin, 44:59), Neil Silcock (45:09), Gareth Williams (46:24), Terry Hanley (47:35), team manager Steve James (51:20) and Rob Cosgrove (52:35). Phil Baxendale started but an injured ankle prevented a finish and another injured runner, Chris Dunn, came along to support the team.

Matt Thompson, Ritchie Shearer, David Hamilton and Gerry Lenehan won the Vet 40 team competition and remain in Div'n 1 gold medal position. Neil Adshead, Rob Johnson and Steve McLean won the Vet 50 team category and are in silver medal position but a good performance at Barrow or Leyland should give them gold. Phil Bailey, Terry Hanley and Steve James won the Vet 60 team category. They, too, are in silver medal position but are in a good position to end the season with gold medals.

A superb performance by our senior men ended a brilliant day's cross country running at Hyndburn. Well done to everyone!

The next cross country event is the Northern cross country championships at Pontefract in Yorkshire at the end of the month. The Merseyside Schools' champs are on Saturday 4th February and we return to Mid Lancs competition on Saturday 11th February.

Finally, this season has been the worst I can recall for runners leaving items in the club tent. Currently, I am holding: one pair XS black / grey Nike gloves; one pair black Everest gloves; one 'old-style' mesh SWAC vest; one blue hand towel; one pair green Wellington boots, size 4; one Nike cap-style hot; one black Hely Hansen glove; one pair Karrimor walking shoes, size 9; 1 black sock with pink / blue polka dots (other used and smelly socks have been thrown out!); one blue Virgin Active shoe back containing an 'almost new' pair of blue / white Adidas track spikes, size 5 1/2.

Full results. Team positions after 4 fixtures. More photos will appear on the Mid lancs web site.

12th January 2012: Torchlit 5k Social run (by Andrew Hudson)

Wednesday 18th January sees the penultimate evening gathering of senior runners at the former tip site adjacent to Dobbies, Benthams Way, Southport; A social 5k off road course illuminated only by head torches, glow sticks and heat generated by the soles of the runners!  As an alternative to midweek winter evening training, it provides a testing session with an element of competitiveness for those willing and able.

November’s event saw thirty-five runners with Ben Johnson lighting up the course with a blistering 17 minutes 48 seconds.  Forty participants is certainly a possibility this time particularly if supported by the Liverpool end which would no doubt keep Ben on his toes!

These things can only happen if supported so tweet, email, text, whatever! But be sure not to miss this great fun evening.

Usual start time of 7pm come rain or shine (which is unlikely) Loan of head torches available on the night.  As usual any helpers would be most appreciated.

9th January 2012: Road Grand Prix begins with praised Mad Dog 10K (by Steve McLean)

Southport's Mad Dog 10k was voted best 2011 10k in the UK in the current issue of Runner's World. Adrian Shandley, our Joint Road Running Secretary and Mad Dog race director, and his team are to be congratulated on that achievement.  This year's race on 12th February will be even bigger and better and members are asked not to delay in entering as the 1200 limit will be reached in the next few days.  This is important as it is the first race in our 2012 Grand Prix.

To whet your appetite further, the second race in our grand prix will be the inaugural Southport Age UK 10k on 4th March. Age UK are no strangers to organising top quality races as their Leeds Abbey Dash gets 8,000 entrants and was 8th in the Runner's World top 10k races mentioned above.

Further races in the grand prix will be announced shortly.

7th January 2012: Medals a-plenty at Merseyside XC Champs

A strong, cold northwesterly didn't make the wet and muddy conditions at Sherdley Park any more comfortable for many of the runners looking for medals, an automatic selection for the Inter Counties or just after a good run in the park after the Christmas break. The event was the 19th annual Merseyside County Cross Country Championships for age groups Under 13 to Senior and this year including a 'beginner' run for the county's 9 and 10-year olds.

Sherdley Park in St Helens has hosted these championships before and was the venue for the North of England championships a few years ago. So it is a well 'tried and tested' course. It is hilly and always wet and muddy in the dips if there has been recent rain - as was the case this year. On the higher ground, conditions were good to soft in places.

The first 6 finishers in the men's race and the first 4 in the other races were automatically selected to represent Merseyside in the Inter Counties Championships at Cofton Park, Birmingham, on 10th March. The remaining team places - up to eight in most races - will be decided by county selectors based on all available events up to the National XC Championships. Those club runners with automatic selection are: Ellie Roberts, Andrew Kershaw, Luke Tyson, Patrick Vis and James Tartt.

Individual medals were taken by Andrew Kershaw (Under 15 bronze), Clare Constable (F35 bronze), Sue Cooper (F45 silver), Patrick Vis (U20 bronze), James Tartt (Senior bronze), Matt Thompson (M40 gold) and Richard Shearer (M40 bronze). There were also plenty of team medals: Under 13 Boys' bronze, Under 15 Boys' silver, Under 17 Men bronze, Under 20 Men silver, Senior Women silver and Senior Men silver.

The first race of the day was the introductory non-championship race for 9 and 10 year old boys and girls. It wasn't the best start to the day's racing when they almost immediately ran off course and ran about half a kilometre further than intended. However, they all ran the same distance and almost all finished. For the club, Olivia Pines was 14th girl, home in 12:10. Ed Peacock was 9th boy in 12:07.

Emma Alderson was our only representative in the Under 13 Girls' race. She is shaping up as a great allrounder and finished this tough course 6th of 23 girls in 14:06 for 3 kms. Fingers are crossed for an Inter Counties selection!

There was just one girl too in Southport Waterloo colours in the Under 15 Girls' race. Ellie Roberts looked elegant in 4th place in 16:53 for 4 kms, 40 secs ahead of the 5th placed girl.

Five of our Senior Women competed at Sherdley Park. Once again, Clare Constable was first home for the club, 8th of 34 runners, in 34:42 for the muddy 8 kms; also taking an individual bronze F35 medal. Tracey Peters was next, 18th in 37:27 then Michelle Spencer finished in 38:57 with Sue Copper the final team counter taking the F45 individual silver medal in 39:11. Liz Stanfield was our final finisher in 43:20.

In a repeat of the positions from last year, the ladies took silver team medals behind Liverpool Harriers. Southport Waterloo were the Senior Women champions in 2006, 7 and 8 but even if some absentees were available today they would have been hard pressed to beat a fine team performance from the Harriers.

The club's boys were much better represented than the girls and six of them ran in the Under 13 Boys' race. Jack Lenehan led them home in 5th place in 12:11 for 3 kms behind four Liverpool Harriers. Good distance runner Harry Peacock was next in, in 13th place in 12:44, then Joe Gordon was 15th in 12:46. Jacob Roberts was the final team counter, 27th in 13:32, bringing the team home in bronze medal position. Chris Rimmer finished in 14:21 and Shaun McKiernan in 15:34.

We had hoped for more runners in the Under 15 Boys' race but four was enough for a team finish. Andrew Kershaw led for a while but had to settle in the end for 3rd place in 14:13 for 4kms, just failing in a close finish to pass the Wirral runner just a second in front! Andrew took a well-deserved individual bronze medal. Luke Tyson finished strongly for 4th place in 14:34. Michael Panes, still struggling with injury, was 9th in 15:20, but still has a chance at Inter Counties selection. Tom Shearer anchored the team, finishing 19th in 16:46. The team took silver medals behind Wirral's gold and ahead of Liverpool Harriers.

In the Under 17 Men's race we again had four runners. Niall Cullen was 7th in 23:07 for 6 kms, just ahead of Liam Ellis, 8th in 23:37. Jonathan Foster was 15th in 25:17 and Gary Clark 16th in 27:53. The boys took bronze medals.

The Under 20 Men ran 2 large laps for 8 kms and club followers were delighted to see a team finish, the first time in my memory at least! Patrick Vis was always well up at the front of the field and finished in bronze medal position in 27:58. Joe Vis was next, 6th in 29:24, so he too is well positioned for Inter Counties selection. David Gough finished in 33:58 and Jordan Shandley's run in 46:28 gave the runners silver team medals.

Finally, a great turnout of 22 Southport Waterloo Senior Men - more than from any other club in these championships! - toed the line for their 12 kms race. Another fine run by Jay Tartt was rewarded with an individual bronze medal. He completed the course in 41:02. Having only recently returned to running, Matthew Thompson has impressed with every race and was our 2nd team counter at Sherdley Park, and 1st M40, in 43:30, three places ahead of Richard Shearer, in 44:18 and taking the 3rd M40 medal. The remaining team counters were an improving Rob Berry, 15th in 44:23, Steve Wilkinson, 16th in 44:41 and David Hamilton, 19th in 45:28. The team took silver medals behind Liverpool Harriers. With 117 finishers, Gerry Lenehan was 29th (46:58), Peter Roome 40th (48:31), Neil Adshead 42nd (48:50), Rob Johnson 45th (49:29), Rick Bowker 49th (49:45), Matt Goddard 50th (49:48), Steve McLean 52nd (49:49), Keith Lunt 57th (50:30), Steve Lewis 58th (50:43), Rob Ashworth 65th (52:08), Mike Cunningham 73rd (53:14), M Sutton 81st (53:50), Tom Peacock 84th (54:20), Terry Hanley 98th (56:25), Phil Baxendale 111th (60:28) and A N Other 113th in 60:51.

Thanks to all team managers and all the runners for a great club performance.

The next cross country events are the Mid Lancs League at Hyndburn next Saturday and the Northern championships at Pontefract two weeks later.

Full results

1st January 2012: A traditional start to the New Year

Its traditional! The perfect way for a number of our hardy runners to start the New Year is with a run from the Coast Guard station in Blundellsands to Weld Road, Birkdale, along the Sefton Coastal Path. The path runs about 22 miles from Waterloo station in the south to Crossens in the north, the New Years' Day route being about 15 miles. This year was the 23rd consecutive club run.

As the 10.30 am start time arrived no fewer than 30 runners assembled by the beach at Blundellsands, as impressive a sight as you are likely to see in these parts; with apologies to Anthony Gormley's standing men. Its certainly a few years since so many were seen on a New Year's Day morning and just another indicator of the strength of our senior running squad, both men and women.

It was dry as they set off but the forecast rain was never far away. But it would not be long before many of them regrouped and shared experiences in the Fishermen's Rest afterwards.