14 May 2008: Sophie Nicola arrives

Litherland sprints coaches Tina and Graham Pilkington were delighted to announce the arrival of baby daughter Sophie Nicola - 6lbs 3 1/2.  Both mum and child are doing well, mum keen to persuade doctors she can get home in time for the YAL on Sunday!!

13 May 2008: Grand Prix update .. and more (by Brian Grice)

The next Club Grand Prix race is the popular Walton Park 5 next Tuesday, May 20th at 7.30pm (an entry form can be downloaded by googling ‘Liverpool Running Club’). The Club Grand Prix rankings have been updated to include the results of last week’s Waterloo 15k but the Liverpool Women’s 10k results are not yet available.
The spreadsheet of SWAC Waterloo 15k performances has been updated to show that 279 Southport Waterloo runners have taken part in the race since 1987 with Kevin Taylor and Sue Cooper posting the fastest times. Everyone’s photo was taken at the 14km marker at this year’s race and can be viewed on ‘Ed Stagg’s’ website.
There is disappointing news for local runners that the ‘Run Liverpool’ initiative is to be discontinued due to the prohibitive cost of staging road races in the area. This almost certainly means the end of the big races in Liverpool from next year: Liverpool Half Marathon, Liverpool 10k, Liverpool Women’s 10k, Tunnel 10k, and Santa’s Dash.
There is also disappointing news for runners in this year’s Blackpool Marathon, where so many runners posted excellent times. It transpires that the course was at least 0.7 miles short and the performances of competitors have been expunged from the ‘Power of 10’ rankings and the 'Athletics Data' records. Please don't shoot the messenger!

11 May 2008: Liverpool best kept 10K secret (by Sue Cooper)


After four days of anxious waiting, the Liverpool Women’s 10K “Best Kept Secret” has finally been revealed.  Yes, the results are now out!
I reported last year on the 10K’s sad transition from a true sports event, attracting elite athletes and first timers alike, to a mass fun run.  This year was no different.  Where once Mary Peters was invited along to present prizes and team trophies, this time we were treated to a visit from Gok Wan, from Channel 4’s “How to look good Naked”.  Nowadays, very few club runners and even fewer elite athletes bother to enter.  The race was won by Liverpool Harrier Jenny Clague in 37:35.  Jenny was the only runner out of over 1700 to complete the course in under 40 minutes.
Six SWAC members turned up on the day and, in spite of everything, we did actually enjoy the race. The course covered two laps of Sefton Park.  The weather was hot, humid and sunny but it was relatively pleasant running under the shade of the trees and there was plenty of spectator support along the way.  Our main criticism was the finish.  Just before we turned off the road and back into the finishing area, we caught up with lots of ‘stragglers’ who were completing their first lap and effectively blocking the way for faster runners.  I would advise anyone doing the race next year to take a bicycle bell with them!
Our times weren’t bad considering the heat and the massed start.  I was fourth, finishing in 40:58, a slight improvement on Croxteth Park.  Rachel Thomas finished in 49:15, Sharon Pardoe 52:23, Emma Felton 59:50, Sheila Marshall 60:30 and Marie Hornby 61:44.
Full results

11 May 2008: Merseyside Champs update - New Championship Records

There were 9 championship records - or championships 'best performances' - set yesterday and three of them were set by Southport Waterloo athletes. Under 13 Sally Wareing's 20.4 in the heat of the 150m equalled the championship record.  And two new championship records were set by Under 17 James Armstrong - 11.1 in the 100m, shaving 0.1 off the previous best time, and 22.5 in the 200m, again shaving 0.1 secs.
James Armstrong's 100m and 200m times are also new Club Records having only just entered the Under 17 age group. In fact, his 200m time of 22.5 secs is the fastest time ever run by a Southport Waterloo athlete of any age! Patrick Vis' 1500m steeplechase time of 4:54.8 was another Club Record, in fact the 4th of the day - unless there's another one passed me by!

10 May 2008: 'Basic' support at Blackpool 10K(by David Hamilton)

Blackpool has never been one of my favourite places but the prospect of a flat 10K on a warm May morning attracted me there on Sunday. The Beaverbrooks 10K is a well supported race with around 3000 entering, although I didn't see any other SWAC athletes. Good organisation meant it set off on time and after negotiating a few over ambitious fun runners I was soon into my running along Blackpool promenade. There was plenty of encouragement from spectators, many of whom seemed to have hit the bars early (or hadn't stopped from the night before!) so some of the shouts were 'basic' to say the least. The race was won by Jonathon Prowse from Blackpool AC, and despite being passed by the first female (Anna Pitchrtova) in the final mile I hung in to duck under 35mins, finishing 7th in 34.57.

10 May 2008: First major competition for Chris Honess (by Graham Pilkington)

As people will be aware, the Paralympic World Cup has been taking place in Manchester over the last week. The culmination of this event was the athletics which took place at Sports City this Sunday.
Senior athlete Chris Honess was selected to run in one of the development races which took place right at the beginning of a packed schedule of athletics. Whilst this is not a full GB selection, as Chris was running as an individual, it shows the progress that Chris has made over the last year to be asked to run in this competition. This will give him valuable experience of running in a major tournament environment and in front of the television cameras.
A number of Chris's training partners and coaches as well as family turned out to watch him compete on a gloriously sunny day in the 200m and Chris did not disappoint.
Following three false starts Chris had an excellent start, something that he has been devoting a lot of time to in training, to come off the bend in second place. This was a position he managed to maintain and into a slight head wind he ran a personal best of 28.00 seconds.
Chris felt that there was still more to come as he tensed up a bit on the last section of a race, but to run so well in his first ever major competition is something in which he can be very proud.
Chris's ultimate aim this season is obviously to make the team for the Beijing Paralympics, but even if he is not successful in this he has made great strides this winter and has an extremely good chance of one of the other later international meetings.
It must be remembered that Chris is a relative new comer to athletics, compared to most of the people he is competing against, as he has been training for less than two years. His progress in this time has been astounding and if he is not successful in the short term of reaching Beijing then he has to be in with a good chance of the even greater prize of London 2012.

10 May 2008: 15 Gold medals and 3 English Schools qualifiers at Merseyside County Champs

On a glorious, warm, summer's day at Wavertree,he best in the county gathered for the annual county games, where the best in Merseyside compete for county medals.  Well, that's the theory but once again the county championships underwhelmed.  Numbers were disappointing - take for example the under 13 girls' 1200m where only two Liverpool Harriers toed the line - and with once again very few seniors taking part.
Numbers from Southport Waterloo were down on last year -   20% down! - and so were the medals won.  However, it was harder to win a medal this year as there had to be up to two entered to award gold, three to award gold and silver and at least four to award a full set.  Nonetheless, Southport Waterloo athletes did well to leave with at least 27 medals: 15 gold, 7 silver and 5 bronze.
With the season now well under way, many juniors are looking for entry standards to English Schools etc and there were several impressive performances today.  In addition to the medal haul, James Armstrong achieved English Schools entry standard in both the 100m and 200m and Adam Davies made it in the hammer.  The 28 athletes achieved 28 personal bests, five grade 1 standard performances, six grade 2 standards and twelve grade 3 standards.
Sally Wareing was our only Under 13 Girl but what a day she had!  She started off with a win in her heat of the 150m, in a PB 20.4 and, after a grueling 800m where she finished 2nd in a grade 2 time of 2:31.4, she won the 150m final in 20.8.  She also chose a field event - the shot - and had another 2nd with a PB throw of 6m 97.  That's 3 medals and 3 PBs today.  Very impressive!
In the Under 13 Boys, the one to watch was Michael Panes; to see how he would fare against the other Merseyside lads in the 1500m in his first year in the age group.  He quickly moved to the front and, with Liam Ellis putting the pressure on from behind, eventually strode away to win decisively in 4:56.5.  That's an excellent grade 2 time and a new PB by 4 secs.  Liam Ellis followed Michael in and his time was also a PB, 5:03.6, Michael taking gold and Liam bronze.
Training mate Adam Laughton was the 3rd medal winner, taking his bronze in the 800m, in a new PB time of 2:32.8.
Every one of our boys in this age group achieved a PB today.  Jordan Angell equalled his 100m PB of 14.6 and set a new PB of  29.3 for 200m. Jordan's 29.3 and Adam Laughton 29.4 are the fastest times this year by our under 13 boys.  Gary Clark equalled his PB in the 75m hurdles with a run of 16.5 and pushed out his PB in both the 800m (2:36.0) and the high jump (1m 25).
In the Under 15 Girls, the best performance was by Eleanor Newton in the 75m hurdles where she took a silver medal in a new PB and grade 2 time of 12.3 secs.  But the performance that will stay with me was Katie Morris' in the 800m.  In a large field of 13 girls running off the curved line, Katie started well to the first bend then settled into the race.  There wasn't much between the leaders at the bell and Katie found herself well back in 4th place approaching 600m.  She was well placed to challenge for 3rd place as they passed 200m to go but she then really kicked in, passing the 3rd girl, then the 2nd girl going down the finishing straight and then caught the leader on the line.  What a race! Her time of 2:26.7 was just 0.7 off last year's PB but if she can win races like that she has a great future as an 800m runner.
Ellon Hart also ran the 800m, in 2:37.6, a good time but it was in the 200m she took her medal, a bronze in a PB time of 27.5, an improvement of 0.7 secs.  Beth McBride was just in front, for silver in another PB time of 27.3, and Lucy Whitehead just behind in 28.7.  Lucy also took a medal, however, in the long jump with 4m 38.
Finally, Catherine Hulme ran 5:29.6 in the 1500m, just outside her best for the distance.
There were just four of our boys in the Under 15 Boys' events but they managed three gold medals.  Two of them went to Josh Hughes, who is proving a superb sprinter.  In the 200m, he cruised through to win in 23.8, a new PB, a grade 1 standard and an English Schools' qualifying time.  His win in the 100m, in 12.0 secs, was another PB and a grade 2 standard.  Just awesome!
The other gold medallist was Danny Driver who equalled his PB in the 80m hurdles with 13.1.
In fact, all our under 15 boys achieved PBs.  Sean Vis equalled his PB in the 100m with 14.7 and set a new PB of 3m 99 in the long jump.  And Elliot Barron ran PBs in both the 100m and the 200m with 13.0 and 26.3.
Surprisingly, we had no Under 17 Women out today.  The Under 17 Men were the most productive in terms of medals, taking at least 8 between, 5 of them gold!
Rico Dalle Mulle and Josh Murphy were first up, in the 400m hurdles.  Rico's time of 59.3 was his first sub 60 time for the distance and brought him a silver medal.  Josh's 68.7 was his first sub-70 time.
The star performer was once again James Armstrong who is back to consistent grade 1 standard performances.  22.5 secs, an English Schools qualifying time, won him the 200m straight final. In heat 2 of his 100m race, he won in a relaxed 11.5 before going on to set a new standard with a PB 11.1 to win the final - another English Schools qualifying time!
Adam Davies continues to maintain good form in the hammer where he won his competition with a best of 53m 40; that's a grade 1 throw and another English Schools qualifying distance.
Jordan Kelly (at last!) got over 6 metres in the long jump to win the competition with 6m 17.  I think he also won the triple jump with a jump in excess of 12 metres but that result is missing as I write.
The last gold medal winner was Joe Vis in the 3000m.  Joe ran a perfect race, sitting just behind Shaun Egan until he made a decisive move in the last lap and powered down the home straight to win in 9:21.6, a new PB by 14 secs.  I'm sure Joe could have eased passed earlier but his tactics were absolutely right to win the race - which is what racing is about - and give us confidence that even faster times will follow this year!
Later, brother Patrick and David Gough were taking on the challenging 1500m steeplechase.  With Chris Hesketh leaving the rest of the field behind, Patrick sensibly settled for 2nd place, in 4:54.8, with David Gough running well for 3rd place in 5:06.0 taking silver and bronze medals.
Finally, in the Junior Women, Steph James was the only Under 20 800m runner, running 2:20.2 today.  Rhea Ellis improved her Under 20 1500m club record time to 4:49.6 in a hard, gutsy run and Katie McHale ran 15.5 secs in the 100m hurdles.  Katie also triple jumped but her result is still awaited.
This was an enjoyable day's athletics.  Well done to those who achieved what they set out to achieve.  For those who didn't, there is plenty of time left this season!
Thanks to Robbie Clark for today's photos.
Results for club athletes.  Full results

5 May 2008: Margot & Andy head north

"Andy and I would like to pass our thanks on to all our SWAC friends for their overwhelming kindness and friendship. We were bowled over yesterday by the turnout at gthe Park and the generosity shown - Gairloch Runners have an exceedingly hard act to follow! We'll miss you all very much but will keep in touch and check out the web site regularly as it's a great way of seeing what's happening. A lot of you have our blog address so we can keep you posted on our adventures up north.
The club has been very good for us and we hope that you continue to move forward and motivate new members to get so much more out of life both in and out of running shoes.
Many thanks to everyone. You'll be in our thoughts as we toil away the summer, making our garden from the wilderness that's there now. Will send some pictures as it progresses, and that jigsaw will be there for when the snow comes!

Best wishes,

Margot & Andy"

5 May 2008: Numbers up at popular Waterloo 15K races
 

The early May bank holiday weekend is the busiest of the year for Southport Waterloo officials and members with the annual Waterloo 15K races falling hot on the heels of the Northern Senior League on Saturday and the Young Athletes League on Sunday. For race director Mike Wilkinson and his team led by Steve Wilkinson, much of the weekend was spent setting up the courses for Monday's races.  There is a tremendous amount of organisation goes on in the background to these events and, although there was a problem with the 3K fun run this year, the crowds enjoyed the usual relaxed carnival atmosphere in the playing fields of Merchant Taylors School in Blundellsands, with whole families turning out and music and informed commentary provided by DJ Alan Black.
The day started bright, warm and sunny but became overcast as the 15K race time approached making for cool running conditions.  An almost total absence of wind made for a very pleasant day for everyone.
This was the 24th running of this event so next year's 25th race is already being planned as a special anniversary occasion.  The 5K and 15K courses were the same as last year although a new farmer had kindly cut the grass through his fields giving a very clear route for the runners to follow as they headed out towards the Altcar training camp.  Afterwards, sponsor Gillions had again laid on a roast pig which proved popular for spectators and runners.
The first race of the day was the 3K Fun Runtotally off road, on the well mown grass around the playing fields.  The event proved more popular this year with queues to register on the day right up to race time.  The course should have involved a start area and then 2 full circuits of the playing fields but the runners came in or perhaps were directed in after only 1 complete circuit.  It isn't exactly clear how this happened but they only did about 1.8 km today. 340 runners finished the course, up by 24% on last year.  As they were well bunched up having run the shorter distance the finish funneling and finish recorders did an excellent job to get them all recorded.
Southport Waterloo's Niall Cullen, fresh (!?!) from running a 4:40 1500m the day before, was first home in 6:48 for about 1.8K,  ahead of Greg Cooke, also of Southport Waterloo.  Jonathan Allen of Preston Harriers was 3rd in 7.10.  With Gary Clark 5th in 7.20 and Jack Partington 7th in 7:27, the club had 4 finishers in the top 10.
The first female finisher was 13-year old Lucie Farrell from Ormskirk in 7:35, with 10-year old Maria McGoldrick 2nd in 8:15 and Ellie Roberts of Great Crosby Primary 3rd in 8.15.  9-year old Lauren Deane was the first Southport Waterloo runner to finish, 5th girl in 8:35.
Other club finishers were Alex Roome, 7:47, James Hough, 7:57, Sean Vis, 8:00, Matthew Tobin, 8:04, Patrick Cullen, 8:19, Kieren Paxton, 8:29, Maria Stanfield, 9:08, Matt Ashby, 9:10, Ian and Luke Spencer, 9:11, Nell Vitty, 10:17, John and Kieran Vis, 10:19, Lucy Hunter, 10:21, Anabel Wickstead, 10:29, Emma Dryden, 10:45, Sam and Dylan Howard, 11:00 and Paul and Hannah Ashby 11:09.
Short Fun Run Results.
The 5K Fun Run gives runners a choice between 3K and the grueling 15K multi-terrain course. In fact, the 5K course follows the southern end of the 15K course so a good introduction to the longer event.  120 finished the course last year and numbers were slightly down this year at 114.  The race was won by Keith Middleman in 18:37 with Brian Renton 2nd in 19:19 and Kirsty Longley 3rd overall and 1st lady in 19:30.  2nd lady finisher was Christine Murphy in 20:20 and 3rd was Julie Lenehan in 21:09. Southport Waterloo's Neil Adshead was 4th overall in 19:38.
Other club finishers I can identify were Gareth Williams, 10th in 20:54, Matthew Dryden, 25th in 23:55, Clive James, 27th in 24:13, Colin Dryden, 36th in 25:03, Graham O'Neill, 54th in 26:46, Sandra Waters, 56th in 27:16 and Emma Thompson, 110th in 37:48.
5K Fun Run Results
The main race of the day, the multi-terrain Gillions Waterloo 15K, attracted 528 finishers, 10% up on last year. One of the most memorable sights of the day was the long snake of 15K runners covering the full length of the playing fields.   The winner was Matt Moorhouse of Salford Harriers in 51:08, with Southport Waterloo's Richard Shearer 2nd in 51:13 and Paul Sankey, Liverpool Running Club, 3rd in 51:18.  With Rob Dewhurst of Liverpool Harriers 4th in 51:30, the first 4 runners were faster than the 2006 course record of 51:43, set by Liverpool's John McCole.  That was broken last year by Paul Freary of Belgrave Harriers who ran 49:58 but there is no doubting the leaders finished in very fast times today. The ladies' race was won by Lindsay Fitzgerald of Bolton United Harriers in 64:33 with Karen Erlandson 2nd in 66:39 and Jeanette Fox 3rd in 66:34.  These times compare with Sam Howard's 60:29 run last year.  (Sam has not got the London Marathon out of her legs yet and ran around the fun run with son Dylon.)
Southport Waterloo had four finishers in the top 20.  After Richard, Steve Wilkinson was 10th in 54:22, David Hamilton 12th in 54:53, Mark Purdy 18th in 56:38 and Gerry Lenehan 20th in 56:44.  The men took the team prize, Liverpool Harriers losing out as team vests were not worn.
Other men finishers were Rick Bowker, 25th in 57:16, Peter Roome, 33rd in 59:08 making for seven club runners to dip under 60 minutes, Ian Dodds, 40th in 60:32, Brian Davey, 49th in 61:31, Chris Dunn, 65th in 63:40, Paul Ashby, 73rd in 63:58, Andy Hudson, 79th in 64:33, Ian Kilshaw, finding a late sprint to finish 84th in 65:11, Mike Walker, 85th in 65:21, Phil Dean, 92nd in 66:00, Boyd Park, 121st in 68:09, Colin Wolfarth, 150th in 69:21, Dominic Cooke, 169th in 70:37, Alan Gray, 180th in 71:23, Brian Grice, 313th in 79:44, Nick Sinclair, 340th in 80:54, Derek Fraser, 343rd in 81:00, Peter Brinkley, 368th in 82:27, Richard Hughes, 434th in 87:00 and Jon Singleton, 510th in 99:07.
Tracy Peters led the Southport Waterloo women home to yet another team victory. Tracy ran 69:55, with Vicki Harvey 71:52, Karen Faloon 73:18 and Carole James 74:29.  Other women finishers were Liz Stanfield, 75:10, Chris Cutner, 75:27, Rachel Thomas, 77:40, Michelle Spencer, 77:47, Margot Bowker, 78:54, Margaret Cooke, 79.12, Sharon Pardoe, 80:37, Gill Gillison, 90:45, Emma Felton, 93:00 and Shiela Marshall, 93:02.
15K results
Many thanks to Mike Wilkinson for organising today's event and the army of helpers too many to mention individually but without whom there would be no race.  Do you have ideas for making the 25th anniversary event a special occasion?  Let Mike Wilkinson know.
 

4 May 2008: Great start for Young Athletes at Blackpool

The Young Athletes League kicked off today and Southport Waterloo's juniors travelled to Blackpool for their first match in the Northern Premier Division.  On paper, it looked a difficult match to predict with no form guide for the 2008 season.  Gateshead were bound to be strong and were favourite to win the tie but Blackpool and Wirral were unknown quantities, Wirral struggled last season to stay up and Blackpool were just promoted back up to the Premier Division but are a strong track & field club
We needn't have worried.  When the first scores were announced after 19 events, we were in 2nd place and easily held on to that position.  Our athletes couldn't have done any better so it was a great start to the league season.  Final scores were Gateshead 469, Southport Waterloo 375, Blackpool Wyre & Fylde 353 and Wirral 300.5.  However, unlike the seniors, the girls were once again the weaker team, finishing 20 points behind Blackpool, in 3rd place.
After a glorious day at Ellesmere Port the day before, the weather at Blackpool was showery and windy and times were on the whole slower than we might have hoped.  Normally, YAL results for club athletes are peppered with personal bests; but not so on Sunday although there were some impressive performances.  There are no Athlete of the Match awards this year but Adam Davies would otherwise have been in the frame.  His 55m 62 hammer throw was a grade 1 standard and an English Schools national standard - that's higher than an entry standard!  Also amongst the Under 17s, James Armstrong ran 22.8 in the 200m, another grade 1 standard and an English Schools qualifying time safely tucked under his belt.
But performances were more about the team than the individual.  The girls wore blue and yellow ribbon and many had blue and yellow painted nails - and some of the boys too!
We seem to be really short of Under 13 Girls this season with Sally Wareing the strongest.  She had the best performance with a 2nd place in the 800m, running a grade 2 time of 2:35.7, just 2 seconds down on last year's PB.  EmiliaLawless achieved a PB in the shot with 5m 59 giving her a 2nd place.  Emma Dryden, who has competed in cross country as an under 11, made her track & field debut running 13.1 for 100m and the 70m hurdles in 16.5.  Amy Aitchson and Isabelle Fitzsimmons were making their first appearance too in a club vest, both girls running 150m in about 25 secs.
There were some newcomers in the Under 13 Boys too but also some familiar names and faces.  This age group did well for PBs with 8 achieved in the afternoon..  The best performance was probably Liam Ellis in the 1500m, improving his best time for the distance to 5:06.0.  Adam Mackie also did very well, winning the shot competition with a PB 7m 91 and recording more PBs in the 200m and the long jump.
In the 800m, both our runners achieved PBs, George Ingram improving from 2:41 to 2:34 and Gary Clark taking 11 secs off his previous best with a good run in 2:36.9.  Patrick Cullen started training with the club over the winter and competed on the track for the first time today in the 100m, 75m hurdles and 1500m.  A 2nd place in the hurdles in 17.0 was a good result!
Amongst our Under 15 Girls, there were only 2 PBs achieved but Eleanor Newton had the best results, winning both her 75m hurdles race in 12.7 secs and the high jump with 1m 43.  The PBs were achieved by Catherine Hulme, running 5:29.1 in the 1500m, and Sarah Murphy, with a shot put of 7m 30.  Patsy Irizar joined Catherine in the 1500m and seemed to have enjoyed her first run over this distance.  5:35 was a good first time.  The girls were also together picking up points in the javelin
In the 800m, Katie Morris was 2nd with 2:27.9, her 2nd time this year around that mark, and Ellon Hart was just behind, running a season's best 2:34.8 to win the 'B' race.
Beth McBride was our best sprinter, running 13.9 and 27.9 for the double. Lucy Whitehead ran 29.0 for the 200m and won the 'B' hurdles race in 14.3 giving the club maximum points from that event.  We also took maximum points in the high jump, Ellon Hart jumping 1m 35 to win the 'B' competition.
Amongst the Under 15 Boys, Josh Hughes was once again the star attraction and certainly his grade 2 sprints of 12.1 and 24.4 to win the 100m and 200m were a joy to watch.   His finishing is so relaxed you feel he is improving with every outing.  Joshua also won the hammer competition but that is more a comment on the opposition!   Elliot Barron joined Josh in the sprints and his 26.8 for 200m was a PB.
But some of the most impressive results were in the middle distances.  In the 800m, Chris Lawson ran a season's best 2:31 and Graham Boreham ran a PB 2:37.9, an improvement of 3 seconds.  In the 1500m, Niall Cullen led for most of the race but in the end had to settle for 2nd place.  But his time of 4:40.9 compares with 5:02 on his last outing, admittedly when he, oddly, ran his 1500m together with 3000m runners!  With training, Niall has the potential to be a very good middle distance runner.
Back in the sprints, Josh Francis ran 56.9 in the 400 and new member Ryan Williams ran 60.4 for a 2nd place in the 'B' competition. Josh Francis was perhaps, however, happier in the field where he won both the shot and the javelin with personal best throws of 11m 08 and 35m 98, the latter a 2 metre improvement on last year's best throw.
Elsewhere Sean Vis had a season's best long jump and Alex Roome earned valuable points in the 1500m, hurdles and shot.
The boys completed the 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relays but a poor baton change in the 4 x 100m led to an inevitable disqualification!
Turning then to the Under 17 Women, the team manager had to work overtime to cover the events and can be pleased that only the pole vault and 'B' high jump were blank.  With GCSEs approaching, all clubs have difficulty at this time of year.
Once again, Lauren Brennan was the best performer, 2nd in the 200m in 27.1 and winning the 300m in a better time of 41.8, just 2 tenths off an English Schools time.  Her long jump of 4m 43 was a new PB, beating the PB of 4m 20 she set just the day before.  Sarah Spencer won the triple jump with 9m 84 and Rachael Flynn was demonstrating why she is such a good athlete with 2nd places in the 300m hurdles, in 49.6, and the 80m hurdles, in 13.0.
Others in the sprint events were Sarah Spencer in the 100m,  Louise Kelly covering both 100m and 200m and Emma Lyons, winning the 'B' 300m race. Charlotte Buckingham had an interesting afternoon, covering the 800m, where 2:47.2 was a PB, 300m hurdles and triple jump.  Sarah Docherty was our best 800m runner on the day, with 2:38.4.
Jenny Girdler and Louise Leek were game enough to run the 3000m and then ease around the 1500m.  Jenny's 11:43.5 for the 3K was a good PB for the distance.
Jane Ingram made a welcome return to competition.  She may not be back to race fitness in the 800m but she long jumped a good 4m 33, put the shot 5m 92 and featured in the 4 x 100m relay where the girls came 3rd in 56.0.  Elsewhere in the field,
Emma Lyons had a good discus throw of 18m 47, Jacqueline Parry featured in the javelin and shot and Rachael Gibbon joined Louise Leek in the hammer.
Finally, the best performances of the day were by Under 17 Men.  Adam Davies may have a sciatica problem but it isn't affecting his throwing much with 55m 62 in the hammer, a grade 1 standard and an English Schools qualifying time and national standard.  Adam and Alex Martland had the throws sown up between them, Alex preferring the javelin of course where his best throw was a magnificent 40m 79.
Still in the field, Jordan Kelly continues to impress in the horizontal jumps.  His 5m 85 was another excellent long jump and he got over 12 metres for the first time in the triple jump with a best of 12m 08.  Nick Giles and Andrew Starkey were our high jumpers, Nick clearing 1m 55 and Andrew 1m 45.
Back on the track, James Armstrong was the man to watch, winning both the 100m and 200m in 11.5 and 22.8, the latter giving James an early season English Schools qualifying time.  Andrew Starkey was on form too, running PBs in both the 200m and the 400m.  His 52.2 for 400m is a grade 2 standard and shows the quality of Andrew's running.  As far as I am aware, only one Southport Waterloo runner - Peter Lloyd-Jones - has ever run under 50 minutes.  If Andrew and James Armstrong continue to develop their potential, that number could increase threefold!
In the middle distance events, team points were the order of the day with Jai Vernon-McGuigan running both the 800m and the 1500m, in 2:18 and 4:44.  Joe Vis' 2:12.3 for 800m was a new PB and brother Patrick had a hard head-to-head with Sean Egan of Wirral AC in the 3000m. Eventually Sean won that battle but Patrick came through the finish line in a new PB time of 9:40.9.  Both Joe Vis and David Gough registered PBs in the 1500m steeplechase, Joe taking 2nd place in 4:59.2 and David running 5:29.4.
Hurdler Rico Dalle Mulle has been practising the longer sprint event and it paid off with a 2nd place in the 400m hurdles in 60.7 secs.  He was also 3rd in the 100m hurdles in 15.2.  Others competing were Josh Murphy in the 100m, flat and hurdles, and Rob Anderson, joining Jordan Kelly in the long and triple jump and recording a PB triple jump of 11m 85.
With such quality sprinters it was no surprise that the lads won the 4 x 100m relay in a very impressive 45.9 secs.  The League Record is 42.28 so you have a little way to go yet!
So it was a great day's athletics and I'm sure all the athletes and spectators will have enjoyed the atmosphere at Blackpool.  The next League date is 18th May and the venue is Litherland so we can take full advantage of a home fixture.
Thanks to our team managers; the heavily pregnant Tina Pilkington for the boys and Graham Morris who has just taken over the girls and has to be congratulated on his first match.  Thanks too to our officials; Chris Henders, Sue Gellett, Paul Brennan, Lesley Scott, Sue Ingram, Steve Boreham, Dave Whitehead and A N Other.  Thanks too, to Carlos Irizar for today's photos, both here and on his photo gallery.
Results for Southport Waterloo athletes. Full results.

3 May 2008: Seniors open T&F season with a 4th place

What a good start!  A successful season last year meant our senior track & field athletes were promoted up to Division 2 West in the Northern League this year and a 4th place in the first match at Ellesmere Port shows just how that promotion was justified!  In fact, we were only half a point behind LPS and we were 1st equal with hosts West Cheshire in the women's match!  West Cheshire were 1st overall with 392 points, Preston Harriers 2nd with 345.5, LPS 3rd with 324.5, we were 4th with 324, the combined Lancaster & Morecambe / Kendal team who were promoted with us from Division 3 were 5th with 302 points and Seaton AC were last with 245 points.  There is no room for complacency here but we didn't have our strongest team out today and should comfortably stay in Division 3 - provided the seniors turn out!
Stephanie May was a rock for the women's team competing to a high standard in 6 events and Under 17 Lauren Brennan was outstanding in the sprints.  For the men, it was good to see new seniors Richard Shearer, Gerry Lenehan and Carlos Irizar getting involved in track & field and Under 20 John Cunningham impressed with significant improvements to his previous best times over 200m and 400m.
Looking first at the women's results, Lauren Brennan had a great day, winning the 100m in a PB 12.6 secs, winning the 200m in a PB equalling time of 25.8 and improving her long jump PB by 2 cms to 4m 20.  Even at this higher level in the seniors league she was a class apart and looks set for a great season.
Katie McHale was another winner.  In the 100m hurdles her winning time was 15.0 and, with a PB of 14.99 secs, she was almost certainly faster than that today, manual times being rounded up to the nearest tenth.  She won the triple jump with 10m 39 and was 2nd in the long jump with 4m 88.  But she was possibly best pleased with her 2nd place run in the 400m hurdles where she ran 69.9, a big improvement on the 73 secs she ran at Wavertree last month.
Stephanie May is always in the midst of the action and a great all-round athlete.  She started with a good pole vault of 2m, better than her best last season, and ran a season's best 400m for a 2nd place in 59.6, a two second improvement on her
time at the Wavertree Open.  She was so determined to do well in the 200m that she finished with an abdominal muscle in spasm but recovered to help her team in both the relays.  Oh, and a hammer throw for a few more points!
Charlotte Buckingham made a cautious return to athletics but she needed have worried, winning the 'B' 100m hurdles in 19.3 and picking up valuable points in the high jump, triple jump and relay.
Katy Hooton hasn't been able to fit in much training recently but 13.7 in the 100m and 71.1 in the 400m wasn't too bad - and again, valuable points that helped the girls to their 1st equal score!  Katy throws a mean discus too, 18m 31 today!
Senior road runners Sue Cooper and Angela Delaney covered the 3000m and then the 1500m.  Sue says "It doesn't get any easier" but 11:23.3 for the 3K was a respectable time.  Angela's 12:06.4 was an impressive 39 seconds better than her last 3K on the track, in 2006.
In the throws, Ann Dignan was the mainstay covering shot, discus, javelin and hammer, the latter probably the her best throw of 16m 57.
Finally, you can't fault a team manager who leads from the from.  There weren't many gaps in the team sheet today but team manager Barbara May plugged a javelin gap with a throw herself and she was also seen to run the 2nd leg of the 4 x 100m relay, passing the baton on to thrower Ann Dignan.  Now that's commitment!
The men's team could have been stronger for a variety of reasons but those competing gave their best in many different events.  Under 20 John Cunningham ran in both the 200m and the 400m and set new PBs in both.  In the 200m, he improved from 27.2 last year to 25.1 and, in the 400m, last year's best time of 60.4 was reduced to 57.0 secs today.  These are impressive improvements which show the benefits JC is deriving from his intensive winter training.
Senior Chris Honess ran a season's best 13.4 in the 100m but Josh Murphy, warming up for Sunday's YAL, was faster with 13.1.
Stephen Marshall was the only event winner for the men.  Running in his 21st or 22nd consecutive Northern League season, Steve has to balance training with his family life but he always remains fit enough to run good 110m hurdles times. His 18.7 today, equalling his best time from two years ago, was enough to win the 'A' race and in the more stamina-demanding 400m hurdles he produced a good run of 67.7, 3 secs faster than last year's best time.
Nathan Ouko was another stalwart, competing in 7 events; both hurdles, 400m, relay, high, long and triple jumps. Versatile athletes like Nathan are invaluable to any team manager.
Road runners Gerry Lenehan, Richard Shearer and David Hamilton featured in the middle and distance races, looking every bit the part amongst track specialists.  In the 800m, both Gerry and Richard ran 2:08 and with a bit of specialist training you could see them going sub-2 mins.  Gerry accompanied Jai Vernon McGuigan in the 1500m.  Jai was holding back, knowing he had a busy day ahead of him on Sunday at the YAL but Gerry was a strong runner and clocked 4:33 for the distance.  In the longer 5000m, a more familiar pace for road runners, Richard teamed up with David Hamilton, Richard running 16:10 for 3rd place and David 17:04, about the same time he ran at the first fixture last year, at Wavertree.
Newcomer Ryan Kearney was a revelation.  Only Under 17, he successfully cleared 1m 60 in the high jump, a grade 4 standard, triple jumped 9m 60 and threw the javelin 26m 77.
Elsewhere in the field, Peter Mason and Sam Moran have been the backbone of our throws team for some time now and were there to build up the points in this first fixture.  Interestingly, Peter threw exactly the same distance in both hammer and discus - 27m 13.  A slim Sam Moran made his first appearance of the season, with his best throw probably the 29m 09 in the javelin.
Finally, veteran Carlos Irizar teamed up with under 17 David Gough in the 3K steeplechase.  David was another who was saving something for the YAL - two steeplechases in one weekend! - and was content to get around in 11:32.4.  I doubt Carlos has steeplechased since his schoolboy days in Spain but he offered to compete in the Northern League and, after a warm up in the long jump, he cleared all the steeplechase course in 12:28.
It is often difficult to get athletes out for the Northern League, particularly this first fixture, so team manager Barbara May and assistant manager Norman Marshall can take some pride in the team's achievements today.  If we can maintain this or an even better standard we will be able to stay comfortably in Division 2.  Norman commented "I thought a 5th.place would be alright in the first match, as long as we improve at the next Northern on 4th June.  Only 1/2 point behind Liverpool, Pembroke & Sefton was ok, but before we pat ourselves on the back, it will be harder next time.  Quite a few athletes from the other clubs were competing in a BUPA meeting; and Lancs and Morecambe finished behind us on Saturday whilst last year they were much better than us."
Thanks to our team managers and to our squad of officials: Ann Dignan, Peter Mason, Lesley Scott, Sue Gellett and Sam Moran.
Results for club athletes.