30 November 2007: Lauren Brennan and James Armstrong - Performance Award Winners; Katie McHale Athlete of Year

Junior club athletes and their families gathered at the RAFA Club in Formby on Friday evening for the annual junior awards presentation evening and Christmas disco.  The venue proved popular last year and we were pleased to return.
With Club President and international athlete Steve James, presenting the awards, we kicked off with the Bishop Awards, in memory of the Club's founder member Ray Bishop.  All U11s, U13s, U15s and U17s who have competed for the club received a certificate graded merit, bronze, silver or gold for performances in sportshall athletics, cross country and track & field.  The under 11s received merit certificates recognising the importance of just competing at that age.  Only one athlete - Katie Morris - received a triple gold award.
Individual Bishops were awarded for the top scorers in each type of athletics.  The girls winners were Sally Wareing for sportshall, Rhea Ellis for cross country and both Emma Lyons and Rachael Flynn took an award for track & field.  For the boys, Alex Mills was the sportshall winner, Jai Vernon-McGuigan won for cross country and Jordan Kelly took the track & field award.
This year, the Endeavour awards for significant contribution to team performance in track and field, particularly in the Young Athletes League, were presented to Emma Lyons, Louise Leek, Elliot Barron and the boys' team captain Harry Boyd.
Next, the George Bebington Memorial Trophy for Junior Athlete of the Year, a junior improvement award for ages up to Under 20s, went to Katie McHale.  Katie is ranked 2nd in the North West in triple jump with 11m 31 set at the Northern Championships.  She is ranked 4th in the North West in 100m hurdles, again her best performance coming in a major competition, the English Schools Championships.  Her best time of 14.99 is also an under 20 club record and she tops the 2007 rankings in 7 different events.
Turning to individual performance awards, there were two main trophies but, this year, special certificates were awarded to nine juniors whose high levels of performance had enabled them to compete at the highest levels ie English Schools and England Athletics National Championships, formerly the AAAs.  The nine were James Armstrong, Northern indoor and outdoor Under 15 sprint champion and national champion over 200m; Lauren Brennan, English School Inter Girls 300m finalist and UK Schools 4 x 300m relay medallist; Rico Dalle-Mulle, Northern Under 15 80m hurdles champion and English Schools finalist; Adam Davies, English Schools Inter Boys hammer finalist; Rachael Flynn, English Schools Inter Girls 800m; Stephanie James, Northern Under 17 800m champion; Jordan Kelly, English Schools Junior triple jump finalist; Katie McHale English Schools Senior 100m hurdles finalist; and Eddie Simpkins, English Schools 200m.
The Girls' winner of the Eddie Hechle Performance Trophy was again difficult to decide with a number of girls putting in fine performances.  Special mention was made of Ellon Hart, Sally Wareing, Patsy Irizar, Katie Morris, Lauren Brennan, Stephanie James, Katie McHale and Jemma Wright.  The winner was revealed as Lauren Brennan.  Lauren took a Northern Indoors gold, an outdoors silver and a UK Schools relay bronze medal and her best 300m time of 40.74 ranks her 3rd in the North West. The Boys' winner was easier to decide as one athlete is a class act on the national stage.  Special mention was made of Adam Laughton, Liam Ellis, Danny Cannon, Rico Dalle-Mulle, Jordan Kelly, Jai Vernon-McGuigan, Adam Davies and Alex Martland, Leon Jacob, Scott McDermott and Eddie Simpkins.  But James Armstrong is the stand-out winner of the Eddie Hechle Performance Trophy for the 2nd year running.  James has won numerous sprint medals this year, finishing his season as the national Under 15 200m champion.  He is ranked 1 in the UK over 200m, 2nd over 100m and 4th over 400m.
Finally, the club does its best to recognise the services of the many volunteers who support us and presented its Volunteer of the Year award to Lesley Scott.  Lesley regularly officiates at sportshall, track and field meetings and some endurance events and has supported the club in the many more home fixtures we now have with Litherland the home track.  Jonathan Pilkington presented Lesley with a bouquet of roses.
Certificates for athletes not present on Friday can be collected from the Club Room at Litherland from Thursday 6th December.
 

27 November 2007: Litherland youngsters support Children in Need

A number of the youngsters training with Liz Stanfield and Chris Henders at Litherland took part in a sponsored one mile fun run on the 15th November for Children in Need, at the Litherland track. The money raised included £118 raised by Kieran Andrew alone.  Kieran dressed us as Pudsey Bear.  Any more sponsor money should to be handed to Chris or Liz at training.

24 November 2007: UKA Cross Challenge visits Liverpool

Its the major cross country event in the North West, now firmly established in the racing calendar.  The UKA Cross Challenge series visited Liverpool's Sefton Park combining with the Liverpool & District and the Mid Lancs Cross Country Leagues to make for a big-field event, giving local league runners a chance to compete against household names, like Hayley and Liz Yelling, 1st and 2nd in the senior women's race, Charlotte Purdue, the under 20 women's winner, and St Helens Sutton's David Forrester, the Junior Men's winner.  Runners were competing for places on the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team to compete at the 2007 European Championships in Toro, Spain, and so the standard was high, providing lots of spectator interest.
The weather could have been a little kinder but conditions were good for running, the ground being good to soft with some surface water and mud to add to the interest. The Sefton Park course is also being used for the English Schools Cross Country Championships on March 8, 2008, so organisers and junior runners had an added interest in today's event.  The course is essentially grass parkland but there were a few hills to test the runners in places.
Southport Waterloo was well represented in the races with about 50 runners across all the age groups.  Unfortunately, at least three didn't finish.
The highest placed finisher for the club was under 13 Liam Ellis, 12th overall and, I think, 2nd Mid Lancs finisher.
In the combined Under 11 boys' and girls' race, Lauren Dean and Scott Rhodes competed.  Lauren was 46th in 8:33 and Scott 49th of 74 finishers in 8:40.  Lauren was heard to remark of the 1.9km course "that wasn't very far"; so maybe we have another distance runner there!
In the Under 13 Girls' race, we started with a Mid Lancs team of 4 but, unfortunately, Sally Wareing had to retire sick.  Patsy Irizar was first home for the club, 34th overall and 10th I think in the Mid Lancs League, covering the 3km in 12:37.  Lauren Clarehugh was just behind, 36th overall in 12:38 and Ellon Hart 51st of 88  in 13:04.  It is disappointing that our Under 13 girls have only finished a team at Leyland this season - and that was a 5th place!  The girls are all strong track 800m and 1500m runners but will grow into these longer cross country distances.
In the Under 13 Boys' race we had an astonishing 8 finishers!  I can't ever remember so many in this age group before and hope the newcomers will have enjoyed the experience and will come back for more in the New Year.  Liam Ellis, who has done so well this season already, was our first counter, 12th overall and 2nd Mid Lancs counter, in 11:00 for 3km.  Chris Lawson was 2nd counter, 40th overall in 11:56, with a fine run from Gary Clark giving him 3rd counter, 49th overall in 12:16, and Michael Lyall, the 4th team counter in his first run for the club, 57th overall in 12:40.  Other finishers were Graham Boreham, 61st in 13:03, Alex Roome, 70th in 14:05, Jordan Angell, 71st in 14:06, and Owen Williams, 73rd in 14:11.  I think that may have given the boys 1st Mid Lancs team spot keeping them on track for a League medal - but we will have to await the published results.
The Under 15 girls' race was a bit of a curate egg - good and bad in places. We have so many strong runners in this age group but several were unwell and unable to race so we didn't finish a highly placed team.  The good news, however, was that we did actually finish a team!  Jenny Girdler and Jane Ingram, both recovering from illness, came out to support their club and made sure we had four counters.  Katie Morris was our first counter, 56th overall in 12:11 for 3km, with Catherine Hulme 67th in 12:27, Jenny 74th in 12:48 and Jane 91st in 15:02.
And, surprise surprise! Jai Vernon-McGuigan was not our only presence in the Under 15 Boys' race.  He did remarkably well, however, to finish 22nd overall and 3rd in the Mid Lancs, in 10:26 for a short course distance of 3km. The other Southport Waterloo finisher was Andrew Lyall, in his first race in a club vest, finishing 91st overall in 12:00.
The Under 17 Women and Under 20 Women ran together so its not yet possible to separate out the positions.  However, over a longish 4.4km course, Rhea Ellis finished in 17:17, Steph James in 19:08 and Louise Leek, 19:53.  It was good to see another team finish here even if the times were not remarkable.
We were fortunate indeed to finish a team of three in the Under 17 Men's race considering that five runners started the race in a Southport Waterloo vest.  Joe Vis had another good run finishing 54th overall and 8th in the Mid Lancs League I think, in 19:37 for 5.5km.  Brother Patrick was 62nd in 19:50 and Paul Gavan finished 82nd in 20:37.  Harry Boyd went over on his ankle and had to retire injured and David Gough retired with stomach cramps.  Still, a team finish keeps us on track for a League medal.
The Senior Women may have got a bit of a shock to find they were running 8.1km today, 2km longer than usual.  But they still put in a good performance and may have finished 2nd team in their Mid Lancs Division. Amanda Crook was our first finisher, 65th in this high quality field and about 7th Mid Lancs finisher.  She covered the 8.1km in 32:36.  After her success in Belfast last weekend in an England vest, veteran Sue Cooper showed her younger team-mates a clean pair of heels, finishing 92nd overall in 35:17, ahead of Tracey Peters, 98th in 35:48, and Stephanie May, 119th in 40:19. Considering the strength and depth of our senior women runners, this was a very poor turn-out.
The Senior Men did a lot better with a 18-man team, and strong positional finishes, at least in the Mid Lancs and L&D Leagues.  Rob Berry was the first counter, 74th overall in 33:52 for 9.8km.  His position in the local leagues can't be determined from the early results.  The other 'A' team counters were Richard Shearer, 111st in 35:17,  David Hamilton, 152nd in 36:47, Rob Ashworth, an excellent run for 158th in 37:14, Gerry Lenahan, a first run for the club, 186th in 38:36, and Rob McGrath, 221st in 39:56; all sub 40 minute times.  Other finishers were Peter Roome, 40:45, Steve McLean, 40:57, Neil Adshead, 41:06, Ray Handley, 41:34, Mike Cunningham, 41:57, Brian O'Reilly, 42:10, Steve James, 43:06, Boyd Park and Phil Dean, 43:53 and 43:54, Gareth Williams, 45:02, Brian Davey, 47:13 and Carlos Irizar 47:18.
Thanks to Sheila Marshall and Sue Gellett who met our obligation to provide marshals for this event, to Lesley Scott on UKA registrations and a funnel judge, to Sandra Waters who assisted with the Mid Lancs registrations, to Steve Boreham who handled our race numbers and to Carlos Irizar, Emma Felton and Neil Thompson who provided photographs of today's races.
Full results are on the UKA web site but you need to know numbers.  L&D and Mid Lancs extracts will be posted asap.

Left in Club tent and still not collected - one pale blue Helly Hansen running top; 1 pair Adidas jogging pants. (probably both female)

24 November 2007: Ernie Gallagher

Ernie Gallagher, Hon Secretary of Liverpool Harriers, died today following a short illness.  Ernie has given a lifetime of service to athletics. He was, I think, a one-time member of the old Southport Harriers before it folded and in fact Phil Thomas of St Helens Sutton tells me that Ernie coached the Southport Harriers team to the Under 14 Boys' Northern title in 1955.   Ernie coached many successful middle and distance runners, including Curtis Robb who ran at Sefton Park today.  (obituary)

21 November 2007: Kate Howgego home!

Readers will recall that Ex Southport Waterloo junior runner Kate Howgego was involved in a serious road traffic accident on 18 October.  She has been in Walton, Aintree and then Southport hospitals and I'm delighted to report she is now back home with her parents in Southport.  She is still weak after a month in hospital beds, mostly unconscious, but appears to be making a full recovery. Excellent news indeed!

And Kate's mum Ann adds:  Just wanted to send a big thank you to everyone at Southport Waterloo AC for the beautiful flowers you sent us - they looked fantastic - and for the messages of support we have received. Kate was discharged home last Friday, much earlier than expected, but very welcome. There was no bed available on the rehab ward and the Consultant, quite rightly, thought that she would improve more rapidly at home. She is now eating and sleeping quite well and she managed a short walk in the park a few days ago. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the seniors' Christmas meal.

21 November 2007: Preston 10 concludes the Grand Prix series (by Brian Grice)

This year's Club Grand Prix winners are David Hamilton and Sue Cooper with Peter Roome and Karen Faloon taking the veterans awards. The Grand Prix again comprised 12 local races with the best six to count, though the women also included the Liverpool Women's 10k. The Grand Prix was quite well supported with 87 club members making 249 appearances in the races. This was very much in line with previous years (2005 = 251 and 2006 = 244) and it was good to see a healthy influx of new members well up the rankings. Many thanks to all club members who have taken part and a special thanks to those who have alerted me to the occasional errors + omissions.
The current Grand Prix format was introduced 3 years ago as many club members were reluctant to travel more than short distances to races. Also it seemed right to actively support local races, especially those organised by local athletics clubs. However, no GP structure pleases everyone and some club members have voted with their feet. New Road Race Secretary Richard Shearer may therefore wish to suggest changes to the Grand Prix, otherwise the schedule of races will remain the same next year, starting in March with the Liverpool Half Marathon and Southport Good Friday Races.
For the record, the average number of SWAC runners taking part in the various GP races over the last 3 years were: Southport GF (37), Waterloo 15k (37), Southport Seaside (25), Liverpool 10k (20), Liverpool Half Marathon (19), Harrock Hill (16), Walton Park (15), Rufford (15), Penny Lane (14), Sefton Park (12), Preston (12). The Croxteth Park 10k has been included twice attracting 20 and 9 SWAC runners and the Wavertree 5k has been included once attracting 15 SWAC runners. SWAC women have had 16 and 15 runners in the Liverpool Women's 10k since its inclusion in the Grand Prix two years ago.

The SWAC Preston 10 Rankings have also been updated. Tracey Peters moves straight to 7th in the women's rankings after her fine (68.38) debut last Sunday but behind 3rd ranked Christine Cutner who has made the most club appearances in the race (15) and a 65.59 pb. But Christine managed a pw this year having smashed her ribs in a fall last month. Andy Bowker (13) has made the most appearances amongst SWAC men. Interestingly, this year's Preston 10 had only 23 sub-60 finishers and a median time of 77.03. There was a time when the race had more than 200 sub-60 finishers and a median time around 65.30

18 November 2007: Youngsters enjoy 3rd Sportshall (by Robbie Clark)

This week's Sportshall Athletics was at Stanney Leisure Centre in Ellesmere Port.  The winter weather was closing in with the temperature and the rain falling outside.  Inside the temperature and the competition was warming up nicely.
Under 11 Boys.  After being able to field a team of 4 last time, we had only one competitor.  However Scott Rhodes had a very productive day with high point scoring results in the 2 lap race (27.17), 4 Lap (61.2) and an a PB of 5.28 Metres in the Standing Triple Jump.
Under 13 Boys.  As far as Southport Waterloo attendance record in boys Sportshall goes we were well supported with only 5 lads taking part compared to some of the other teams, saying that though it’s the effort they made that counts.  The boys managed their 3rd second place out of 3 meetings this season with 90 points.  This means that barring a complete disaster in the final round at Widnes in January the club should qualify for the regional final in March.
The boys' results were: (All times unofficial)
Jordan Angell  with 1.33.5 (6 Lap) 1.74m Standing Long Jump (SLJ) and 70 in the Speed Bounce (SB).
Nathaniel Brown:-  1.68 SLJ – 58 SB and 5.20m in the Standing Triple Jump.
Gary Clark:- 1.31.7 (6 Lap) 1.91 (SLJ) and 60 (SB)
Alex Roome:- 1.58 (SLJ), 28.2 (2 Lap) and a PB of 5.14 metres for the Shot.
Owen Williams:- 27.0 (2 Lap), 70 (SB) (tied with Jordan) and also a PB of 5.51 metres in the Shot.
What’s the attraction of Sportshall?
When it’s cold and wet outside, it’s warm and dry inside.  That’s one of the beauties of Sportshall in the winter.  The others are:- Enjoyment! All the kids involved seemed to be enjoying them selves judging by the noise level throughout the day.  Competition Sportshall is intended to give new athletes their first taste of athletics in a “No Pressure” atmosphere and being able to try new and unusual events, and for the more experienced competitor a chance to stretch their legs during the winter.  Sportshall also gives the kids a chance to measure how well they are progressing by giving them measurable results on a regular basis.
With this in mind if anyone wants to try Sportshall for the first time, or again for that matter, contact me or Brian Kelly via the contacts page before the next event on Jan 27th at Widnes.

Brian Kelly reports on the girls competition:
The under 11 team is refreshingly enthusiastic and consisted of Alice Cribb, Lucy Hunter,, Amy and Rebecca Sinclair, and newcomer Georgia Simms, whose mother used to run for us an indeterminate number of years ago. In fact, Georgia was our fastest over the 2-lap.
All competed well.  There were no winners yet but they are a young team and will be stronger next year.
In the under 13s, our only representatives were once again Ellon Hart and Sally Wareing who nevertheless amassed a good score between them, especially in the 2 and 6-lap races in which they both competed.  Are there any other under 13s out there to join them in the last fixture?
Both under 11 and Under 13 teams finished 4th.
The under 15s was our strongest team finishing overall in 2nd place and 2nd in the relay.  Jane Ingram can always be relied upon to give her best effort and she did very well in the standing long jump, winning the competition with 2m 18.  Sarah Murphy and Laura Riley performed well in the shot.  Our 2 lappers were Catherine Hulme and Beth McBride and our 6 lappers were Jane and Katie Morris who is getting faster with every outing.  The team should deservedly get to the final provided we get a full squad in January.
Thanks to Norman Marshall, Chris Henders and Mr Hunter for officiating.
Individual results for Southport Waterloo members.

18 November 2007: David Hamilton 13th in Preston 10 (by Rick Bowker)

Some 25 years ago, a fresh faced young man lined up for the start of the very first Preston 10 mile race.  25 years later, Brian Grice once again lined up for the start, still filled with  the same love for the sport he had back in the 80’s.
Along with Brian was Brian O’Reilly and Tracy Peters, both 10 mile race virgins.  There was also an impressive turn out by stormin' Norman's ladies and a load of senior men.
We were greeted with strong s/w winds  [20 mph] and very cold and damp temps (42 F).  Setting off, I had very stiff legs from the cold air and running sub-1 hour seemed almost impossible.  But by mile one I was feeling better and found myself tucking in behind David Hamilton.
By mile 5, Dave might have been a bit surprised that I was still running stride for stride with him. Feeling strong now, I decided to make a race of it and started to push the pace.  I opened up a good lead on Dave and at this stage I thought I had the beating of him. But by mile 7 my legs started to stiffen up in the extreme cold.
As I got to about 7 1/2  miles Dave put in a surge from behind and came flying past me and there was little I could do but watch him disappear into the distance. The last 800m was very hard as my muscles locked up solid. Dave Hamilton finished in 13th place in 57.43.
I must have lost about 5 places in that last 2 miles! Most of us underestimated the cold,.  At the last moment, I put on a thermal top and gloves but I wish I had worn my track suit bottoms to keep my legs warm.  I finished in 19th in 58.21; my best time in 3 years.
3rd in for the club was fast improving Brian O’Reilly who finished his first ever 10 miler in 80th place in 1.06.48. Not bad for someone who has only been running for a year.
New club runnersPhil Dean and Boyd Park finished in 1.07.40 and 1.08.28
Tracey Peters, a first timer at this distance, was our first lady back for the club; breaking under 7 min miles to run  an impressive 1.08.35.  Just behind Andy Bowker, a surviver from the early days of the Preston 10, cruised in with 1.08.38. Andy must have run most of the Preston 10s, but records need to be checked to be sure.
Rachel  Thomas ran 1.20.03 and Christine Cutner was just behind with 1.20.09.
Brian Grice is still running well and finished with a big smile on his face with a respectable 1.21.35 and pipping  a fast finishing Carole James to the post by 2 secs.
Margot Bowker finished  in a solid 1.21.45.  This could be one of the last races Andy and Margot will race for the club as they are off to a new life in the West Highlands next year.  We will miss them very much and we all wish them well in the future.
Michelle Spencer finished in 1.22.28, Sharron  Pardoe ran 1.24.55, Sheila Marshall just missed breaking 90 mins with 1.31.25.
Marathon running Emma Felton took up a new sport this week and cycled over a 100 miles up hill and down dale with her boy friend.  As a result, Emma had empty legs on the day and was very brave to carry on and finish in 1.38.34.
I think we all found the conditions very tough but we all seemed to enjoy the challenge
One run of note was by ex national cycling time trial champion Gethin Butler, Preston Harriers, who finished in 9th place just over a minute in front of me. I was also thinking about 7 time Tour de France winner Lance Armstong who ran the New York Marathon in 2.46. so maybe if I train real hard I can beat a world and Tour de France champ at next year's New York Marathon and that really would be something to tell the grandchildren!
Full race results

17 November 2007: Club super vets help steer England to Gold (by Sue Cooper)

The annual British and Irish Masters Cross Country event took place on Saturday.  Steve James and I had been selected to compete and to represent England in our age group categories, so we dug out our England vests and sweatshirts and set off for the event.
This year it was Northern Ireland’s turn to play host and they made a very good job of it.  The venue was the magnificent Stormont Estate in Belfast.  The course, mostly parkland, was fast and furious with a few nasty inclines to contend with. The strong wind presented a further challenge but the rain, forecast with such certainty the day before, held off until the afternoon, by which time our races were done.
As usual, England was first team in almost all the age group categories, including the M65 and W50 I’m relieved to say!  There were stunning individual performances from the other countries but obviously it’s so much harder for them to field strong teams across all age groups.
We had the usual dinner and medal presentation in the evening with Mary Peters doing the honours this year.  The speaker who introduced her observed that, while many of us would remember Mary achieving her gold medal back in 1972, our V35s had only just been born.  They’re too young to be ‘veterans’ really!
All in all, a great weekend, a chance to renew friendships and a real celebration of Masters Athletics.

13 November 2007: Southport Waterloo London Marathon Performances  (by Mark Ashby)

With a great deal of help from unofficial club statistician and historian - Brian Grice - I have got as far as I can with my efforts to list all London Marathon performances by SWAC members.  The attached spreadsheet is as complete as we can get it and so I would be grateful for any further assistance from members past and present who may be able to unearth some results for the missing or incomplete years.
Sources of information include, SWAC and London Marathon websites, old copies of Toad, some impressive detective work at Southport Library by Brian in finding some of Larry Hyland's Southport Visiter articles.  Obviously the further back we have got the more likely they are to be inaccurate or incomplete.  Larry relied on people telling him their times in the days before the internet and I recall him telling me about one or two unscrupulous members who exaggerated their times to win a bet!  Thanks also go to Chris Cutner and Jon Singleton for searching through their own records but I am sure we can add a few more times with a bit more help.
It is, of course, difficult to be sure about any records until we have a more complete set of times but it seems the fastest London was recorded by Steve James -  2.28 in 1983  - just ahead of Nick Hume in 2.29.  Both of these runners are still going strong after all these years - although I doubt either would contemplate running a marathon now.  Nick now runs with North Fylde athletic club and is a regular at Civil Service athletics events. In more recent years Rob Berry's 2.33 is worth a mention.  Former SWAC members have run faster but not whilst they were members. Gerry Helme had an intriguing battle with eventual winner Mike Gratton in the 1983 London Marathon.  Gerry set a pb of 2.10.12 to finish in second place - Gratton's winning time was 2.09.43.  This was an inspired run by Gerry who was shoulder to shoulder with Gratton by the time they reached the Tower of London and his previous best was 2.14.51 .  Former Liverpool Fireman, Geoff Smith, twice winner of Boston, ran a PB of 2.09.08 as runner up to Rod Dixon in the 1983 New York Marathon and although not a SWAC member at the time, I am convinced that Larry once told me he was a member before moving onto Liverpool Harriers - can anyone confirm this?
For the women, Chris Cutner's 3.11.49 set in 1994 remains the fastest performance but Joanne Wilson is not far behind with 3.13 in 2006.  We have no women finishers recorded until 1989 when Lorraine Marshall, Sheila Marshall and Linda Peacock all completed the course but does anyone have any records before this - did Kate Harrison ever run London?
As things stand, I believe I hold the record for the most appearances (15) although I am prepared to concede this to Mike Walker (13), Jon Singleton (11), Nick Sinclair (13) or Chris Cutner (13) if any further results come to light.  All of these have run far more marathons than me but I have concentrated my efforts on the London and I am claiming the record for the most consecutive appearances - 13 -  starting in 1995 and still going.  Jon Singleton is next with a run of 9 from 1991 to 1999, equal with Chris Cutner also on 9 between 1992 to 2000.  Mike Walker can claim 8 on the trot from 1997 to 2004 and Paul Chandley started an impressive streak of 8 in 2000 and is still going.  I am fairly sure that Mike Walker holds the record for most under 3 hour finishes - a very impressive 11.   There are some records I am not sure about - can anyone claim to be the oldest member to have finished London?  Best performances in the age groups is also a difficult one to work out but I think Steve James was a vet when he ran 2.28 in 1983.  Gerry Helme's 2.38.56 in 2000 is also worth a mention.
If anyone can add to these records or want to correct any then please contact me at mark.ashby@virgin.net

12 November 2007: Brian Grice previews the Preston 10

As usual the Club Grand Prix concludes with the 26th Annual Preston Ten this Sunday (November 18th), starting at 10am from Hutton Grammar School. David Hamilton and Sue Cooper have already won this year’s Grand Prix. An entry form for this year’s race can be downloaded from the Fixtures page.
The Preston Ten inevitably prompts a wave of nostalgia. The SWAC Preston Ten Performance Table shows 178 Southport Waterloo runners (151 men + 27 women) have made 453 appearances in the race since it was first held in 1982. Kevin Taylor (51.07) 2nd to Blackburn Harrier Peter Banks in 1995 and Jenny Compton (61.13) 2nd lady in 1994 have recorded the fastest times for the club. There was a time when Southport Waterloo would have at least a dozen runners every year under the hour and indeed 61 of our club runners have broken the hour at Preston, including six who have got under 53 minutes: Kevin Taylor, Colin Hughes (52.02), Terry Hanley (52.41), Geoff Rogan (52.46), Terry Bolland (52.50) and Rob Seddon (52.51). Perhaps newcomer Richard Shearer can join this select band on Sunday.
Christine Cutner (14) has made the most appearances in the race for the club and used to regularly churn out times of around 66 minutes but will be happy to run 78 minutes on Sunday. Mark Ashby (12) has made the most appearances of Southport Waterloo men with a 57.33 pb. On a sadder note David Ashby made 6 appearances in the race, including a fine 73.36 debut in 1989 when aged 61!
In the eighties, the race started at Ashton School and attracted over 900 finishers with over 200 breaking the hour. Steve Anders ran 48.21 in 1983 followed by four consecutive victories for Clayton le Moor Harrier Roger Brewster, all well under 50 minutes. Maureen Hurst ran the fastest women’s time (56.23) in 1985.
Since the race moved to the current two lap course at Hutton, no-one has run under 50 minutes and barely 50 runners break the hour these days. However, the race seems to be regaining some of its old popularity with nearly 500 finishers last year. Race conditions at this time of the year can be tough, either very cold or very windy, so fingers crossed for a mild calm day and a good response from Southport Waterloo.

10 November 2007: Good cross country results at both Burnley and Skem

Wouldn't it be boring if we could always rely on the weather forecasts? It was supposed to dry up this afternoon but the heavy showers and strong winds at the Burnley Mid Lancs meeting reminded us of this fixture last year when many of us went home absolutely soaked to the skin; and a wet tent depositing gallons of water in the back of my car!  But at least today it was not cold and judging by the faces of the runners after their race the venue was enjoyed by everyone despite the conditions.
Once again, there were many noteable successes.  One negative was a fall by Paul Gavan that ended his race in pain.  Hopefully he will be back to training soon. And disappointingly there were several good cross country runners missing from today's line up - quite apart from our senior men who were competing at Skelmersdale's Beacon Park in the Liverpool & District League.
Jai Vernon-McGuigan took a 2nd place, Liam Ellis had another great race finishing 3rd and sister Rhea was also 3rd
in her race.  Altogether, our 25 runners across all the age groups produced 8 top 10 finishes.
In the Under 11s, our only runners were boys.  We had hoped for a few new under 11 girls amongst the 45 runners in this race; but maybe next time.  In the boys' race, Matthew Lawson was 27th in 9:18 with Luke Spencer 31st in 9:32, reversing the positions achieved by Matthew and Luke at Leyland!
Illness and girls' football depleted our Under 13 Girls' team and so we only managed three girls, one short of a team.  But those who competed were all in the top 1/3 rd of the field.  Ellon Hart and Patsy Irizar were never far apart, Ellon finishing 10th in 12:20 and Patsy much closer than at Leyland, 12th in 12:26.  Vicky Mawer is a regular at Litherland training sessions and its beginning to show in her results. Finishing 36th at Leyland, she was 17th here at Burnley - over a longer course - in 12:49.
We did manage a team in the Under 13 Boys where Liam Ellis was once again impressive.  He looked to be closing in on Luke Towers of Liverpool Harriers but was just held off to finish 3rd in 12:11.  In fact, several boys impressed here with Chris Lawson finishing 7th in 12:34, 3 places better than at Leyland, and Gary Clark not far behind, 16th in 13:19 compared with 30th at Leyland in a smaller field! Graham Boreham ran solidly to give us our final team counter and Jack Longden, in his first race for the club, was 37th in 16:06.  The boys were placed 2nd team.
In the Under 15 Girls' race, the form from Leyland was totally upset with Jenny Girdler dropping back to 3rd counter, 18th in 14:00, this time behind Katie Morris, 13th in 13:49, and Catherine Hulme, 15th in 13:54.  Jane Ingram struggled with knee pain but her 36th position in 16:31 meant we finished a team, 3rd today and in the League to date.
Our presence in the Under 15 Boys' race was, once again, just Jai Vernon-McGuigan - but what a race he had!  After the runners had settled into the race, Jai was up in about 5th place and then nicely worked his way through to finish 2nd in 15:05, splitting two LPS runners.  This was a real improvement over Jai's run at Leyland.  He himself feels he is returning to form so we can look forward to a good race at the UKA Trials event at Sefton Park later this month.
In the Under 17 women's race, Rhea Ellis also did better than the last time out, improving from 5th to 3rd in 16:07.  Steph James also pulled up 2 places, 10th in 17:51 and with Louise Leek 18th, also 2 places better than at Leyland, in 19:00 the girls finished 2nd team and remain in 1st place after two fixtures.
The Under 17 Men's race was another gem with Harry Boyd, who missed the Leyland fixture, leading our team home.  Harry may have held too much in reserve and couldn't catch the runners in front.  He finished 5th in 21:55, with only 30 secs separating the 1st 5 places.  Behind Harry, Patrick and Joe Vis were having their own brotherly battle.  As usual, Patrick set off the faster of the two, Joe then caught him up and the two ran together for a while before Joe edged ahead finishing 7th in 22:15, just losing out to a Preston Harrier given the same time, with Patrick 8th in 22:25.  Great running from these two.  Behind them was Paul Gavan and David Gough but Paul fell and did some damage to his knee.  He tried to continue but had to retire to the First Aid post.   Fortunately, David did finish, 27th in 24:31, our 4th team counter.  With three finishers in the top 10, we finished 1st team, and a 1st and 2nd in two fixtures leaves us in 1st place in the League.
We only had 4 Senior Women running today but that was enough for a team finish if not our strongest team.  Once again, Sue Cooper led the girls home, 30th in 27:11 - 12 places higher than Leyland - with Tracy Peters 34th in 27:40, Michelle Spencer 76th in 31:34 and Christine Cutner 86th in 32:25.  The girls were 5th team finishers in Division 1, remaining 5th overall - and in the relegation zone.  Hopefully we can improve on that in the remaining fixtures.  We certainly have the quality of runners to do it!
With most of our Senior Men cross country runners at Beacon Park, only Carlos Irizar wore the blue and gold of Southport Waterloo in the Senior Men's race.  In a similar sized field to Leyland, Carlos was 4 places better, 207th in 48:16.
Thanks to all team managers and to Carlos for some of the photos used here.
The next fixture is the UKA Challenge at Sefton Park which combines both the Mid Lancs and Liverpool & District Leagues.  Good numbers are expected from the club for this the biggest and best cross country event in the North West.
Mid Lancs Results.  Updated Divisional standings.

Meanwhile, Steve James reports that our senior men had a good day at Beacon Park finishing 2nd team behind Liverpool Harriers and 1st team in Division 2.
Rob Berry was 3rd in 30:32, 30 secs behind the winner, but the most noteworthy run was by new member Gerry Lenehan who was our 6th counter in 25th place.
In fact, 18 Club seniors turned out at Beacon Park, far more than any other L&D club, thanks to team manager Steve James.  Behind Rob Berry, the counters were Richard Shearer, 10th in 32:00, Steve Wilkinson, 12th in 32:43, Rob Ashworth, 13th in 33:26, Jay Tartt, 21st in 34:49 and Gerry Lenehan, 25th in 35:17.  Just edged out as a team counter, Rick Bowker was 27th in 35:42, John Sprackland 35th in 36:07, Rob McGrath, 39th in 36:33, Amanda Crook, 47th in 37:16, Ray Handley, 51st in 37:29, Mike Cunningham, 54th in 38:02, Brian Davey, 56th in 38:06, Brian O'Reilly, 64th in 39:05, Neil Adshead, 65th in 39:07, Steve James, 67th in 39:14, Phil Dean, 73rd in 39:53 and Boyd Park, 81st in 41:24.
Full results.

4 November 2007: SWAC Women take 1st team spot in 24th Through the Villages (by Rick Bowker)

After a cool and misty start to the morning, conditions improved to warmish and sunny by the start of the race at 10.30am.
The Through the Villages race is now into its 24th year and with its roller coaster ride of twisting, quiet, country roads and 900ft of climbing and descending, this race has to be called a classic race for sure. Each twist and turn of the 8.5 mile route brings you a new surprise of up hill or down dale, taking you across some truly beautiful countryside.
Sue cooper said we should put this race in the grand prix for next year and I second that as this race is a true challenge of one's fitness.
The girls put on a fantastic display of strength with super Sue Cooper finishing in 57:23 and first L50.  She lead the way for fast improving Tracy Peters who ran superbly to break the magic hour in 59:47, after a marathon bike ride the day before with boy friend Rob.  Next in for the girls was Carole James with the best run of her season; 1:11:46. which gave them 1st team place.
Also running was Margot Bowker, 1.11.49 and just 6 secs behind Carole, and Michelle Spencer running her second time here and 1:16:54 knocking 40 secs off her p.b.
Of  the men, I was amazed to average over 10mph on this very demanding course and I felt strong and smooth throughout the race to finish 19th in 50:40 in a class field .
The Arthur Lydiate base training is really starting to pay off. (If you would like to learn more about my training check out my new web site Running Faster with the Alien Lizard..
Brian O’Reilly once again showed a big improvement with a very impressive 57:59 and my brother Andy Bowker, nursing a long term tendon injury, cruised round in 1: 02:53
After the race we got a free hot pot in the friendly village hall and then we all went home very happy indeed, looking forward to next years race.
Full results
 

2 November 2007: Success at AGM No 2 - with all posts filled

The Club's 2nd Annual General Meeting of the year - the first at Litherland failed to get a quorum - was held at the Blundell Arms in Birkdale and was a success with 32 attendees.
Your Committee elected for the next year are:

President	Steve James
Chairman	Sandra Waters
Vice Chairman	Norman Marshall
Treasurer	John Vis
General Secretary	Ron Scott
Asst General Secretary	Stephanie May
Membership Secretary	Susan Cooper
Coaching Secretary	Neil Rothwell
*Track & Field Secretary	Chris Henders
Road Running Secretary	Richard Shearer
Cross Country Secretary	John Sprackland
Fund Raising Secretary	Liz Stanfield
Committee Members	Sue Gellett	Mike Wilkinson
	Nick Sinclair	Sam Moran
	Martin Liversage	Peter Miles
* A new post agreed by the meeting.

The meeting also agreed to hold the Annual General Meeting in October or November of each year rather than July as previously.
Subscriptions were fixed for the year commenced 1 April 2008 at £5 for Under 11s, £10 for 11-16 year-olds, £11 for 17/18 year-olds and £15 for seniors.  This includes a small increase to include the UKA athlete registration or licence fee of £5 for each member aged 11 and above.