27 April 2008: Marathon runs near and far (by Mark Ashby)

With the London Marathon now well and truly behind us - Southport Waterloo runners had another successful weekend over the 26.2 mile distance.
Chris Cutner, who missed out on a London place this year, travelled furthest.  She competed in the Lochaber Marathon at Fort William in Scotland and completed the course in a very respectable 3.54.44
Blackpool Marathon saw a tremendous team effort with 4 runners under the three hour barrier.  Ron Ashworth finished 6th overall and 2nd V40 in 2.42.27, Rick Bowker finished 12th overall in 2.48.35 (Rick is down as  V50 but I can't believe he is that old and suspect he was 1st V45), Rob McGrath completed the course in 2.49.10 and was 3rd V45 with Peter Roome completing the team and crossing the line in 2.55.52 to take 38th overall.
Former member, Dave Miles, who finished seconds ahead of me at London two weeks ago has recovered remarkably well to finish Blackpool yesterday in 2.55.16.
Local runner Steve Broadbent finished the Lochaber Marathon yesterday in 4.18.10.  Not a particularly remarkable time until you take into account his journey to get there.  Starting out on 1 April, Steve has travelled from Lands End to John O'groats on foot and bike, taking in the London Marathon and Britain's three highest peaks on the way.  Steve's epic journey was completed when he crossed the finish line in Fort William yesterday.  Well done Steve!

Rick Bowker reports from Blackpool:  Waking up at 5.30am with the rain lashing down on the bedroom window i thought what a stupid idea it had been to enter the Blackpool Marathon.  It was a good job Rob McGrath was coming to pick me up or I might not have made it out of my nice warm bed!
Someone at work asked me if I was running London.  I said "no, Blackpool! " He said does that mean you have to run up and down the Golden Mile 26 times? Well not quite! But you do have to run 2 laps inc half the distance running on the most unforgiving surface known to runners, - concrete! ooch!!!
The rain stopped by the time we got to Blackpool only to start again just before the 9am start. The half and full marathon start together which meant there was over 2000 of us on the start line with about 700 in the full marathon.
Rob Ashworth surged away at the front running 6 min miles for the first 9 miles before settling down to a more sensible pace.
Rob McGrath and me had to hold ourselves back and not get carried away with the pace of the half marathon runners.  It was good fun running along the closed roads with a big crowd cheering us on inc Niz and Sarah !
Just behind was virgin marathon runner Peter Roome running a canny race. We headed south almost to the Airport before turning round, back past the famous tower into a slight head wind. At about nine miles we came off the road and headed along the concrete sea wall all the way to Bispham before turning around and back to the start for the second lap.
As we started the second lap the heavens really opened up turning the road into a river! shoes became heavy and clothing stuck to our bodies in a sodden mess. Triathlete Peter Roome must have felt at home splashing along the flooded concrete wall for the second time. The road we had been running on felt like a velvet trail compared to this dam concrete! Muscles already stiff from the cold rain really felt the extra impact from this unforgiving surface.  We all went through good and bad patches but I think we all used our mental strength to pull us through.  Up front, Rob Ashworth stormed through the finish line to finish 6 th in 2.42.27 a fantastic ron by the 2007 Anglesea marathon winner!
I was now making my way over what felt like a mountain.  On the first lap it had been but a slight hill,.  Once over the top it was just one mile downhill to the finish.  With 300m to go I passed the 10th place runner like he was stuck to the road. With 200m to go I had the choice of turning left or right at the cones. I shouted at the marshal in desperation for help. He said left and I followed his instructions only to realize a few seconds later he'd sent me on another lap.   I turned around and sprinted back only to lose my 10th place, bummer! I had to make do with 11th and 2.48.41.
I finished with few aches and pains in my legs and even ran the day after the race
Rob McGrath was was next in, finishing only 29 secs behind me, setting a new p.b. by 10 minutes. Rob has trained harder than ever before and was well pleased with his result 14th 2.49.10.
Peter Roome overcame his first marathon with remarkable style and finished with a very impressive 2.55.52 well and truly smashing the 3 hour barrier.
At the end of the day I think we put in a pretty awesome performance and made Team S.W.A.C. proud!
In the half marathon Ray Handley finished 37th 1.26.03 and still had the energy to stay behind and cheers us marathon boys on!
Race results

27 April 2008: Damp start to NJL but 3 new Club records set

The Stanney Oaks track was the venue for the first competitive track & field league meeting of the season.  Mind, that's competitive with a small 'c' for us, as the league was the National Junior League, Mersey Division.  This year we are up against Liverpool, Pembroke & Sefton, Wirral, Cheshire Tigers, North Wales and St Helens Sutton.  The match was not well attended by several clubs but with only 3 men and 2 women competing in Southport Waterloo colours, we had the poorest attendance by far and consequently the lowest score.
Perhaps the time has come to reconsider costly membership of a league our athletes don't support!
Despite the heavy showers, the weather was actually very good for running events with cool conditions and very little wind. Good enough for three club records to be set!
For the women, Stephanie James and Rhea Ellis competed on the track.  Stephanie is showing excellent signs of recovery from the persistent, debilitating viral infection that blighted the 2nd half of her season last year and that has continued to affect her winter training.  To come out and run 2:17.6 - a grade 2 time - to win the 800m race was a great confidence booster and sets a new Under 20 club record - that will undoubtedly be improved upon as Steph's season develops. She also ran 28.8 for 200m, run for training purposes.   Rhea, too, ran a club record to win the 1500m race in 4:55.7, replacing Nicky Taylor's mark set 10 years ago!  Rhea's PB is 4:50.9 and a time in the 4:40s should be possible this year.
For the men, team manager Jai Vernon-McGuigan was the first to compete, in the 1500m.  Having just moved up into the under 17 age group, Jai was not going to win this race but the higher standard of competition can pull you along to new best times.  His 4:37.7 wasn't a PB but a good season's best.
Finally, Patrick and Joe Vis came along to compete in the 2000m steeplechase, both with an eye on Joe's club record of 6:58 set last year.  There wasn't much between the brothers in the early stages, both dealing well with the barriers and water jump, but by the last lap Patrick had eased ahead and despite a fast finish by Joe, Patrick was the first of the brothers to finish, 3rd overall, in a new club record time of 6:48.8.
Thanks to Sue Gellett and Lesley Scott who came along to fulfill our field judging obligation and to Jai Vernon-McGuigan, the new men's team manager who was there to support his team well before the first field event started at 11.45 - although his own event wasn't until 4.20 pm!
Full results

27 April 2008: Rob Berry wins Croxteth Park (by Brian Grice)

Rob Berry was the easy winner of this year’s Croxteth Park 10K in 32:25, finishing almost a minute ahead of Paul Sankey, Liverpool Running Club. The race attracted 208 finishers, including 59 women, perhaps the heavy early morning rain detracted the waverers. Rob had won the race in 32.30 in 2001 but looked as though he could have got well under under 32 minutes this year had he been pressed.
The weather was perfect for racing: mild, calm and damp though there was plenty of mud and water on parts of the course which may have taken the edge of the times. Ultra consistent David Hamilton was 6th in 35:04, having finished 7th in 35:09 in the race three years ago. Another remarkably consistent club runner, Ian Dodds, finished 21st in 39 minutes 14 seconds. Meanwhile, with two years of injuries behind him Carlos Irizar was euphoric with his great run taking 37th place (40:49) and the dream of breaking 40 minutes this summer at Penny Lane. Brian O’Reilly is another of our club runners looking to break the 40 minute barrier this year, finished 40th (41:05) ahead of Ian Kilshaw 55th (43:01), Brian Grice 133rd (51:35) and Richard Hughes 160th (54:23).
Sue Cooper ran 38:57 at Croxteth when wining the race in 2001 and had another good run this time finishing 4th (1st F50) in 41 minutes 52 seconds behind Liverpool Harrier Jenny Clague (37:43). The race saw a strong challenge from the club’s women with Angela Delaney 8th and 1st F40 (43:34), Karen Faloon 14th and 1st F60 (46:21), Liz Stansfield 17th (47:59), Rachel Thomas 19th (48:06) and Sheila Marshall 46th (57:39).
Many thanks to all club runners who supported this Grand Prix race.  The next stage is the Waterloo 15K on Bank Holiday Monday May 5th. David Hamilton and Rachel Thomas maintain their leading positions in the Grand Prix after 3 races. The Club Grand Prix spreadsheet has been updated.

25 April 2008: Chorley night series attracts enthusiasts (by Richard Cary)

The Chorley Friday night series has started once more. Well-loved by those that take part, with a demanding 1 mile race for the juniors and a demanding 5 km for the seniors. Unfortunately, on this occasion, there were no Southport Waterloo juniors, but the mile race was one of the most closely contested I've seen for a while with just 10 seconds separating the first 6 places - Luke Betts from Chorley running out the winner in 6:04. However, the young ladies acquitted themselves well, filling 3 of the first 6 places. Once again Lucie Harrison-Patry of Blackburn heading the cluster with an impressive 6:09.
And so to the seniors. There were good numbers out for the first of the series, and the quality was high at the sharp end of the field. Winner was the evergreen Vet, Eddie Simpson with 16:29 running for Dallam. Again, it seemed that our club's athletes were distracted by other events coming up and there were just 3 representatives. As usual, Clive and Carole James, and then myself. Another consistent performance from Clive, 83rd with 26:14. Carole, with a proper warm-up on this occasion, and finishing strongly with 24:15 for 70th place and myself pleased with 16th place at 19:28, having been dogged by all sort of injuries recently.
Great races - not ones for PBs, but a good test on a demanding lung-buster. Next one is on Friday 16th May, 6:30pm for juniors, 7:00pm for the 5k. See you in Astley Park?
Full results

24 April 2008: Alison's Big Day
 

Former member Alison Newman was wed on Thursday.  She is now Mrs Garry Bolland.  Congratulations to them both.

23 April 2008: Croxteth Park Grand Prix preview (by Brian Grice)

The next Club Grand Prix race is the Croxteth Park 10K this Sunday (April 27th) at 11am. This is quickly followed by the Waterloo 15K on Bank Holiday Monday, May 5th. Entry forms can be downloaded through the Fixtures link of the club website.
The fast, flat parkland course at Croxteth favours good times being well sheltered from the wind, even when it is blowing a gale on the coast. Recent results can be viewed as archive material on the Liverpool Pembroke website. Rob Berry (32.30) and Sue Cooper (38.57) recoded a double success for Southport Waterloo in the 2001 race, though the fastest SWAC women’s time in the race was posted by Celia Whelan (38.33) when winning in 2005. David Hamilton’s 7th placed 35.09 last year is the best recent SWAC performance at Croxteth.
There have been many good road races held at Croxteth Park over the years, commencing with the 10K races sponsored by P&I Sportsgear in the eighties. A remarkably consistent Martin McLoughlin, who set the Southport Good Friday 10K record time (29.27) in 1988, won the Croxteth Park 10K in 29.30 in 1987 and 29.28 in 1988. It is a measure of the quality of the fields in the eighties that when Geoff Rogan ran 32.42 for the club at Croxteth  in 1986 he finished in 22nd place with Brian Grice (39.10) a long way behind. In those days the Croxteth 10k race attracted over 500 finishers with almost 200 home in under 40 minutes. Indeed, Geoff’s 1986 time would have put him in the first two in most recent years and he would have dead heated with the winner two years ago. Twenty plus years later, Geoff can still be seen jogging along the Formby bypass but at a leisurely pace. A young V50, Norman Marshall ran 42.27 at Croxteth Park in 1988 and finished in front of Sheila. And cross country specialist Brian Davey was running for the old Sefton Harriers when running 38.15 at Croxteth in 1986.
Meanwhile the spreadsheet of SWAC London Marathon Performances has been updated to include this year’s results when we had at least thirteen runners including four women. Runners can also find their own 5k split times on the London Marathon website. Mark Ashby would be pleased to hear from anyone who can fill in any gaps in our London Marathon records.

20 April 2008: Wind chills the Melbourne Open

I guess the idea of splitting the Melbourne Open into two meetings meant that, as well as being able to take more youngsters on Day 1, the Under 17s and above had their own meeting on Day 2 and it certainly had a more senior feel to it; that is if any of us could feel anything in that raw, cold wind by the end of the afternoon.  Fortunately for the sprinters, the wind was behind them in the 100m straight.
There were predictably fewer athletes than on Day 1 but I think the absence of the youngsters did attract a few more seniors and the meeting was certainly worthwhile with many, very competitive races.  Eight Southport Waterloo took part, five of them coming just to take part in one event.
Most of our athletes were sprinters and Katie McHale was the first to compete, in the 400m hurdles. This was a first-time event for Katie and a time of 73 secs wasn't at all bad.  But she was easing off in the home straight and should produce a faster time in a more competitive race.
In the 100m races,  Jordan Kelly ran 12.5 secs, Lauren Brennan ran a PB 12.8 secs and Chris Honess 13.7.  In the 200m, James Armstrong had his first outing over the distance and won in a close finish in 22.6 secs.  That's a great, grade 1 standard time so he is clearly getting back to some form.  Lauren Brennan's 25.9 was a season's best and only a tenth off her previous best time. Chris Honess ran 28.2, which I think is a new personal best.
Andrew Starkey had a brilliant run in the 400m towards the end of the afternoon.  It was clear that Andrew and another lad were closely matched and as they came off the final bend Andrew was just in 2nd place.  But he wasn't to be denied and worked hard down the home straight to win in a great new PB and grade 2 time of 52.7 secs.  That's an improvement from last's year's best of 55.1.  Stephanie May also ran a 400m and 61.6 was a good first outing in today's conditions.
Rhea Ellis make an unusual appearance in the Junior Women's 800m race, her first 800m since she was an under 13!  She ran a very gritty race and held on well in the 2nd lap to finish in a new personal best time of 2:27.3.
There were no 1500m today and, instead, there were a series of 1 mile races.  With this a rather rare event on the track nowadays, it wasn't surprising that many runners were unsure where the start was!  Jai Vernon McGuigan had a go at this and recorded a good time of 5:10.2.  I guess that's a club record as I have no other track records for this distance!
Finally, Jordan Kelly was our only field eventer, competing in both the high jump and long jump.  In the high jump his best clearance was 1m 60 and in the long jump he equalled his PB set in a Manchester indoors of 5m 98.
Results for Southport Waterloo. Full results.

19 April 2008: Wavertree packed for Ernie's meeting

Sixteen of our young athletes attended the Ernie Gallagher Open Track & Field Meeting at Wavertree on Saturday.  This meeting used to be called the Melbourne open meeting but Liverpool Harriers had changed the format for this year, with the juniors competing in their own meeting, using school age groups, in a tribute to Ernie Gallagher, and the Melbourne meeting moved to the Sunday and reserved for under 17s, 20s and seniors.
Certainly the revised format seemed to have worked on the Saturday with lots and lots of youngsters competing, many in the name of their school rather than an athletics club.  And the cold and windy weather didn't seem to put people off with many entries on the day and a packed programme until well after 5 o'clock.
Most of our 16 youngsters were girls, many of whom have already got in several track & field meetings this season.  Sally Wareing and Joshua Hughes were the best performers, both with grade 2 standard runs.  And there were 9 PBs achieved by the 15.
In the Under 11s, schools years 4/5, four girls were competing, with Amy Sinclair in the 600m, improving from 2:26 at Wigan to 2:17.1 today.  Three girls ran the 600m and Georgia Simms was the fastest, recording 2:13.8.  Lauren Deane ran 2:18.4, just outside Georgia's time.  In the 75m sprints, Becky Sinclair won her heat in 11.4 with sister Amy running 12.4.  Becky qualified for the final where she took a medal for 2nd place in 12.1.  All three girls were also in the long jump, their first event, with Becky (3m 30) jumping furthest, Amy 3m 14 and Georgia 2m 23.  Lucy Hunter also wore the blue and gold of  Southport Waterloo and achieved PBs of 1m 91 in the long jump and 2:41.4 in the 600m.
In the Under 13 Girls, years 6 and 7, Alice Cribb ran a PB for a third place bronze medal in theYear 6  600m, her 2:06.4 comparing with 2:15.3 run this time last year.  So the level of improvement is clear to see!
Sally Wareing ran an outstanding 150m to win race 2 in 20.7 secs, the fastest time of all thirteen of the Year 7 girls.  That's a grade 2 time and a PB for Sally, improving from 25.3 secs run 2 years ago!  Sally would also have welcomed a PB in the 800m but 2:41.5 was a season's best and the season is still very young!
In the Under 13 Boys, George Ingram and Gary Clark teamed up to the 100m, 800m and the long jump.  George ran a PB 2:41.1 in the 800, 6 secs ahead of Gary, and his 14.8 secs in the 100m was a season's best.  A 2nd place in both events and a 3rd in the long jump gave him three medals for his day's work.   Gary ran 16.4 for the 100m but he equalled his season's best in the long jump with 3m 37..
In the Under 15 Girls, that's years 8/9, Eleanor Newton was our best performer, achieving PBs in both the 100m and the 75m hurdles. In the 100m, 14.2 qualified her for the final where she improved to 14.1.  In the 75m hurdles, a closely contested 2nd place in 12.6 was a grade 3 standard time and a three tenths improvement from last year.
Katie Morris and Catherine Hulme teamed up in the 800m race.  Katie has already run sub 2:30 this year but in today's cold and windy conditions she had to settle for 2:33.0 and a third place medal.  Catherine also ran well for 2:41.1 - yes, exactly the same time as George Ingram!
Charlotte Sinclair ran a 15.2 secs 100m and a 1500m race in 5:52.2.  And finally, Lucy Whitehead ran 28.8 in the 200m, the windy conditions preventing her approaching the 28.6 she has run indoors over the winter.  today's 28.8 qualified her for the final where she dropped back to 29.5.  Lucy also long jumped 4m 34.
In the Under 15 Boys, Joshua Hughes was again on form, finishing 2nd in the 100m race with 12.1 secs, the same time he ran in Wigan at the end of March, and he won his heat of the 200m in 23.9, just outside his England Athletics Indoors title time of 23.52.  He went on to win the final in 24.0.  Joshua is looking very relaxed in his running and you just feel he has a lot in reserve.
Danny Driver made his first appearance of the season and recorded a PB in the 80m hurdles, just pipped for first place.  His time of 13.1 secs compares with 14 secs in June last year, so an excellent start to the season for him!
Results for Southport Waterloo athletes. Full results.

13 April 2008: Mark Clarehugh leads club at London Marathon

Early reports from Mark Ashby in London are that Mark Clarehugh was the first of the club's London Marathon group to finish, in somewhere around 2 hours 30+; an excellent time and looks to be faster than last year's 2:40:51.  Next in was Richard Shearer, also in a very good time of 2:44:58.  Mark Ashby was home in 3:08, Mike Walker 3:09, Joanne Wilson 3:22, Tracy Peters 3:30 and Mike Cunningham 3:47.
I believe we had three runners in the elite women's start.  That was probably Joanne Wilson, Sam Howard and Ann Eggington.  Sam we think finished in about 3:12.  Ann Eggington's finish was covered by BBC Television.  Well, they covered James Cracknell's finish and Ann was in the frame much of the time as the olympian past her in the run-in for a sub-3 hours time.  I'm not sure of Ann's time as I think the elite women started earlier.
There may be other runners I am not aware of.
Steve Wilkinson accompanied the group to London but could only watch as he came down with something on Thursday.  It is such a pity to put in 60-70 miles a week in training and then not be able to run.  Having returned his number, he will gain an entry for next year but this is becoming a bogey event for Steve who hasn't yet been able to have a good run at it!
Further details will be posted when available.
Another finisher was Gerry Lenehan, crossing the line in 3:05 running for the charity MND.  Also, Andy Stevens-Olsen 3:40, Tony Norbury 3:57 and Dr Paul Chandley, running his 9th consecutive London, 4:07.

12 April 2008: Adam Davies sets new club record at Liverpool

Meanwhile, Liverpool Harriers were putting on a jumps and throws meeting at Wavertree and Adam Davies used this to great effect as his first competition of the season.  His best throw of 56m 26 was a new personal best, a new club record - replacing Paul Jenkins 1977 performance and a handy, early season clearance of the English Schools qualifying distance (and indeed better than the national standard of 54m).   Dad Paul says "he is starting to look really good.  We have changed his technique over the closed season and his throwing is really starting to come together again"  With a 4 metre improvemnt over last year's PB, I should say its paying off!

12 April 2008: T&F League gets under way at Wigan

The heavy rain sweeping across the M58 on Saturday morning didn't bode well for the first track and field league meeting of the season.  Arriving at Wigan's Robin Park Arena, the infield looked badly waterlogged as the rain persisted.  But, by time the track events started at 1 pm, the rain had stopped and things looked a lot brighter.  In fact, the weather turned very pleasant - although the middle distance runners will tell you about the strong head wind in the back straight!
There was a change in the field events this year with the League buying EDM (electronic data measurement) equipment to speed up the long throws and allowing discus and javelin to be offered to under 13s.  Although none of our athletes took advantage, this proved popular - but meant the javelin went on until about 6.30 pm.  In fact, the track events also over-ran.  With Lancashire schools on holiday, numbers were well up and the number of races meant the relays had to be cancelled.  (The League rule is that no event will start after 6 pm.)
Twenty four Southport Waterloo athletes were keen to test themselves at Wigan, a few less than last year but a good turnout this early in the season.  Sally Wareing had the best performance with a grade 2 time in the 100m.  Grade 3s were achieved by Ellon Hart, Sally Wareing, Beth McBride and Jordan Kelly.
In the Under 13 Girls, Sally Wareing was in a tight finish in the 100m, getting 2nd place in a remarkable 13.8 secs, the same grade 2 time she achieved at the Wigan Open two weeks ago.  Sally was also 2nd in her heat of the 800m, running 2:43.9 in these difficult conditions on the back straight.  More surprisingly, Sally had her first competitive shot put and threw 6m 74, a grade 3 standard that placed her 3rd out of 18 girls. Our other under 13 was Alice Cribb.  Alice ran 3:01 in the 800m, 35.6 in the 200m and she long jumped over 3 metres.
Seven of our athletes competed in the Under 15 Girls.  Ellon Hart ran PBs in both the 100m and the 300m.  In the 100m, her 13.5 compares to a previous best from last year of 14.0, showing just how much her speed has improved - and that on very little speed work this early in the season.  She is also attracted to the 300m and won her heat today in 46.1 secs, an improvement on the 47.2 run at Wigan two weeks ago.
Sprinter Beth McBride is also coming along nicely with a season's best of 13.7 in the 100m and a new personal best of 27.5 secs in the 200m.  Lucy Whitehead ran 29.2 in her 200m and won the long jump competition with a good 4m 15.  Sarah Murphy ran a PB 15.7 in the 100, 34.1 in the 200m and recorded another PB with a 5th place 6m 44 in the shot competition.
Katie Morris and Catherine Hulme joined Ellon Hart in the 800m.  Ellon was just a tenth of a second off her Blackpool time with 2:37.8 but Katie was our fastest girl with 2:34.8.  In her first 800m race, Catherine recorded 2:40.8 so a good effort from her. Finally, Patsy Irizar had a chest infection but came along to support her team mates - and earned team points with a shot put of 5m 33.
In the Under 13 Boys' events, Jordan Angel looks to be emerging as a good sprinter.  His 100m and 200m times of 14.6 and 30.3 were new personal bests, improvements from 15.1 and 31.3!  He also produced a good long jump of 3m 89.
Michael Panes was competing again, this time having a run in an 800m and finishing strongly in a graded standard time of 2:34.6.  His 200m time of 31.6 was another PB.   George Ingram recorded a PB with 3m 57 in the long jump and ran a 15.3 secs 100m.  Owen Williams and James Hough also competed in the 200m, running 33.5 and 33.8, Owen previously joining Michael and George in the 800m.
There were no PBs or graded standards amongst our Under 15 Boys' performances but some good results nonetheless. Jake Hogg made his debut with the club running 13.7 in the 100m and 5:23.6 in the 1500.  Chris Lawson  - who topped the rankings last year with 2:27.9 - ran 2:37.0 in the 800m, and was our best long jumper, clearing 3m 94 - getting close to the 4m 07 he leapt almost 2 years ago!
Sean Vis ran 15.0 in the 100m and long jumped 3m 57 whilst Graham Boreham ran 31.4 in the 200m and long jumped 3m 44.
Amongst the Under 17 Men, Jordan Kelly continued an early run of good form with a new PB of 12.1 in the 100m, a two tenths improvement, a good long jump of 5m 63 and an even better triple jump of 11m 95 - very close to last year's best jump of 11m 98.  Patrick Vis decided on the shorter 800m middle distance race and was rewarded with a PB of 2:11.8, a really good performance in such windy conditions.  In the 1500m, Joe Vis teamed up with Jai Vernon-McGuigan and David Gough. Joe finished the fastest in  4:35.4 but 4:41.7 was a season's best for Jai and 4:46.2 not far off David's PB.
Finally, Carlos Irizar is enjoying his running and taking it increasingly seriously with a run today in the Senior Men's 800m.  He was rewarded with a good time of 2:34.1. Such speed work will improve his road running times and it would be great to see more road runners follow his example.  With opportunities in the Mid Lancs and Northern Leagues, who will take up the challenge?
Thanks to team manager Sarah Lawson and to our team of officials today - Chris Henders, Mark Panes and Dave Whitehead. Thanks too, to Carlos for today's photos, both here and on his photo gallery.
Full results. Results for Southport Waterloo athletes.

8 April 2008: Junior team captains appointed

Each year, junior team captains are appointed for the forthcoming track & field season.  This year, the Girls' Team Captain is Lauren Brennan.  For the boys, brothers Patrick and Joe Vis were appointed Boys' Team Captains.

6 April 2008: Six juniors visit Warrington (by Norman Marshall)

Southport Waterloo have about 100 youngsters, training at Litherland and Southport. On a cold April day, six turned out to compete at Warrington.
First event was the u11 girls' long jump. There were two long jump pits at Warrington, both being used at the same time, meaning that the young athletes had to use a short run up.  Nothing wrong with that, as most run up too far.  What wasn't right was that most of the competitors were allowed to stand on the run up, instead of the side. Becky Sinclair came 2nd in this
event, 3.48 beating her jump from the previous week. Sister Amy was having having trouble with her run up and managed 2.95.
Under 11 girls, 75m, and in the first heat was a newcomer from Southport - Georgina Simms.  She had a good run with a time 11.7. In the next heat both the Sinclair girls ran, with Becky winning the heat, and the winner overall, in 11.00.  Amy ran 12.4 and Lucy Hunter 13.5.
In the Under 11 girls' 150m. race Georgina Simms looked good and came in third, and a bronze medal, in 24.56.
The Under 11 girls' next race was a 600m. Becky Sinclair was told to keep away from the front. She started about 6th, mother and Grandma thought too far back, but at the half way point she started to move forward, moved into 2nd place and
managed to hold on to that position, to 9 finish in 2 mins 09 . This was 9 seconds better than the previous week, but the last heat was a fast race with the first two runners running  2.05, so Becky had to make do with a 4th. position overall.  But a great run .  Amy ran 2.30 and Lucy Hunter 2.40ish.
The Under 13 boys' first race was the 100m.   Adam Laughton ran 14.4s and Michael Panes 15.0s.
In the 800m. Adam Laughton was given 2.49sec for 3rd.  Michael Panes ran the 1500 in about 5:08.
Results were slow coming and I might have missed some.

6 April 2008: What, no snow in Oldham? (by Rob Ashworth)

I was looking forward to the forecast snow for the Oldham Mayor’s Half Marathon on Sunday but the day was bright and the roads through the surrounding hills were clear. There are great views on this race with long gentle inclines and super-speedy descents. I had a battle with a runner from Oldham but took better advantage of gravity on the downhill stretches and pulled away after about 5 miles. I was very pleased to finish 12 seconds under my target time and was quickest on the day so won a magnificent glass trophy.
Full results

(Ed: Rob won in 1:19:48)

5 April 2008: Count down in Coniston (by Chris Cutner)

The scenic Coniston 14 race, with its undulating course around Lake Coniston, attracted over 1300 runners this year.   This very popular race always reaches its limit well before the day, so early entry is essential.
Chris Cutner and Michelle Spencer were, I think, the only SWAC runners there.   Officially Chris finished in 1:54:00, and 'Chelle in 2:00:43.   However, 'Chelle’s actual time was at least 2 minutes quicker as the starting arrangements did not match up to the size of the field, and while those near the front (Chris’s usual position!) enjoyed a ten-second countdown, those further back apparently took some time to realise that the race had in fact started!
Conditions were better than forecast –sunny enough to slightly tan the legs, but a keen wind was felt in the second half of the race.   Thankfully wintry showers held off until after the Race.
The winner was Alec Duffield of Loftus and Whitby in 1:14:15.   First lady was Kate Nelson of Swaledale in 1:29:27.
With magnificent refreshments on sale, and plenty happening in the village of Coniston, where the runners received a great reception in the final stages, this is a good family day out.   While Chris was running, husband Paul managed to scoot up and down Coniston Old Man – it wasn’t only the runners feeling their quads later!

5 April 2008: Up & Down Pendle Hill (by Brian Davey)

Two runners from SWAC, Brian Davey and John Sprackland, joined more than 200 other runners in the 4.5 mile race which includes 1500 feet of climb. Despite the cold weather and forecast snow, a good field assembled in Barley village for the 2.00pm start. The sheltered road on which the road starts always hides the true conditions from the runners. The race started in crisp clear conditions but by the time we had reached the start of the first climb we had a snow shower. The first climb takes the runners up onto the plateau of Pendle Hill before sending them diagonally down a half mile steep rocky descent to the bottom of pendle hill before routing the runners up a steep climb back to the trig point on top of the hill.
After this climb you have to try and get some life back into the sore legs for the fast descent back down the hill before the long run in back to Barley village hall. We were lucky we had no more snow through the race which was won by Andy Peace of Bingley. Brian Davey was 62nd in 42.14 with John Sprackland 86th in 44.14.