Southport Waterloo A C
NEWS REPORTS - JULY 2009
| News reports and results should be E-mailed or telephoned to Ron Scott | Statement of Practice on the use of photographs |
25 July 2009: Boys
2nd at penultimate Mid Lancs
The
4th round of the Mid Lancs League was held at Leverhulme Park in Bolton. At
a fairly well attended fixture, right at the start of the school holiday period,
it was again disappointing to see so few Southport Waterloo athletes.
I'm not sure why it is but our athletes have not attended this great league
in any real numbers for some time. Those you do attend regularly clearly enjoy
their athletics. These are my kind of athletes!
Those who came along to Bolton enjoyed a great day in the sun and were rewarded
with loads of PBs. The best performances on the day was by Under 13s Erin Donagh
and Olivia Croft. Both girls achieved Grade 2 standards, Erin in the 800m and
Olivia in the high jump.
At team level, the boys did best. But coming 2nd with 59 points when the 1st
team - Horwich - scored 169 kind of takes the shine off! Overall, we move off
the top spot in Division 2 but with a home fixture to come, the boys should
be promoted back to Division 1. The girls scored 69 points for 3rd place, but
again Horwich were the outstanding club with 150 points. Whilst its not mathematically
impossible, it is very doubtful that the girls can get back up to Division 1
this year!
There was a good turnout of Under 13 Girls, with Ashleigh Jackson
and Lauren Deane making their first competitive appearance for the club this
year. Both girls were rewarded with PBs in the long jump, Ashleigh with a best
of 3m 49 and Lauren 3m 13.
Erin Donagh ran a PB in the 800m in an excellent grade 2 time of 2:33.9 which
was only good enough for 3rd place in this competitive league. Erin also had
a graded performance in the long jump, the best 
jump
by our girls of 3m 80, and had a go in the javelin throwing nearly 13 metres.
The other excellent performance was by Olivia Croft who cleared 1m 35 in the
high jump, a grade 2 standard performance and a new personal best for her. Her
2nd place was one of our highest place finishes!
Alice Cribb had a good day too, with PBs in the 200m (32.6) and the 800m where
her 2:48 time was a 3 secs improvement on her previous best.
The 5 girls produced 6 PBs between them; an excellent day's effort!
The Under 13 Boys managed a few PBs as well, with 4 achieved by
the 4 boys.
The best performances here came in the 800m, with both Andrew Kershaw and Tom
Lodge running grade 3 times of 2:28.5 and 2:30.7. Again, the quality of the
opposition meant the boys came 3rd and 4th in their race. Andrew also ran his
first 200m of the year, in 30.1, only a tenth behind Tom's 30.0, a new PB for
him.
Joe Savin and George Sutton made late season appearances for the club. George
produced PBs in the javelin (16m 36) and long jump (3m 38). Joe's 4m 04 long
jump was a new best, compares with 3m 59 last year and shot Joe up to 3rd of
12 in the club's rankings.
Ell
on Hart was our only Under 15 Girl today but she certainly
didn't disappoint. Her heat 2 winning time of 2:28.2 was her best time this
year for the 800m and happily broke her previous PB! Then in the 300m, she won
the Under 15 girls' race in 43.9, a grade 3 standard.
And there was only one Under 15 Boy today. Graham Boreham is clearly
on the up side of the curve with 2 more track PBs today.
His confident run in the 800m brought him home in a new PB time of 2:27.6. After
last weekend's 2:31 I was looking forward to Graham going sub-2:30 but I didn't
expect him to dip so much and so soon! He did well in the 200m too with a new
PB time of 28.4.
Catherine Hulme and Ruth Doran represented us in the Under 17 Women.
Catherine took a break from 3K running with a season's best 800m time of 3:36
and a new PB in the long jump with 3m 94.
Ruth Doran would have been disappointed that the hammer competition was cancelled
but she did well in the shot with 8m 33 and the discus, 15m 27, finishing 2nd
in both events
Finally, the Vis brothers are flying at the moment and appear to run PBs just
about every time they compete, most recently in the 3000m at Stretford last
Tuesday, Joe running 9:12 and Patrick 9:22. They came along today to run in
the senior men's 1500m which was a bigger race than usual with 10 runners. Joe
finished 2nd in 4:16.9 and Patrick was 3rd in 4:24.5. And, yes, these are both
new personal bests!
Thanks to Steve Boreham for team managing today and to our officials; Lesley
Scott, Sue Gellett and Chris Henders. Because of a shortage of timekeepers,
Sue and Chris found themselves doing computer results for which I was very grateful!
Results for club athletes. Full results are on the
Mid Lancs web site.
The final Mid Lancs League match is a home fixture at Litherland on Saturday
8th August when hopefully we will see a better turnout from the club - and volunteer
helpers too! The entry form for the Mid Lancs Medal meeting on 22nd August is
on the Mid Lancs web site. Completed forms and entry fees can be passed to Ron.
22 July 2009: Grand
Prix July Harrock Hill race (by Rob Ashworth)
Southport Waterloo AC participation in this great race over field and dale (and
stiles) has been high this year: 12 in May and 13 in June. However, notable
absences due to holidays and injury meant numbers were similar yesterday (13
runners) despite being a Grand Prix designated race. The absence of Richard
Shearer (1st in May, 2nd in June) and his Harry Hill nemesis Phil Bolton of
Rossedale (2nd ,1st) left the way for Peter Matthews of Blackburn Harriers to
win in 33:06. This leaves the exciting possibility of a straight head to head
for the series title if Richard and Phil both make the August fixture.
Those not there missed out on perfect conditions: it was warm but breezy, the
going was good and the more overgrown parts of the course had even been strimmed.
This enabled me to slash 7 seconds off last month's time to achieve my first
ever Grand Prix victory in 35:02. Second in was newcomer to hill racing Ben
Johnson (37:25). Then both Gary Kenny (37:42) and the flying doctor Simon Tobin
(39:47) knocked around a minute off their previous times. (This confirmed Brian
Davey's prediction that the Monday training sessions would help Simon break
40 minutes for this course.) Fifth was Andy Hudson (40:41) followed by Ian Kilshaw
(42:45). Next Paul Cain (43:00) was 39 seconds quicker than June. First SWAC
lady was Vicky Harvey (46:46). Next in was Clive James (48:08) and then Rachel
Thomas came in half a minute faster than June in 48:25. Close on Rachel's heels
was Terry Maguire (48:28) then Chris Cutner (51:28) and Carole James (52:13).
In the prize ceremony Chris Cutner honorably turned down the fruit and veg for
1st lady V50 but accepted 2nd LV50 and I also got 2nd MV40. Male team winners
were Blackburn and female team on home territory were Parbold Pink Panthers.
For the first time two lucky spot prize winners received a bag of spuds - EACH.
Updated Grand Prix Table Updated Harrock
Hill club rankings
19 July 2009: Young
Athletes go out on a high
With
relegation from the Northern Premier Division already certain, and another depleted
teamsheet handed in, there was not much to look forward to at the final Young
Athletes League meeting at Wavertree. In fact, the pressure of the race for
survival was off and it turned out to be a very good match. The youngsters finished
with 2 match points; the best that could be achieved against the competition.
Liverpool Harriers were the clear winners with 499 points, followed by a high-flying
Doncaster squad with 412.5 points, Southport Waterloo had 281 and Kingston-upon-Hull
(also relegated) 256.5. With just 2 Under 13 Girls, this was a really impressive
result! But a lot of re-building work will be needed next year to get us back
amongst the best of the North.
Sally Wareing had the best club performance, winning the 200m in 26.3 - a grade
1 standard. There were 4 grade 2 standards; Sally Wareing and James Armstrong
in the 100m, Josh Hughes in the 200m and Jordan Kelly in the triple jump. After
such an excellent set of results at English Schools, the club's sprinters continue
to excel!
Sally Wareing and James Armstrong are our club 'athletes of the match'.
Our only Under 13 Girls were sisters
Becky and Amy Sinclair. Becky ran a 23.6 150m with Amy 24.9. Elsewhere, Becky's
13.4 in the 70m hurdles and Amy's 3m 43 long jump were new personal bests.
Fortunately,
we had a few more Under 15 Girls.
The best performer here was once again sprinter Sally Wareing. She won the 200m
race in 26.3, a grade 1 time, and a strong field and more intensive sprint training
pulled her along to an excellent new PB in the 100m of 12.9 secs. Yve Knowles
also ran a PB of 13.5 in the 100m.
Ellon Hart ran season's bests in both the 200m and the 800m, 27.5 and 2:31.4,
just 2 hundredths off her PB! There were several more PBs. Lauren Clarehugh
won the 1500m race in a new best time of 5:12.2 and her 17m 27 discus throw
was nearly 4 metres up on her previous best. Emma Dryden had PBs in both the
75m hurdles, in 17.5 secs, and the discus (13m 99). And Patsy Irizar's 3m 53
long jump was a new PB for her.
Lydia McGill was our best hurdler (14.5) and best long jumper. Lauren Tasker
was a new name in this age group and she impressed on a first appearance with
a fine win in the javelin with a best throw of 20m 78.
Interestingly, we had more Under 17 Women
than Under 15 Girls - but we still didn't manage to fill the teamsheet. But
interesting, too, to see that our Under 17s were 2nd only to Liverpool in the
match today beating both Kingston and Doncaster.
The best performers were again sprinters, with Beth McBride running a grade
2 100m in 12.9, just getting ahead in a tight finish, and Eleanor Newton winning
the 80m hurdles in 12.5 and coming 2nd in the 300m hurdles in 48.7 secs.
Megan
Woodburn ran the 100m, 200m and 300m, her 100m time of 14.1 giving her a new
personal best.
Katie Morris has been struggling with a groin strain but ran an 800m today and
was pleased with a 2nd place in 2:36.1 - and no pain! Katie also had a season's
best in the javelin, throwing a best of 11m 62.
We remain short of middle distance runners but both Catherine Hulme and Jenny
Girdler ran the 3000m. Catherine started well but Jenny eased past her in the
second half of the race, finishing 3rd in 11:59.5 with Catherine taking max
'B' points in 12:13.9. Jenny also threw a new personal best in the javelin with
11m 23.
In the field events, Ruth Doran won the hammer competition with 27m 95 and Lucy
Whitehead was 2nd in both the long jump and triple jump, her 9m 38 triple jump
being a new personal best for her. Finally, Jess Thomas added valuable points
in the shot and discus.
With Beth McBride running the last leg of the 4 x 300m relay race, the girls
pulled clear of Doncaster to finish 2nd to Liverpool Harriers in 3:13.3.
Turning to the boys, there were several graded standard performances by our
Under 13 Boys. Both Adam Laughton
and Andrew Kershaw had grade 3 standards, Adam's 13.7 for 100m being a new PB
for him. He had another PB with a best long jump of 4m 25. Middle distance runner
Andrew was also called in to do a sprint and would be pleased with 14.4 but
his best 
performance
was 2:30.5 for 800m finishing 2nd in that race. Tom Lodge normally does well
over 800m and tops the club rankings but he was off the pace today, finishing
2nd 'B' in 2:41.4.
In a competitive field, Michael Panes ran 5:10.1 and Adam Cullen 5:36.4 in the
1500m race. Michael was joined by Danny Winkle in the 75m hurdles, Danny running
15.3 for 2nd and Michael 16.8.
Matthew Lawson won the shot put competition with a best throw of 6m 64, almost
a metre improvement on his previous best, and Tom Clarehugh threw 4m 09.
In the 4 x 100m relay, the boys equalled their season's best, Andrew, Danny,
Michael and Adam L getting the baton around in 59.2.
Amongst our Under 15 Boys, Niall
Cullen was once again the winner of the 1500m race in 4:36. Gary Clark stepped
up to 1500m but it wasn't his day and he finished in 5:43.7 well off this year's
PB of 4:50.
Graham Boreham has been building up his endurance after an illness last winter
and ran his first 800m of the season. A new PB of 2:31.4 was a pleasing result
and shows a sub-2:30 time is a reasonable target for the remainder of the season.
Today, George Ingram was our fastest runner over the distance; 2:26.4. George
also recorded a PB in the hurdles running 15.3 for 80m.
Alex Bentley made his first appearance for the club running 12.5 for 100m and
61.4 for 400m. Jake Hogg was 2nd in the 400m, setting a new PB of 59.5. Luca
Anelli is still improving and equalled his PB in the 100m of 12.6 and set a
new personal best of 26.2 in the 200m. Owen Williams ran a 200m today and stopped
the clock in 28.0.
Chris
Lawson is sticking with field events at present and threw the shot 6m 08 and
the discus 15m 23. Luca's long jump of 5m 15 was a good new PB. Patrick Cullen
had another PB of 21m 08, an improvement of over 2 metres in the javelin. In
the hammer throw Niall was best with 20m 39 but Graham's 13m 63 was another
PB for him.
In the 4 x 400m relay, the boys time of 4:16.9 was a season's best, Niall Cullen
recording the fastest lap of 58.9.
Sprinters were back to the fore in the Under 17
Men where James Armstrong ran his first competitive race this
summer. A grade 2 time of 11.3 for 2nd place was an excellent result that appeared
to be achieved without pain and running within himself. Josh Hughes won the
'B' race in 11.5 after taking the honours in the 200m, won in 23.0 secs.
One other notable result was in the javelin where both Josh Francis and James
Armstrong renewed friendly rivalry, both runners throwing over 40m. Josh was
2nd 'A' with 40m 38 and James won the 'B' with 40m 37. Yes, just 1 cm separating
the two of them!
Back on the track, Ryan Williams ran a 200m in 25.4, Andrew Starkey and Josh
Francis ran the 400m, in 53.7 and 54.2 secs, Danny Driver ran 100m hurdles in
14.7 and Jack Craig was the only Under 17 middle distance runner, running 2:06.9.
Shaun Parker appeared in the jumps, high jumping 1m 40 and long jumping 3m 80.
Jordan Kelly was king of the horizontal jumps, 
however,
finishing 2nd in both the long, with 5m 67, and the triple, with 12m 88. Finally
Thomas Atherton had PBs in both the discus, by 1 cm to 19m 01, and the hammer,
23m 69.
The 4 x 100m relay team recorded a season best of 45.7 and in the 4 x 400m Josh
Francis had the fastest split of 54.3 secs.
Our thanks must go to team managers Tina Pilkington and Graham Morris for the
many hours of work behind the scenes and supporting our teams in their matches
this season. Thanks too to all the athletes, both today and in earlier matches
who have given everything and don't deserve to be relegated. Thanks to today's
officials Chris Henders, Susan Gellett, Robbie Clark, Dave Whitehead, Lesley
Scott, Sue Ingram, Steve Boreham and Dan Dalle Mulle. And to Steve Starkey and
several of the girls for today's photographs.
Results for club athletes. Full
results.
The season is not over, however, with a promotion still possible in the Mid
Lancs League, where the next match is at Bolton next Saturday. And entry
forms are now available for the club's own Open T&F Meeting at Litherland
on 5th September.
10/11 July 2009: Eight
Athletes travel to the English Schools' Championships (by
Tina & Graham Pilkington)
The
English Schools Championships were held at the impressive Don Valley Stadium,
Sheffield on Friday 10th and Saturday 11th with the lure of Saturday afternoon's
finals being aired on Sky.
An impressive eight athletes had been selected from the Club with all of these
spread across the Speed events. The athletes travelled across on Thursday with
the team, and a total of 29 parents, relatives, coaches and friends travelled
across to support them over the weekend, a pretty impressive following. Whilst
James Armstrong had the opportunity for selection, due to the fact that he was
just returning to full time training he made the sensible decision not to compete,
but showing his commitment still travelled across to support his training colleagues.
First to compete was Eleanor Newton in the Intermediate Girls 80m Hurdles. Being
bottom of her age group and this being Eleanor's first English Schools, this
year was very much about experience. Eleanor, however, had a great run finishing
in 7th place, in a time of 12.24 seconds just four hundredths outside her best.
Second to run was another athlete experiencing English Schools for the first
time and again bottom of her age group, Sally Wareing in the Junior Girls 200m.
Sally had a brilliant run in her heat to finish fourth with a massive new personal
best of 26.08 seconds, finishing 4th in her heat. With a tough qualification
of first two and two fastest losers going into the final Sally just missed out
on this.
We received a call on the Friday evening to say Sally's run was being used to
advertise the competition the next day - fame at such a young age!
Both girls should do very well next year with another year of training under
their belt and having now experienced this level of competition and both still
being bottom in their current age groups.
The girls were followed by Andrew Starkey in the Intermediate boys 400m. Andrew
following a brilliant indoor season has had a summer beset by illness and injury.
He has, however, had an impressive two weeks in training and was going into
the Championships full of confidence. Andrew ran an outdoor seasons best of
51.87 seconds to finish 6th in his heat. Whilst this is still off his best he
is improving with every race.
Andrew was followed almost immediately by Beth McBride in the 
Intermediate
girls 200m, another athlete for who this was her first major Championships and
who is bottom of her age group. Again it was going to be a tough call for Beth
to qualify for the final with only the first two and two fastest going through.
Beth finished sixth in her heat in a time of 26.24 seconds (bizarrely just like
Eleanor - just four hundredths of her previous best). This was an excellent
performance in her first ever major championship and Beth is another to look
out for next year.
In the intermediate boys 200m, we had Josh Hughes, who competed at this level
last year, but who had moved up an age group this year and again is, therefore,
bottom of his age group (is anyone else now looking forwards to next year?).
Josh had a storming race and smashed his old personal best to set a new time
of 22.73 seconds. It just shows how tough this event is that Josh finished fifth
in his heat with this brilliant time and failed to qualify by only a tenth for
the semi finals.
Our next athlete on the track for the day was Lauren Brennan in the Senior Girls
400m. Lauren ran a conservative first 200m in her heat and picked it up brilliantly
to finish 3rd in a time of 57.30, a new personal best and Club record, qualifying
for the final. In the final the next day which was televised on Sky Lauren had
lane eight and therefore had a television camera on her all the time she was
waiting for the start. She did not let this put her off and set a lightning
pace for the first 200m, which may have been slightly too fast. She came of
the final bend in an excellent position, but faded in the last 50m to finish
a very creditable 5th in another personal best and another Club record time
of 57.02. Lauren was disappointed not to break the magic 57 barrier, but guess
what - yes she is also bottom of her age group as well.
Our final individual athlete to compete on the track and without doubt the most
unlucky of the day Danny Driver in the Intermediate Boys 100m Hurdles. Danny
set off in the hurdles with a very good start and took off too close to the
first hurdle catching his front foot under the hurdle causing him to crash over
the first hurdle. If only he had been doing a gymnastics routine I am sure he
would have scored highly! Danny got up and walked down the track winning a great
deal of respect from everyone in the crowd and will be back another day. Danny
is another athlete at the bottom of the age group and will certainly be one
to watch next year as his power and speed continues to develop. Whilst not an
experience he would have chosen I am sure this will prove invaluable to him
as his hurdling career progresses.
Our
final individual athlete to compete was Jordan Kelly in the Inter Boys Triple
Jump. Jordan is another athlete who following a massive growth spurt has had
a number of niggling injuries that have hampered his season. He was keen to
compete after jumping the qualifying standard at the selection competition and
did well following an initial no jump to come back with a jump of 12.53m.
The final races of the day were the 100m relays and both Josh Hughes and Beth
McBride were selected for their Intermediate teams. With Graham Pilkington taking
over the Coaching of the Merseyside Relay Teams a full practice session with
all the teams took place. Merseyside were rewarded with three out of four teams
making the final which were to be televised the next day on Sky, luckily both
the teams in which Josh and Beth were running in made the final.
In the Finals on Saturday afternoon Beth's Intermediate Girls team was first
to run. Having run an excellent 49.33 in the heats to qualify they knew they
needed the perfect race and change overs to deliver a medal. All the team, including
Beth, delivered when it mattered and finished in a great time of 48.96, just
outside the medals in fifth place.
Next on were the Intermediate Boys relays, with Josh Hughes on first leg. Again
in full view of the cameras Josh had a blistering start handing over in an excellent
position. Again all of the change overs were near perfect, but legs were getting
tired after two day of competition, and the team whilst coming agonisingly close
to a medal in fourth place with a time of 43.83 seconds did not quite have enough
to get them into third place.
Finally were the Senior Boys Merseyside Team, which unfortunately did not include
any Southport Waterloo athletes, but who knew they had a chance of a medal with
a good run. Their changes overs were again, after a lot of work with Graham,
near perfect and they were disappointed to finish fourth in a time of 43.01,
just five hundredths outside a medal. After a red flag on the first changeover
though, Sussex were disqualified moving them up to third place.
So over the two days three athletes came away with personal bests (one with
a new Club Record), one athlete with a season's
best and two only four hundredths from their best times all the athletes and
their coaches can be very pleased of an excellent weekend. It is testament to
the work being done with these athletes and their commitment to their training
that they are able to peak at this level of competition. With 6 out of the 8
being bottom of the age group then next year, if they carry on with the commitment
they have shown, and pick it up this winter could be a real bumper year for
the Club and the sprints squad.
 |
8 July 2009: Richard
Shearer on way to series win at Haigh Hall (by
Richard Shearer)
On Wednesday I travelled to the Haigh Hall 4 miler to secure my position
in the 4 race series. It was a good race which saw me sat in behind a Salford
runner for the first mile uphill.
I sat in and worked to stay in touch and after 2 miles I decided to push the
pace on the uphill section and I went in front, but he managed to stay with
me and he overtook me again started to push on the last mile down hill.
I sat in tight and then decided to push ahead again but couldn't shake him .
He went past me again with about 600m to go but I felt I had to beat him. As
I came around the final bend to the finish I could hear my son,Tom, and Steve
Wilkinson shouting me and I just sprinted as hard as I could and managed to
secure a win in 21min 13secs, thanks to that much needed support of Steve and
Tom.
I only need a top 6 place in the last race to guarantee me a series win. The
last race at Haigh Hall is part of the clubs, Grand Prix so as many of you Southport
Waterloo AC runners turn out and get your racers on. It is always great to see
the club well represented at as many races as possible.
7 July 2009: Vis
Brothers break more PBs at Stretford (by Richard
Shearer)
On Tuesday, Richard Shearer, Pat and Joe Vis travelled to Stretford to compete
in the 3000m.
We went to see if recent training was working and making us stronger and more
efficient runners. We had all competed at Ellesmere Port in the Northern T&F
League and we all ran PBs
We travelled with slightly tired legs but Joe managed a great time of 9 minutes
13 secs and Pat ran 9 minuets 26 secs I managed to run 9 minutes 17 secs
Joe ran very strongly from the start ahead of me and Pat but as the race progressed
Pat took up the front running with Joe close behind. I was struggling and I
had nothing in my legs and was fading. When we got just past the 2000m point,
Pat started to fade and fell back. This was definitely due to tired legs from
his 3000m steeplechase on Sunday.
Joe continued to move on and in the last 400m pulled clear of me and pulled
himself in to 2nd place and a great PB.
I think we have a lot to come from Joe and Pat and with the lads moving up to
senior men in the cross country and able to compete in road relays, I feel with
this and the progress of other runners it promises to be a great Autumn and
winter. But before we get ahead of ourselves, we still have some faster times
to achieve over the next 8 weeks.
5 July 2009: Testing
times for tandem triathletes (by Richard Cary)
Southport
Waterloo was represented at the unique tandem triathlon in Bishops Castle, Shropshire.
For teams of two, the first person completes a 1000m swim, the second does a
10k run, but in-between is a tandem ride, rather than the usual solo bike, for
just over 35k. And at the end of the run, there is a further sprint back to
the event HQ on the tandem. Being Shropshire, everything apart from the swimming
pool was hilly and hard work.
Taking this event very seriously (some went down the fancy-dress route) were
Richard Cary (who did the run) and his wife Sue (the swimmer). We were delighted
to finish in 11th place overall, and 2nd as a mixed Vets team (in fact we were
the fastest husband and wife squad). Neil Rothwell (swimmer) and Richard Howgego
(runner) paired up as their wives Bev and Ann rode around as spectators. Using
Andy Hudson's tandem for only the second time as a pair they were powering up
Colstey Bank when the inner chainwheel exploded into fragments under the stress.
They gamely fixed and fettled things into a rideable state, rode back down the
hill to the HQ, hired another tandem and set off again to complete their task.
Both Richards will confirm that the run through the woods to the top of Bury
Ditches was brutal. However, we're all undaunted by our respective trials and
have vowed to return next year, even Bev and Ann who were suitably inspired
by what they saw and are planning to team up and challenge their husbands.
The event forms part of a tandem festival that includes a lot of fun events,
the best of which was the tandem limbo, and if you don't own a tandem then you
can share or hire. Join the fun.
5 July 2009: Seniors
4th in Northern League Rnd 3
The
League table for Division 2 West in the Northern League is looking very interesting
after Round 3 held at the Stanney Oaks track in Ellesmere Port. Already, it
looks certain that Blackpool Wyre & Fylde and West Cheshire will be promoted
and Manx will drop down to Division 3. But who will fill the 2nd relegation
spot?
After three matches, St Helens Sutton, Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton and Southport
Waterloo are sitting on 9 league points each. With 1 match left, match points
won't matter. The last match is effectively a run-off for these three clubs
with the team coming 3rd being relegated. So the scene is set for a fascinating
finale at Blackpool on Sunday 2nd August. We will need to have our strongest
team available!
At Ellesmere Port, we finished 4th of 6. The scores were Blackpool 433 points,
West Cheshire 397, LPS 379, Southport Waterloo 331, St Helens Sutton 323 and
Manx 102 - not bad with just 9 athletes, many being away competing in the Island
Games.
With sunshine and showers forecast, the weather proved kind to us and the day's
athletics proved very enjoyable.
Its difficult to pick out a club best performance but Ruth Doran was very impressive,
particularly in the hammer, and for the boys Joe Vis impressed on the track.
Stephanie May, Katie McHale and Rob Berry were all event winners.
This was the first time that Under 17 Ruth Doran had competed in a senior league
match and she was clearly not intimidated. Fortunately, throwing weights are
the same for U17, U20 and senior women.
In
the shot she threw a best of 8m 47, a PB, in the discus, 17m 22 and in the hammer
31m 24. Her previous hammer best was 24m 59 so a massive improvement that only
comes from working on technique.
Katie McHale is finding some renewed fitness and won the 100m hurdles. Despite
an injury preventing training since the last match, Stephanie May surprised
herself with a win in the 400m in 59.6. In fact, she ran an excellent race helped
by a lane 1 draw which allowed her to pace the race perfectly. Stephanie is
a team manager's dream with fine performances in the pole vault, 100m 200m,
javelin and the fastest leg of the 4 x 400m relay in 63.0.
Charlene Taylor also appeared in the sprints with a good 13.7 in the 100m. Sarah
Docherty ran a PB 65.0 in the 400m and was only a little longer in the 4 x 400m
with a 65.7 split.
Louise Leek was our only 1500m runner but would be pleased with a PB 5:32.7.
With Sue Cooper off to the British Masters championships, Angela Delaney was
joined by Tracy Peters in the 5000m. Angie ran 11:35.4, her fastest time this
year and possibly a personal best! Tracy ran 11:47.1 to win the 'B' race.
Over the hurdles, Rachel Flynn won the 'B' 400m hurdles in 71.3 - and may well
have taken the 'A' race which was won in 70.1. Charlotte Buckingham was our
other hurdler, running 19.2 in the sprint hurdles. Charlotte also competed in
all the jumps, winning the 'B' triple jump with 9m 74, behind Katie McHale's
9m 87.
Continuing in the field, Ann Dignan was our other thrower, competing in shot,
discus, javelin and hammer.
Rob Berry was the only event winner in the men's team, winning the 3000m steeplechase
in a leisurely 10:12.1. Compare this time with 8:58 Rob ran in a BMC meeting
3 years ago! Under 20 Patrick Vis is showing considerable improvement as a 'chaser,
running 10:29.5 today; that's a 20 secs improvement on his PB.
Brother Joe impressed with two new personal bests on the track. In the 1500m
he ran 4:20.9 and knocked 3 secs off his 800m best with 2:09.6. Jay Tartt was
our 'A' 800m runner and looked in control after a lap but he was in some pain
today and dropped back with 250m to go as both Dave Forresters shot past, followed
by Blackpool's Luke Minns. Jay finished 4th in 2:02.6. Jay also had our best
javelin throw with 28m 04.
In the
sprints, Andrew Starkey ran both 100m and 200m. I'm not sure Andrew has previously
run a 100m for the club but 11.6 was an excellent result in this match with
the first 4 finishing almost abreast with 11.5, 11.5, 11.6, 11.6. He was also
3rd in the 200m in 23.2. Under 17 sprint hurdler Danny Driver came along for
some flat speed work and ran 12.5 and 24.9 for the 100m and 200m.
In the 400m Jay Tartt ran 53.9 and Ciaran Brennan ran a PB 55.0 secs. Ciaran
was also our 'A' 400m hurdler, running 69.0, with David Gough 71.0. David also
hurdled the 110m in 25.1. Nathan Ouko was the 'B' hurdler, but faster in 22.1.
Nathan got involved further with performances in the high jump, long jump and
relays.
Steve Wilkinson was another multi-performer taking good points in the high hump,
clearing 1m 60, javelin, shot - a season's best 9m 85 - , hammer - a season's
best 17m 51 - and discus - another season's best 28m 63; a team manager's delight!
Peter Mason was also throwing, with performances in hammer, discus - a season's
best 27m 30 - and shot.
Back on the track, distance runners Richard Shearer and Rob Ashworth tackled
the 5000m in fairly warm conditions. Despite that, Richard ran an excellent
15:57.2 which I think is a track PB. He ran 15:51 on the road at the Bowden
5K a month ago but road distances are not as accurately measured. Rob Ashworth
was 2nd in the 'B' race in a17:38.4.
Thanks to everyone who competed today; to Barbara May our team manager; and
to our officials - Norman Marshall, Lesley Scott, Sue Gellett, Ann Dignan, Peter
Mason and Gill and Paul Brennan.
Results for club athletes.
5 July 2009: One
more British Masters' Medal (by Susan Cooper)
After Steve Marshall's tremendous achievement at Birmingham on Saturday,
the pressure was really on for me to complete my 5,000M race in some sort of
medal position. Well, I'm pleased to say I came home not only with a W55 Gold
Medal but an experience of having competed in one of the most memorable races
of my life.
My race was the first to be held on the Sunday morning and the women taking
part were not only my age group but all the five year categories above mine.
The main competition for me was Chris Kilkenny, whom I thought I could beat,
so I started the race feeling reasonably confident. After the gun went off,
Chris forged ahead, followed by Angela Copson, the W60 who has only been running
a couple of years but who has already broken a number of world age group records,
then Janette Stevenson, a very experienced W60 runner who has also set age group
records in the past, then me. We tracked one another for about five laps, then
Chris began to tire and the three of us eased past her.
My gold medal was now pretty certain, as long as I didn't do anything stupid,
so I was able to relax and observe a fascinating battle unfold between the two
W60s who were not only vying for first place but aiming to break the W60 world
record time of 19:14. The three of us stayed together, effectively acting as
pacemakers for one another, until two laps to the finish at which point the
commentator announced that the pace was now probably too slow for a world record
but that a European record was still a possibility. Immediately Angela upped
the pace and Janette and I went with her. Would Janette go past her? She tried
very hard but, with 150 metres to go, Angela pushed on even harder, finishing
in 19:04 and breaking the W60 World Record by ten seconds! Janette finished
in 19:05 and I finished in 19:07, my best time in a long while.
Steve James adds: There have been some other
successes by the club's vets. At the recent (21st June) BMAF 5K Road Race Championships
at Horwich, Karen Faloon won the over 60 class in 21.30 to take the British
title. Also running was Sue Cooper, who came 2nd in the W55 age group. And in
the Northern Veterans' 10K Championship on June 28th Phil Bailey won the over
55 class in 39.50.
4 July 2009: British
Masters' medals (by Stephen Marshall)
After last year's results in the British Masters' T&F Champs, I thought
I'd give this year's champs a go with the good omens being that 19 years ago
I came second in the National Civil Service Championships at the same venue
- Alexandra Stadium (probably my best performance to date).
Training had gone well until the beginning of June but when I started to put
the finishing touches to my training I started to pick up injuries at every
turn meaning that I hadn't trained properly for nearly 4 weeks, not running
at all the week before suffering from a dodgy right groin. I though I'd give
it a go and if the injury went again I'd still tried. Anyway ran the 110m hurdles
Vet40 and as soon as I set off I felt the groin at every hurdle so decided to
slow slightly managing to get the silver medal in 19.2 ( a lot slower than the
northern league and over lower hurdles!)
The groin was now very sore so I saw the physio at the track who gave me a good
going over and I managed to get to the start line of the 400m hurdles. I took
the race steady and surprised myself by winning in 64.2 which bodes well for
the last Northern league in August. All in all a great day. Sue Cooper races
on Sunday so all the best to her.
