27 August 2007: Three juniors at Stretford Open (by Rob Clark)

Only three athletes from Southport Waterloo were here on this bank holiday Monday but they produced 3 personal bests and a bronze medal.
Under 15 Katie Morris ran the 800m in 2:32.0 in an event won by H Doughty of East Cheshire in 2:19.1.
Under 13 Patricia Irizar ran a new PB of 1:51.1 in the 600m, now snapping at the heals of Sally Wareing - 1:50.9.  Patricia's time is an improvement of 30 secs from earlier this year.  The race was dominated by Chelsea Jarvis (St Helens Sutton) in 1:43.1.
A full day's programme was in store for under 13 Gary Clark.  A new PB of 16.5 in the 75m hurdles saw him miss out on bronze by just 0.2 secs in a race won by E Se;vey in 14.6.  A rushed long jump series only resulted in a best of 3m 10.  However, a bronze was secured in the 600m with 1:56.4.  J Gleaves (Warrington) ran away from the rest of the field to record an emphatic win in 1:40.6.

27 August 2007: Xmas diary dates

The Junior Awards Presentations evening is booked for Friday, 30th November, again at the RAFA Club by Freshfield station.  The provisional date for the seniors' Xmas dinner is Saturday, 8th December, venue to be confirmed.  Please put these dates in your diary now!

27 August 2007: Grand Prix update (by Brian Grice)

The next Grand Prix race is the Rufford 10K on Sunday September 2nd starting at 11 am, a very fast course on a calm day given the flat terrain but a tough event if the wind gets up on the return across the moss.
This is a popular local race which usually gets good support from the club. Richard Hughes and Sue Cooper still lead the Grand Prix after 8 events but strong contenders are queuing up behind them with four more races in this year's competition. The Rufford race is followed by the Liverpool 10K, Southport 10K and Preston 10. The Southport 10K, which attracted over 600 runners last year, looks like being another big event on October 21st as it is being supported by Dune FM and the Southport Visiter in conjunction with a 3K Fun Run. This year's Grand Prix has attracted 79 club runners who have made 193 appearances in the competition at the two-third stage so looks likely to beat the previous best turnout.
Updated Grand Prix Table and SWAC Harrock Hill Performance Table.

26 August 2007: Lauren goes to UK Schools' Games (by Paul Brennan)

The second UK Schools' Games were staged at the University of Warwick at the weekend. The games aim to have an  Olympic feel to them with sports ranging from athletics to volleyball and all competitors staying on campus to create an Olympic village atmosphere.
Lauren Brennan was selected to represent the North West in the 4x300m relay in what looked to be a strong team. She was also invited to run in a Guest 300m race but the race had yet to be scheduled into the busy timetable.
At 9:30 on  Sunday morning, Lauren was told the guest race was to be the first race of the day at 10:00 o'clock.  After a hurried warm up she was out on the track, which unusually was as blue as the sky above, and had a
good race winning quite comfortably to start the day well.
After a full day of watching some very exciting races it was then time for the usual noise and excitement of the relays. Because of the large number of teams competing, all regions of the UK were represented, the relays were to be decided on time trials over two heats. The first heat saw a very strong South East team cruise to victory in 2.40.16 mins, well clear of their nearest rivals. The North West team went into the second heat knowing that a 1st or 2nd place finish should see them pick up a medal. Lauren normally anchors the Southport Waterloo team in relays but on this occasion was asked to be the lead runner.  She got off to a good start and developed a good lead for the team. As the race progressed the team were just overhauled by the West Midlands but did well to hold off a strong challenge from the team from Wales to finish in second place in a time of 2.45.19 mins. There then followed a lengthy wait to see if their time was good enough to secure a bronze medal -which it was.
The event was covered by Channel 4 who will be broadcasting two highlights programmes on the 16th and 23rd September.

26 August 2007: Coast to Coast for Inter-Counties

Six of the Club's athletes, selected to represent Merseyside at the annual Northern Inter Counties T&F fixture at the Costello Stadium in Hull, were up early on Sunday morning to make the long trip from coast to coast.  On a pleasantly warm afternoon, the atmosphere was competitive but friendly as the match got under way.
Under 17 Steph James was representing Merseyside in the 800m.  In what was probably her last race over the distance this year, she won in a time of 2:17.99.  Not a particularly fast time but the first lap was a tactically slow 69 secs with Steph a little boxed in in 3rd place. As the girls broke at the bell, Steph moved up to 2nd place and stayed there until coming off the final bend fast, to past the leader and finish in first place.  Steph has won most of her races from the front but its very satisfying to come from behind and its certainly more exciting to watch!
Steph was also selected to run the final leg of a medley relay of 2 x 100m, 200m and 600m.  Steph took the baton in 2nd place but the girls were in close order and seems to go off very fast around the 200m curve. Steph was up to her task, however, held on to 2nd place for 400m and eased past with 200m to go, striding out strongly to win for Merseyside.  But .... it seems there was a problem with the first baton change and the team was later disqualified.  Still a great race Steph!
Adam Davies was on next, throwing the hammer in the main arena - the javelin throwers being relegated to the outside throwing area on this occasion.  Adam has been working on his technique which wasn't entirely successful today - but good enough to win with a throw of over 50 metres (well, 50m 01!)   Adam is making excellent progress and attention to detail in his technique should pay dividends in the future.
Next Rico Dalle Mulle was competing in the 80m hurdles.  He was up against an 11.3 runner so was up for a good contest but it was clear that he landed a little awkwardly over the third hurdle and although he finished strongly he was suffering from a painful lower back and a possible return of a sciatic nerve injury.  In a close finish - there was less than 4 tenths separating the first three - Rico was given 3rd in a time of 12.08, .
Next was James Armstrong, in the 100m today, which he won easily in 11.29 secs - not far outside his PB of 11.22 run at Sheffield earlier this month.
James also ran the 3rd (200m) leg of the Under 15 boys' medley relay where the baton was brought home in 3rd place.
Jordan Kelly was selected for both the high jump and the long jump.  In the high, he cleared 1m 65 - just 3 cms off his best height - to finish 3rd.  In the long jump his best of 5m 46 put him in 4th place overall.
Finally, Sophie Kelly got a late call to come to Hull for the under 15 girls' 1500m.  In a tough competitive race, she finished in 5:17.36 - and before she had had a chance to warm down, she was asked to stand in for an injured runner so that Merseyside would have a medley relay team.  To her credit, Sophie was good enough to agree, to enable the other girls to run - but running a 600m shortly after her own 1500m race was tough!
Full results are on the Northern Athletics web site.

25 August 2007: Ellon Hart impresses in her first 800m

The Mid Lancs League finished for the season with its traditional medal meeting at Wigan.  There were reasonable numbers of Southport Waterloo athletes - although no under 20s or seniors - and 18 medals were taken, 7 of them gold.
At these last few meetings of the year, some athletes are trying for late season PBs.  Most have peaked earlier in the season but there were 6 new PBs at Wigan and the quality of performances was reflected in four athletes achieving five grade 2 standards.  They were Ellon Hart, Patsy Irizar, Jordan Kelly and Adam Davies.
Our two under 13 girls were outstanding.  Ellon Hart usually runs 150 and 1200 at the YAL but opted for a 200m and an 800m today.  In both, she achieved a grade 2 standard performance with a PB time of 29.0 secs in the 200m and winning the 800m race in a fabulous time of 2:32.5.  Patsy Irizar returned from holiday in time to run an 800m and took a silver medal for her grade 2 performance of 2:36.2.  Ellon's 800m time puts her on top of the Club rankings and with three Under 13 girls - Ellon, Patsy and Sally Wareing - all running 2:32 / 2:33 the future for middle distance running is bright.  And Sally, not running today, still has another year in the age group!
In the under 15 girls, Eleanor Newton probably had the best performance with a 4m 50 long jump.  All the sprint time were down today and none of the girls could manage a PB but Katie Morris got a bronze medal for a 2:32.4 800m, Jenny Girdler got another and a third bronze was taken in the 4 x 100m relay. The other athletes out were Beth McBride, who ran 14.3 and 30.3 in the sprints, and Lucy Whitehead running 14.4 and 30.0 in the sprints and long jumping 4m 12.
Louise Leek was our only under 17 woman out today.  Conditions weren't too bad for the 3000m and she took a gold medal in that event with a time of 12:15.2.
Amongst the under 13 boys it was George Ingram who impressed.  George, our fastest sprinter, achieved PBs in each of his three events with 14.6 in the 100m, 31.2 in the 200m and 3m 56 in the long jump. Chris Lawson was the only medal winner, taking a bronze in the 800m with 2:37.0.  Graham Boreham opted for three events, a 100m sprint in 15.3, a middle distance 800m in 2:37.0 and a long jump of 3m 49.  All of these lads are good all rounders at the moment.
Our under 15 boys took no fewer than 4 gold medals, a silver and a bronze.  Jordan Kelly is clearly enjoying his athletics and although selected to represent Merseyside at the Inter Counties on Sunday, he still came along to compete in the Mid Lancs medal meeting, having missed only one League fixture all season!  His reward was gold in the high jump with 1m 60, gold in the long jump with a grade 2 standard 5m 46 and another gold as part of the winning 4 x 100m relay team.  What a competitor!
The other gold medallist was Jai Vernon-McGuigan who won both the 800m, in 2:17.3, and the 1500m in 4:39.8, although he shouldn't have done both on the same day.
In the sprints, Joshua Hughes was fastest with a PB equalling 12.4 in the 100m, to win a bronze medal, and 26.2, for a silver medal in the 200m.  Josh Murphy improved his 100m personal best time by 3 tenths to 12.6 and ran 27.8 in the 200m.
There were more gold medals for the under 17 men - in fact, every one of our under 17s took a medal today!  On the track, Paul Gavan took silver in the 800m, running 2:10.4 and, despite some fast-pace training on Thursday, David Gough comfortably took a silver in the 3000m in 10:18.3.
In the field, Adam Davies, also representing Merseyside in Hull on Sunday, took gold in the hammer with 49m 32.  Scott McDermott's 5m 56 long jump earned him a gold medal and he also took a silver with an 11m 18 triple jump.  Finally, Mark Hughes achieved a PB of 6m 85 with the 5 kg shot and was rewarded with a bronze medal.
Another great afternoon's athletics.  Thanks to Sarah Lawson who has looked after the athletes as team manager all season; to our officials toady Sue Gellett and Dave Whitehead; and to Carlos Irizar for once again providing the photographs.
Full results. Results for Southport Waterloo athletes.
The T&F season isn't entirely over yet, however, with two excellent open meetings at Blackpool on 8th and 22 September and our own Track Relay meeting at Litherland on Sunday 16th September which I hope Club athletes, junior and senior, will support.

22 August 2007: Sun sets on final Harrock Hill battle (by Rick Bowker)

An impressive 18 SWAC runners battled it out under a very bright setting sun at the last of the summer evening races. It was fantastic to see so many Club runners at this Grand Prix race.
The very low setting sun proved to be a big problem for many runners.  John Sprackland took my advise and wore a base ball cap to stop the sun getting in his eyes on the fast downhill sections, but even this did not stop returning-to-form Rob Ashworth showing John  the way home to finish in 9th place, 34.46, to John's 11th, 34.52.
I finished in 16th, 36.02, just missing my target of sub-36 mins by 3 secs, but my fastest time for 2 years, after following Arthur Lydiard's training program, I have turned my poor form of last year around and feel like a reborn runner.  Look out John and Rob.  I'm on my way back!!!
Next in for the club was Sam Howard, also returning to form.  Sam ran 39.45 to finish 3rd lady, a good sign for the XC season to come.
Just behind was club coach Brian Davey after a week's holiday.  Most people would spend their holiday taking it easy but not brian! He put in a week of very strenuous mountain running and finished in 39.49.  Less than a minute behind, marathon runner Joanne Wilson won 1st lady vet 40 and also 1st v40 in the series in 40.34; a new p.b. by 6 sec.
New SWAC runner Brian O'Reilly did a fantastic run to go through the finishing tape in 41.17.  Super vet Steve James, at almost 70, put many runners to shame with his 42.35, 62nd place.
More new blood for the club, Martin Paren was less than happy with his time of 42.53.  Next in for the club was also new club runner Tracey Peters who was very happy with her 46.42, a great time for her first attempt at this difficult race. [Its fantastic to see new runners coming in to the club this year and its great for the club's future].
Michelle Spencer seemed to enjoy the race and finished in 49.13, just behind my sis inlaw. Margot Bowker set a new p.b. knocking a good 16 secs off her best time here.   Good run Margot!!!
Marathon running sensation Christine Cutner had to eat Margot's dust this time to come in with 50.14.
Carole James, paced by my brother Andy, finished in 51.28, looking very unhappy with her run, with Andy cruising home a second behind.  I think I'll have to lend Carole my book on sports psychology!
The run of the day most go to my wife Niz Bowker [ex Philippino schools' swimming champion], who after almost no training because of a new, very demanding job, ran Harrock Hill for the first time.  She finished with a big smile on her face in a very respectable 52.58 showing what a positive outlook on life can do for you!!! Well done Niz -  fantastic running!!!
Sheila Marshal, who must have been surprised to see Niz shooting off into the distance, won 1st lady vet 60 in 57.42.  Sheila coached by husband Norm, has been hitting top form this year and picking up many 1sts in her age group.
After training with Tracey for two weekends on the Harrock Hill course, Sarah Reynolds was hoping for a good run but having one of those day's all runners dread.  Sarah had to battle round just to finish after she found there was no energy left in her legs after the first hard climb.  But she showed real guts to finish in 60.54.
A record breaking 148 runners turned out for this race with Nick Leigh [p&b] winning in 31.13.
Its been a great series hope you enjoyed the the racing as much as I did.  Thanks to all the team for turning out, cheers, Rick.
Results

19 August 2007: Ironman Ray at Sherborne

Ray Handley completed the UK Ironman Triathlon in Sherborne in a total time of 11hrs 47min 38 secs, knocking 46mins off from his overall time of last year and achieving his sub-12 hour target.  That time included a marathon in 4.01.17 and gave him a 5th place in his age group.  Ray would like to thank all club athletes and friends who wished him good luck.

19 August 2007: Adam Laughton impresses at Wigan Open (by Norman Marshall)

The annual Arthur Seddon Meeting took place last Sunday 19th. This meeting is aimed at the very young, with the oldest being u15.  There didn’t seem to be as many competitors as last year; perhaps the morning rain and a clash with another open meeting at Warrington affected numbers.Norman went along with four of his Southport Squad.
U11 girls. 75m.Rebecca Sinclair just missed out on the final, mainly due to this being her first track meeting - 12.6. Also in this race Ashley Jackson,13-1, and Rebecca’s twin Amy, 13-3.  150m. Amy Sinclair 27-7; I think she would have been better in the 600m.
600m. Ashleigh Jackson ran well, but was passed by a couple in the finishing straight; 2.14.9 with Rebecca Sinclair in 2.25
Long Jump. Ashleigh Jackson jumped 3-16, and it won’t be long before that distance is beaten. Rebecca and Amy Sinclair both managed 2-61m.
U11 boys. A couple [I think] from Litherland.  75m,  Adam Laughton managed to get into the final.10-9 and Michael Panes, 12.8.  150m. Adam Laughton.4th.22.7.
600m. This was were Adam came into his own when he came 2nd, but in a good time of 1.54.9. Michael Panes 2.04.1.
U13 boys. 100m. Jordon Angell managed to get into the final, with Graham Boreham. Jordon 15-1 and Graham 15-8 after running 15-1 in his heat.  200M. Jordon .32.2.  800m Jordon. 2.55.6.  1500m.Graham Boreham was 3rd. in 5-53.9
U13 girls, 200m. Ellon Hart managed 4th, 29-3 then she ran the 1200m in 4.12.5.
U15 girls. Jane Ingram.100m.13.6 ( a PB) in the final. And in the 800m.2.48.8.  Sarah Murphy also ran the 100m.16.4 and the 800m. in 3.14.  There was a long jump which Jane competed in, but the results have been missed of the Wigan Results.

18 August 2007: Faster than a speeding train? (by Peter Roome)

Two Southport Waterloo runners made it to the 24th annual "Race the Train" at Tywyn on the wet west coast of Wales. This is a 14.75 mile multi-terrain race at which about 700 runners attempt to beat the steam train on the Talyllyn Railway.
The course includes energy sapping mud (particularly at the custom ploughed field), rocky descents, treacherously narrow sheep tracks and streams to ford. Particularly in the pouring rain, this course is tough!
Mike Cunningham passed me at about 10 miles and was going like a train. The train passed me a couple of miles later and, even with cheers of support from the passengers, I ran out of steam. Despite Mike's strong finish he arrived just after the train. I arrived a few minutes later but was still chuffed!
Provisional results:  Train 1:47:58 , Mike Cunningham 1:48:12 , Peter Roome 1:50:41 . Final results will be on http://www.racethetrain.com/

11-12 August 2007: James Armstrong takes a national title (by Graham Pilkington)

Five athletes from the Club travelled to Sheffield this weekend for the England Athletics U17 and U15 Championships.
First off on the Saturday was Steph James in the Under 17 Women’s 800m. Steph started off in a very commanding position and looked at 600m as though she would qualify for the final as she was flowing easily just behind the front two athletes. Unfortunately following a summer of exams and various illnesses her old “kick” was not quite there. If Steph had been at her best she would certainly have won this heat and done well in the final, but unfortunately just missed out on qualification with a fifth place finish and a time of 2:16.78.
On the Sunday, Adam Davies was throwing the Hammer. It is a rare pleasure for the hammer throwers to throw in front of the main crowd in a major championship as they are often relegated out of the main stadium, so Adam was hoping to impress. Adam’s best throw this season is 52m 22cm and he was hoping he could extend this to make the cut and gain another three throws. Unfortunately with very tough competition Adam’s best of 49m 52 cm was not enough to progress further and he finished up in 12th place. It has been a great year for Adam and with another year in this age group next year looks extremely promising.
Following what has been an excellent season for the sprinters, this competition is one of the last chances for the athletes to shine. It could have been six athletes from this squad alone, but with Josh Hughes, Andrew Starkey and Jordan Kelly on holiday a reduced number travelled over the Pennines.
First on from the squad was Enrico Dalle-Mulle, who has made huge strides in his hurdling this year having reduced his best time from last year by 0.7 seconds. This gave him a gold medal at the Northern Outdoor Championships and brought him close to a medal at English Schools, so he was hoping to go slightly better at this national level of competition. Enrico qualified for the final of the under 15 boys 80m hurdles finishing fourth in his heat with a time of 11.62 seconds, only just outside his previous best time. In the final Enrico finished sixth with a slightly slower time of 11.88 seconds.
After a season where Enrico has run a best time or very close to his best in two major finals he can take a lot of positives out of this season and finishing sixth at both would have been far outside his expectations at the start of the year. Enrico is however hoping for more in years to come and will certainly be an athlete to watch out for in the coming years.
Another athlete who has totally outshone expectations this season is Lauren Brennan. She took a silver medal at the Northern Outdoor Championships, qualified for the final at English Schools and all this at the bottom of the age group. In the process Lauren has seen her best time this season in the 300m fall by over a second.
Again Lauren was hoping to go slightly better in these championships in the under 17 women’s 300m. She qualified from her heat in second place with a time of 40.90 seconds, which is only 0.15 seconds outside her previous best time. In the final Lauren was the fastest qualifier and ultimate winner was on the lane inside her. It is easy in these races to try and go with these athletes rather than run your own race and Lauren showed great maturity in concentrating on her own pace judgement.
This resulted in a well planned race finishing fifth in a time of 40.91 seconds. As Lauren gets another full winter under her belt and moves up to the top of this age group we can expect to see further improvements and even better results next season.
Due to her success at the 300m this season Lauren has one more big race to do as she has been selected to compete for the North West team in the UK Schools Games at Coventry in two weeks time.
Our third athlete competing was James Armstrong. James has had a brilliant, yet frustrating season this year. He has gone into every national championship this year as favourite to win only for another athlete to pop up with a superb performance to deny him a national title. James has won two silver Medals at the England Athletics Indoor Championships, a Silver Medal in the 200m at the English Schools Championships and entered this weekend hoping to take at least one Gold Medal from the 100m or 200m.
James qualified easily for the 100m final with a new personal best and new Club Record time of 11.22 seconds. This was also the fastest time run by an under 15 boy this year. After a poor start in the final, when James stumbled on his second step out, this left him a lot of work to do to catch other athletes. He ran superbly, though, pulling right through the field, but could not quite catch Laurence Owens from Thames Valley Harriers. James finished the final with another Silver Medal and a time of 11.28 seconds.
On Sunday, James had another crack at finally winning a national title in the 200m. However, for the first time this season, he was up against an athlete who had a faster time than him; Curtis Woods from Northern Ireland.
James and Curtis were drawn in separate heats and James had the order to save something from the heats for the final. He ran a very reserved race to just win his heat in a time of 23.23 seconds. When the lane draw for the final came out James was given lane 3 with Curtis just outside him in lane 4.
This was to be James last chance of the year to get a gold medal and we knew that it would take something special to win. Despite the stumble in the final of the 100m one of James’ strengths is his start and we knew if he could get a good start then this would put his main rival under some pressure.
James duly delivered with what one coach from another Club described as “the start of his life”. He had gone past Curtis after 30m and came into the straight well in front of the pack. Curtis did start to pull some of the lead back, but James had too commanding an advantage and won his, and I think the Club’s, first National Title in living memory with a time of 22.51 seconds.  (Ed: For the record, I think its probably the Club's first short sprint national title.  In 1981, Phil McConnell was English Schools Inter Boys Champion over 400m hurdles.  Steve James probably has more national age group championship wins than I could name and Sue Cooper has won national titles as a vet runner.  Of course, none of this detracts from James magnificent performance.)
This is the fastest time by an Under 15 athlete this season and puts him 12th on the UK All Time List as well as being a new personal best and another Club Record.
With only the UK Schools Games and the Northern Inter-Counties to go, I think everyone can reflect on what has been an excellent year and to have a National Champion is something everyone can be very proud of.

11 August 2007: PBs for the few at Hyndburn

The final Mid Lancs T&F League match was at Hyndburn on a warm summer's afternoon.  The only thing missing was a good turnout of athletes!  Today, our females finished 6th of 7 teams in Division 1 and the males 5th.  Overall, our females finish the season in 3rd place and the males in 4th.
This was probably the poorest turnout from Southport Waterloo this season - and for the League in total - as families drive off or jet off to holiday destinations.  At least a few of our athletes competing today will go on holiday in the next few days satisfied with new personal bests achieved on Wilson's Playing Fields!
There were also several good grade 2 standard performances by Emma Lyons, Patsy Irizar - who both produced excellent new best times on the track - and by Jai Vernon-McGuigan.
In the under 13 girls, Patsy Irizar was intent on improving her 800m time of 2:35.9 set at the YAL in June.  She was soon leading the girls around the two laps at a good pace and her front-running was rewarded with a new personal best time of 2:33.4.  She was also entered in the shot and achieved another PB there with a best throw of 6m 09, 11 cms better than her best going into the competition.  As the end of the T&F season approaches, Patsy is heading the Club under 13 girls rankings in both 800m and shot putt. An excellent season!
In the under 15 girls, Emma Lyons was the star performer, achieving grade 2 standard performances in both the 200 and 300m.  In the 300m, she was running with a girl of similar ability and this can often lead to both runners achieving good times as each brings the best out in the other.  Emma came home 2nd, but her time of 42.6 was over a second improvement on her previous best and just 0.6 sec off a grade 1 standard!  In the 200m, she found herself in the same heat as the girl who won the 300m, this time Emma getting the better of her to win in 26.9, equaling her best the distance.
Fellow sprinter Beth McBride also had a good day, improving her previous best times in both the 100m and the 200m.  In the 100m she was 2nd in her heat with 13.7 - a 0.4 sec improvement! - and she was 2nd again in the 200m, finishing in 29.0 secs.
Hannah Roberts also achieved a PB in the 800m where she ran 2:41.4.  New member Sarah Murphy was also in the 800m and putt the shot 6m 35, a distance that propels her to 3rd place in the Club under 15 girls' rankings.
The under 15 girls were our only runners to manage a relay today.  All four girls got the baton around in 57.9 for a 2nd place.
In the under 13 boys, both Chris Lawson, Sean Vis and Gary Clark achieved PBs.  Chris equaled his best from last year of 14.4 secs in the 100m and was our fastest 800m runner in a grade 3 time of 2:31.6.  In fact, we had 4 runners in the 800m race.  Gary Clark ran 2:47.4, Sean Vis dipped under 3 minutes for the first time with 2:58.2 and new member George Bridges ran 3:17.0.  Gary Clark's PB came in the long jump where he pushed his best out from 3m 28 to a best jump today of 3m 42.
Jai Vernon-McGuigan was our only under 15 boy taking part at Hyndburn.  He easily won the 1500m race in a grade 2 time of 4:36.3.
In the under 17 men, both Joe and Patrick Vis ran PBs.  Joe ran 2:14.9 in the 800m an event he hasn't done in competition for a couple of years and, in fact, his previous PB of 2:42.0 dated back to 2004 when he was an under 13!  Patrick stuck to his preferred 3000m, trying again for a sub-10 minute time - and this time he did it with 9:44.4!  An excellent run.
The other under 17s were longer jumpers Leon Jacob and Scott McDermott.  Scott heads up the club rankings in the long jump and Leon leads in the triple jump but today it was Leon who came out on top in both events.  In the long jump, Leon achieved 5m 51 and Scott 5m 28.  In the triple jump, Leon jumped 11m 19 and Scott 10m 49.
Our thanks to Sarah Lawson, team manager; to Debra Vis and Jackie Lyons who officiated for us today; and to Carlos Irizar for the photos published here.
The final Mid Lancs meeting is the Medal Meeting on Saturday 25th August at Wigan. Click here for an entry form which can he passed to Sarah Lawson or to me.  To qualify for a medal at the medal meeting you need to have competed in at least 2 League fixtures but all members can take part.  Remember, the medal meeting starts an hour earlier!
Results for Southport Waterloo athletes.  Full results are on the Mid Lancs web site.

8 August 2007: Safety first at Haigh Hall (by Sarah Reynolds)

Six Southport Waterloo runners  turned out on a warm evening for the final Haigh Hall 5 miler of the summer
I was amazed when the race organiser told me he’d prefer me not to  run with earphones for health and safety reasons!  Is this a conspiracy, Norman?  Apparently several fast, lapped races have now banned them due to the risks if runners are not aware of people wanting to overtake. I wasn’t convinced and insisted on having a soundtrack to my run - Meatloaf this time!
There was a problem with a gate being locked about 50 yards after the usual start.  The remaining gap was considered too narrow for the volume of runners to pass through safely and the race organiser decided to move the start line forward - an opportunity for a PB if ever there was one!
I started off too fast, feeling I could keep up with Chris Cutner - a feeling that didn’t last long.  I got more comfortable for a couple of laps and then became aware of a flash of blue and yellow at my side. Sheila Marshall was there and intending to stay there!  We kept together for the last lovely  mile downhill and I just managed to scrape ahead  in the final 200 yards.
The race winners were Rick Hayman for Horwich in 25.33 and ex SWAC Yvonne Wyke,  now running for Wigan Phoenix, in 30.21.   First home for the club was Mike Cunningham in 30.59, over a minute quicker than his July  race. Mike is the only SWAC runner to have completed the  Haigh Hall series this year. Next came Mike Morgan in 32.46 and  new SWAC member and one of the Monday night group,  Brian O’Reilly in 33.23.
Our fastest lady in 39.11 was Chris Cutner in  her first Haigh Hall for a couple of years.  I was 20 secs faster than my July time (due mostly I think to the shortened course) to come home in 43.29 and Sheila  Marshall took more than a minute off  last month’s time to win Lady Vet 60 in a time of  43.36.  We were able to field 3 ladies for a team this time and came in 4th.
Harrock Hill here we come!

5 August 2007: Seniors win promotion in Northern League

(Ed:  Points updated after scrutiny)
Its been a long time coming but today, on our home track, the senior T&F team won promotion up to Division 2 in the Northern League!
The potential has been there for some time, particularly with a strong women's contingent, but it has been hard to get the best teams out.  After a disappointing result at Stretford, it looked as though we were stuck in 3rd place again this year with Lancaster & Morecambe / Kendal and Liverpool Harriers safely occupying the promotion spots.  To go up we would have to beat the Harriers by 3 clear places in a 6-team division or by 2 places to equal them on League points and bring match points into play. Not a good bet you might think but we did have a strong team for the final League fixture on our home track ... and we won the match decisively with Liverpool Harriers back in 4th place!
It was a remarkable achievement, thanks to the perseverance of team manager Barbara May, assisted by Norman Marshall, who never lost belief in her team all of whom remained committed to giving it their best shot.
The final scores, subject to scrutiny, were Southport Waterloo 420 points, Lancaster & Morecambe / Kendal 384, Altrincham 366, Liverpool Harriers 361, Barrow & Furness 308 and Western / Northern 112.  That makes final League positions of 1 Lancaster & Morecambe / Kendal (22), 2 Southport Waterloo (19), 3 Liverpool Harriers (18), 4 Barrow & Furness (10.5), 5 Altrincham (10.5), 6 Western / Northern (3).
Apart from the pole vault, every event on the team sheet was covered and many great individual performances kept the team in 1st place all day, starting with near maximum points in the women's 400m hurdles where Jemma Wright set a new Under 20 club record of 67.5.  And Jemma's wasn't the only club record, with Joe Vis adding the 3000m steeplechase to his 2000m steeplechase record.  In terms of graded standards, Katie McHale was the best individual performer with a grade 2 10m 76 triple jump and special mention should be made of Under 17 Adam Davies who is throwing the senior men's 7.26 kg hammer nearly 40m, just 4 metres short of a senior graded standard.
In addition, there were 7 personal bests, 16 season's bests and 14 'A' and 'B' wins, mainly by the women who propelled the team to victory with an impressive points score of 193, 46 points better than their closest rivals!
There was considerable talent on display in the women's team in both track and field.  Versatile senior Stephanie May was 2nd in her pole vault competition (1m 90), her 400m hurdles race in 69.8 and her 200m in 27.2 but won her 400m race in 59.5.  Stephanie James ensured maximum points from the 400m with a win in the 'B' race in a new personal best time of 58.8 secs.  That time is just two tenths of a second off the Under 17 Club record.
Katie McHale was in great form.  In addition to winning both the triple jump with 10m 76 and the 100m hurdles with 15.7, she was 2nd in the long jump (4m 78) and 3rd in the flat 100m in a PB 13.2 secs.   Katy Hooton too was on form, taking 2nd spot in both the 'B' 100m and 200m in 13.7 and 28.0, good times in fairly windy conditions but she might just prefer to remember the discus competition where she emerged as our 'A' thrower with a season's best 21m 41.  Not quite a PB, though.  If the Club rankings are correct, Katy throw 22m 03 as a first year under 15 at the Merseyside Youth Games!
In the middle and distance events, Under 17 Sarah Docherty was joined by senior runners Sam Dean Howard, Amanda Crook and Sue Cooper.  Sarah ran a PB in the 800m with 2:25.5, showing steadily improving form.  Amanda ran both the 800 and the 1500m, in 2:34.3 and 5:02.8, and Sam warmed up with a 1500m in 5:01.9 before joining Sue in the 3000m race.  In a virtual re-run of the 3000m at Preston, Sam sat on the leader's shoulder before passing, initially with 400m to go and then more decisively from 200m, to win in 10:46.8 - just a tenth of a second off her Preston time.  Sue Cooper, fresh from the BMAF champs at Birmingham, won the 'B' race in 11:18.3, so again the girls took maximum points.
Jemma Wright won both 'B' hurdles, her Club record of 67.5 secs in the one lap race and 19.1 for the sprint hurdles.  Over in the field, she cleared a season's best 1m 45 in the high jump and triple jumped 8m 09.  Also in the jumps, under 17 Charlotte Roberts won the 'B' long jump with 4m 34 and she cleared 1m 35 in the high jump.
In the throws, Rachel Everett produced season's bests in both the discus, with 21m 05, and the javelin (19m 36) where senior thrower Ann Dignan also had a season's best with 21m 64.  Rachel also managed 21m 93 with the senior weight hammer ahead of Ann's 16m 14.
And finally, on the track, the girls ended the afternoon with wins in both the 4 x 100m and the 4 x 400m relays.  Once again we were treated to the sight of Lauren Brennan streaking down the home straight to bring the baton home in 52.2.  Stephanie James had the fastest sub-60 leg of the 4 x 400m relay but this win relied on the hard work put in on leg two where Stephanie May took the baton at the back of the pack and worked her way through to hand it on in 1st place.  Katy Hooton held position and by the time Stephanie James raced off with the baton there was no way the girls would be caught.
The men's team was probably the strongest achieved this season with a good mix of seniors, under 20s and under 17s.  Joe Vis set a club Under 17 record in the 2000m steeplechase last weekend in the Junior League and set another one today in the 3000 steeplechase with 11:07.0.  'A' 'chaser Steve Wilkinson was 2nd overall in 10:31.4 after starting the meeting with a 67 secs 400m hurdles.  Stephen Marshall appeared in both hurdles, running a season's best 19.1 for 2nd place in the 110m race and running 73.8 in the one lap race.  Nathan Ouko won the 'B' sprint hurdles in 21.9 secs.
There were good runs in the sprints with both Steven Gellett and Scott McDermott running PBs in the 100m with 12.6 and 12.9 respectively.  In the 200m, both Nathan Ouko and Ciaran Brennan ran season's bests, Nathan 24.8 and Ciaran 25.1.
In the middle distance races, Rob Berry was 2nd both in the 800m and the 1500m in closely contested races with times of 2:03.1 and 4:15.2.  In the 800 he was joined by Mike Evans running 2:07.3 and by Patrick Vis in the 1500m where under 17 Patrick was pulled along by the seniors to a new PB of 4:34.3.
The 5000m distance race, run in very warm conditions, saw David Hamilton and John Sprackland swap the road for the track, at least for the afternoon.  David ran 17:08.1 and John 17:29.4
In the field events, Alex Martland threw the 800gm javelin for the first time competitively and impressed with 43m 48, Sam Moran throwing 32m 43.  Sam had a season's best 8m 74 with the 7.26 kg shot.
Both Adam Davies and Peter Mason threw season's bests in the hammer, Adam's 39m 80 a personal best and not too far short of the club senior man's record of 41m 64.  Surely that will go fairly soon now although the Under 20 record of 49m 30 might last a while longer!
In the jumps, Josh Gamble and Nathan Ouko were our high jumpers, clearing 1m 65 and 1m 60 and long jumper Scott McDermott cleared 5m 38 in the long jump ahead of Ciaran Brennan's 4m 92.  In the triple jump, Scott won the 'B' competition with 10m 65, behind Nathan's 'A' best jump of 11m18.
This was a team performance to be proud of.  But it doesn't end here.  Rather, it is a new beginning as we raise our game for Division 2W next season.  In the meantime, out thanks to team managers Barbara May and Norman Marshall who have asked me to pass on their thanks to all the athletes who have contributed not just today but throughout the season.
Thanks too to field officials Lesley Scott, Ann Dignan, Sue Gellett and Peter Mason; to Sandra Waters who was our Track Referee today; to Norman Marshall who took on the role of marksman; to Sam Moran who did results; to Jackie and Emma Lyons, Lauren and Gillian Brennan, Sheila Marshall, Harry Boyd and others who kept the officials refreshed and manned the refreshments stall.  Southport Waterloo hosted this event and my thanks to everyone who made the day such a success - in more ways than one.
Individual results for Southport Waterloo athletes.

1 August 2007: Dreams on the road to Chorley (by Rick Bowker)

Rob McGrath drove Sarah Reynolds, Christopher Barrett and myself to the start of the last of the summer series Chorley 4's.
Talk was of our last chance to set some fast times.  Dreams could be made or shattered on the roads of Chorley.
My first mile went by in 5.31.  My legs felt good as I concentrated on turning my legs over as fast as possible.
Now I was in no man's land, with the runner in front of me 10 secs ahead and a gap behind me.  I focused on the job in hand to catch the runners in front, feeling more confident and positive about my running for a long time.  I reeled in one Horwich runner then another.  I felt strong and relaxed the whole way round to finish in 14th  place in 22.32 -  the same time as last month!  But this time I really enjoyed the race. I picked up first vet 45; 3 in a row in this series!
Rob McGrath dreamed of a sub 23 minute run and this time his dream came true with a very fast 22.57 for 19th place some 22 secs up on last month, showing that hard work does pay off!
Christopher Barrett in his second race of the year knocked 19 sec off last month's time to record 31.02.  Chris now dreams of running a marathon in 2009!
Sarah Reynolds, who won last month's lady vet 35, took 41 sec off her July time to run 33.48.  Maybe with times like this Sarah's dream of winning  the swac most improved athlete award could come true!
So we all went home happy, dreaming of running more miles in the winter so we can return next year faster and stronger.
p.'s. remember its High Hall next week.  Also I recommend Brian Dave's track session at Greenback playing fields Monday nights from 6.30.  There was a great turn out of swac runners last week, both male and female.
And on a final note, thanks to Rob for all the lifts to the races and your good humor come rain or shine.