It was a day at the races for Wesham with three teams entered in the Northern Athletics 12- and 6-Stage Road Relays for men and women respectively, held on the coast road in Redcar. Wesham were last here 18 months ago for the 6- and 4-Stage relays in barmy late summer weather but last Saturday it  was damp and windy with a strong swell on the sea just adjacent to the race route. The day kicked off with junior 5km Northern Championships, and then the senior men were off on 4 alternate long stages of 9.6km and 8 short stages of 5.2km. Dan Bolton was off to a great start with 34:53 for the opening long stage, returning 41^st on the out and back two laps. Elliot Costello was on Stage 2 with 21:16 for the first short stage, and David Taylor 35:12 on Stage 3. Steve Myerscough retained 40^th place with 18:37, followed by Rob Danson with the fastest long stage of 31:07, 50^th fastest long stage of the day out of 182. Stuart Grice ran 20:48; Adam Wilding second fastest for the team in 32:07 (long stage) taking the team to 32^nd, with Chris Haines 19:35; Will Parkinson 20:11; Mark Bellfield an excellent 17:52; James Remnant 21:46; and Peter Rooney 25:25 to give the team 34^th place in  cumulative time of 4:58:51, and although 3:17 short of qualification for the English national road relays in two weeks’ time only 30 seconds separated the four teams that just missed out.55:34. Wesham’s men’s “B” team was incomplete but not lacking in commitment and enthusiasm as Stephen Twist (47:50); Andy Moore (25:56); John Collier (35:31); Dave young (26:18); James Danson (51;29) and Andrew Wilkinson (34:21) brought the team 43^rd place at halfway. The Senior Women set off five minutes after the men on two long and four short stages with Kay Twist first off completing 45:51 for 35^th place, backed up by Debbie Myerscough (33:08); Michelle Pitt (33:22); Kirsty Holland 54:03 (long stage); Claire Belfield (28:270 and Bev wilding (27:46), bringing the team in 35^th in 3:42:37. There was an abundance of North East clubs competing, Wesham and Blackburn were the only Lancashire clubs present with a handful of Merseyside and Manchester clubs.

Helen Dutton ran the Fleetwood 10k on Sunday and she finished 113^th and 28^th female in 56:32 placing 3^rd W40.

The first Wesham Summer Handicap took place on Monday over the undulating 4.9-mile course round Treales starting on Dowbridge and finishing around the corner on Carr Lane. Both with a handicap of 24 minutes David Taylor and Alek Walker ran together and recording times of 29:43 and 29:44. Steve Myerscough with a handicap of 21 minutes ran 30:24 with John Naylor fourth in 32:21. Stuart Topping clocked 36:50 with Stuart Mulrooney securing 37:22. Next was Ian Nichols Hogg in 38:00; Rob Wallace 38:19; Nigel Shepherd 38:57; Stuart Grice 40:35; Stephen Twist 40:43; John Burns 40:58; and Ryan Azzopardi 41:37. First woman was Alona Versinina with 41:43 on a 13 minute handicap, with Agnes Woods 42:45 on scratch with her first run; Vron Walker 44:08; and Sue Rigby 51:58 on a 5 minute handicap. Robert Danson ran 42:15; Peter Rooney 42:50; and Andy Moore 47:35.

Despite the northern road relays there were 25 Wesham members out running a 5km parkrun on Saturday morning. At the Lytham Hall event Mark Holton ran 21:26 for an M40 age graded performance of 65.63%. Ian Nichols Hogg clocked 23:56 for an age graded 54.18% and Michelle Tickle was third fastest woman of the day with 24:12 for W45 68.46%. Liz Sharrocks recorded 31:03 for a W60 63.39%, with Anne Berry running 33:00 for W60 58.79%; Kerry Eccles 33:13 for W60 58.40%; and Tony Sharrocks clocked 39:44 for M60 40.35%. Lee Barlow returned 23:40 in the Blackpool parkrun in Stanley Park for an M50 graded 62.82%; and George and Anne Flanagan were home from Spain to run 33:30 for M70 54.78% and 34:07 and a W65 grade of 60.33%. On Fleetwood Promenade Damian Ings ran 21:04 for an M45 69.46%, and George Kennedy ran one of his last races as a Wesham member in 26:38 for an M65 grade of 62.95%. Nigel Shepherd ran his local run in Avenham Park in Preston in 21:49 for M60 76.17%, and Finlay McCalman popped up to the Fell Foot run in Newby Bridge and clocked 29:50 for M55 53.30%. In Platt Fields at the South Manchester parkrun Tracey Hulme ran 25:09 for W60 76.08%, and in Philips Park parkrun opposite Sportcity in Manchester Martin Bates clocked 28:03 for M65 60.37%. The Wesham tourists went to the Ellesmere Port run in Whitby Park where Steven Gore had the 4^th fastest time of the morning with 21:20 for M40 64.45%. Carl Groome clocked the 7^th fastest time in 22:26 with an M50 graded 67.90%, and Vicky Gore ran 27:35 for W45 58.73% and Sue Rigby 36:00 for W45 46.02%. Anthony Leach  made an international appearance at the Clermont Waterfront parkrun in Orlando Florida on the Lake Minnesota Shores and ran 22:24 for an M60 performance of 72.25%.