There was a good turnout for Wesham at the first Inter Club fixture hosted by Blackpool in Stanley Park on their two-lap 4-mile course on Wednesday evening in damp and cool conditions. There was a renewal of rivalries at the front with Rob Danson being challenged by Luke Minns of Blackpool from the start. Danson suffered a rare defeat by 12 seconds at the finish to come in second in 20:22. Adam Wilding finished 8^th in 21:20 with  David Taylor 16^th in 22:34 and Dan Bolton 21^st in 22:52. The Wesham team was completed with Alek Walker 27^th in 23:27; Mark Belfield 28^th with 23:29; Tom Crabtree 36^th in 24:00; Steve Myerscough 40^th with 24:05; Lee Nixon 70^th in 25:29; and Chris Haines 77^th with 25:43. The team was third behind Blackpool and Preston, the best result for Wesham on this evening despite a good turnout of members. For the women Kay Twist finished 27^th (163^rd overall) in 29:40; Sue Coulthurst was 30^th (172^nd) with 30:06; Michelle Tickle 35^th (186^th) in 30:41; Lisa Minns 50^th (223^rd) with 32:18; and Natalie Middlemas 53^rd (321^st) in 32:37, with the team placing 6^th and this same team 4^th in the lady veterans, a good result  The Wesham overall veterans team came in 5^th, with Belfield 9^th; Myerscough 14^th; Nixon 30^th; Carl Groome 40^th (90^th overall in 26:32); Lee Barlow 42^nd (94^th in 26:44); and Damian Ings 56^th (110^th in 27:18). The vet-50s were 5^th with Groome 14^th; Barlow 16^th; Nigel Shepherd 26^th (120^th overall in 27:39); and Phil Quibell 47^th (158^th in 29:33). The vet-60 team was also fifth with Shepherd 4^th; Quibell 10^th; and Alan Hudson 23^rd (242^nd in 33:12). Altogether, Wesham had 18 women and 41 men running, with 370 in the race from the seven clubs.

There was just one Wesham runner this year in the Caldervale 10-mle road race, where in past years the club has had a good turnout. Tracey Hulme tackled the tough hilly race in good conditions to finish 83^rd in 1:33:36, 4^th W60 and 30^th woman.

Martin Bates took up the challenge of the Isle of Man Easter Festival, kicking off on Good Friday with the 10k in Port Erin, where he finished 273^rd and 2^nd M65 in a time of 53:45. On Saturday in the Peel Hill Race a 4-mile distance with two steep climbs, and he was 211^th in 43:44, again 2^nd M65. And on Sunday in the 5km race on an out and back on Douglas Promenade he was 213^th in 26:21 coming in 2^nd M65 again. Overall, he finished 165^th with 697 points and a total running time of 2:03:48.

The Wesham Fell and Trail Running Championship continued in the Wardle Skyline race on Saturday from Watergrove Reservoir north of Rochdale, on a 7-mile loop over a ring of peaks with 1250ft of climb. Alek Walker was the first Wesham finisher in 9^th place in 53:45, with Tom Crabtree next in 16^th place with 56:37. Chris Brindle was 33^rd in 61:27 and Steve Myerscough 49^th 12^th M45 with 64:11. Ian Nichols Hogg placed 100^th in 1:12:38; Kay Twist was Wesham’s leading lady in 117^th 16^th woman and 4^th W50 with 1:15:34; and Sally Deacon 169^th in 1:35:14.

There was a good showing of Wesham members at parkrun on Saturday morning, spread far and wide across the country. At home in Lytham Hall David Taylor ran the second fastest time of the day with 17:44 for an M35 age graded performance of 74.81%. Jonathan Lawson clocked 24:11 for an M55 graded 63.54%, and Michelle Tickle ran 24:13 for a W45 performance of 68.41%. Ryan Azzopardi recorded 25:56 for M40 53.86%; Bev Wilding a W60 70.33% with her time of 27:35; Andrew Moore returned 29:32 for M60 54.80%; James Birchall ran 29:46 for 44.06%; Julie Rooney 39:11 and W45 41.77%; and Kerry Eccles clocked 39:12 for W60 49.49%. In Stanley Park in the Blackpool parkrun Jo McCaffery ran 27:55 for a W45 56.90%; Finlay McCalman 28:06 for M55 56.58%; Tracy Clare 39:23 with 37.66%; and Elliot Costello 39:24 for 32.83%. David Young was out on Fleetwood Promenade to run 27:22 for M75 69.24%, and in Preston’s Avenham Park Damian Ings ran 21:20 for M45 68.59%. In the Morecambe Prom run Adam Wilding produced the third fastest time of the morning with 16:33 for an age graded 78.35%, and Will Parkinson returned 19:31 for 67.21%. Alex Rowe walk jogged the Peel Park run in Salford for 36:28 M65 45.98% and Emma Brook was at home for the Riverside parkrun in Chester-Le-Street with a time of 29:15 for a W40 52.31%. Touring the country, in the Beverley Westwood run Carl Groome clocked 20:57 for M50 72.71% and Sue Rigby 38:50 for a W45 42.66%, and in the Bramshall Road run in Uttoxeter Steven Gore had the second fastest time of 20:22 for M40 67.51%, and Vicky Gore ran 26:13 for W45 61.79%.

Anne Berry ran 30:33 in Conyngham Hall in Knaresborough for W60 63.50% for her second run there and a personal best. Rob Wallace ran the Millennium Country run in the Forest of Marston Vale south of Bedford for 23:03 and a graded 56.11%. Alona Versinina was in the Dunstable Downs event to run 26:54 for W35 55.76%. Martin Bates warmed up for the Peel Hill Race in the afternoon with a morning run in the Nobles parkrun in Douglas on the Isle of Man with 29:58 for M65 56.51%.