2nd March – Alex’s Newspaper Report

Wesham group at the Stanley Park 10k with Dave Waywell

With true spring weather it had been very wet and cooler all week but abated for the weekend for some fine conditions, and there were some events for Northwest athletes while the focus is on cross country and indoor athletics. Of note was the cancellation of the English National Cross Country to have been staged at a new venue Weston Park a few miles northeast of Telford, which was called off because the planed car parking area was flooded. It is considered postponed but finding an alternative date this late in the season will be a challenge for the organisers.

Mick Edge ran the Lostock 6 race on Sunday, and he finished 104th in this popular club race in a time of 43:41 for 6th Over-60 runner. Carmel Sullivan was 108th in 43:49, 1st W55 and 10th woman.

The Blackpool 10k in Stanley Park on sundae saw several Wesham members taking part. Carl Groome was the first Wesham finisher in 15th place in a time of 40:58, coming in 2nd M55. Martin Bates was 59th in 48:21 and placed 2nd M65, running in with Richard Jones of Garstang. Helen Greenhalgh finished 7th woman and 61st overall in 48:28, securing the 1st W45. Andy MacDonald came in 76th in 50:45 6th M55. Stuart Mulrooney paced Bev Wilding to her diamond standard in the Wesham ratings, with the pair coming in 88th and 89th in 51:50 and 51:51, with Bev 14th woman and 2nd W60. Finlay McCalman was 102nd in 52:28 placing 10th M55. Peter Rooney finished 116th in 54:31 for 3rd M65. Long time Wesham member Kath Hoyer in her first race for some while was 33rd female in 55:57 to take 4th W60. Helen Dutton finished 39th woman and 6th W40 in 57:47 and taking 142nd place overall. There were exactly 300 runners in this race. Also present was former Wesham chair and long-time member Dave Waywell.

There were 29 Wesham members out running a parkrun on Saturday morning at 9am, with the largest contingent in Blackpool’s Stanley Park to celebrate Martin Bates’ 250th parkrun. Jamie Houghton ran the 3rd fastest time of the day with 18:26 for an age graded percentage of 69.98%. Steve Myerscough clocked 21:39 for an M50 age graded 68.13% with fellow Prestonian Nigel Shepherd recording 22:28 for an M65 74.63%. Martin Bates himself timed in at 24:35 for his celebration and M65 age grade of 69.49%. Rob Wallace ran 25:22 for a grade of 50.99%; Finlay McCalman returned 27:24 with M55 58.03%; and Dave Young came in with 32:43 for M75 58.94%. Anne Berry and Pauline Eccleston ran 34:33 and 34:34 for W60 56.97% and W50 50.39% respectively. Kerry Eccles returned 34:37 for W60 56.86%; and Alex Rowe had a swift walk round in 45:18 for M65 37.38%. In Lytham Hall parkrun Jonathan Lawson ran 22:45 for M55 68.13%; Agness Woods clocked 29:18 for a W55 grade of 61.77%; and Phil Leaver was recovering well from his operation to fast walk 46:48 for M70 37.68%. On Fleetwood Promenade in perfect weather conditions Adam Wilding produced the fastest time of the day with 16:16 for an age graded 79.92% and Ian Nichols Hogg ran 21:11 for 61.37%. Vicky Gore was 5th fastest female with 23:49 for W45 68.72%; and Alan Hudson recorded 25:19 for an M70 grade of 73.60%. Along Morecambe Prom Dan Eyre clocked 19:32 for M45 73.12%, and in Worden Park Mike Eyre was on 27:02 for M60 59.86% and Helen Eyre ran 34:45 with a W55 54.29%. In Manchester Daniel Bolton ran the Heaton parkrun in 17:17 for 74.64% and his 20th run here, and up the road in Tameside in the Hyde run Carl Groome was 8th fastest in 21:20 for M55 72.03%. In tandem Alona Versinina was 8th female in 27:12 for a W35 grade of 55.15%. Andy Moore recorded 29:29 for M60 55.34% and Sue Rigby ran 39:20 for W50 42.63%. Ryan Azzopardi was in Princes parkrun in Liverpool to run 26:49 for M40 52.45% and on home ground in Chester-Le-Street Emma Brook ran her local Riverside parkrun in 27:48 for W40 55.34%. Emma Lund was in south London and ran in Crystal Palace Park for the 6th fastest time of 23:51 and a W40 graded 64.15%.

24th February – Alex’s Newspaper Report

The Wesham Men’s team at the Mid Lancs Cross Country in Towneley Park last week

It was a quiet week for Fylde runners although there were some very good events in the North West that did not attract club runners from this area, such as the Village Bakery Half marathon, a long-standing quality event in Wrexham, and, further afield, the Pocklington Lane 10-Mile in East Yorkshire.

Finlay McCalman ran the Great North West Half Marathon along Blackpool Promenade and he finished 361st in a time of 1:58:22 to place 17th M55. Bradley Flatt was 123rd in 1:37:07 to finish 114th male. Popular Wesham ex-member and ultra-distance ace Ugis Datavs was 16th in 1:22:26.

The Parbold Hill Race is an historic event with a long tradition and typically attracts Merseyside runners to the nearest hill for a harrier event. Wesham member Chris Banks ran this year, and he finished 19th in 50:30, a good result.

There were 32 Wesham members running a parkrun last Saturday morning at various locations. runners

In the Riverside parkrun in Chester-Le-Street Emma Brook ran 27:51 for a W40 age graded performance of 55.24% of the world best for her age. In the Tymon Park event in Greenhills in the west of Dublin Antoinette Holton ran the 9th fastest female time of the day in 27:27 for a W35 grade of 55.37%. The biggest turnout of Wesham members was at the Lytham Hall parkrun where 23 took part to celebrate Sue Rigby’s 200th parkrun. Carl Groome was the fastest finisher in 20:42 for the 6th quickest time of the day for an M55 graded 74.24%. Mark Belfield running with his son Archie clocked 21:23 for M40 64.77% and Nigel Shepherd 21:28 with M65 78.11%. Ian Nichols Hogg recorded 23:00 for 56.52%; Jonathan Lawson came in at 23:01 for an M55 67.34%; Steve Myerscough ran 24:01 for M50 61.42%; and Elliot Costello 24:25 with 53.11%. Vicky Gore was 6th fastest female in 25:03 for a W45 graded 65.34% with Steven Gore in 25:04 for M40 55.25%. Bev Wilding returned 25:49 for W60 76.24% with Stephen Twist running 26:09 for M55 59.78%; Ryan Azzopardi 26:51 with M40 52.39%; Alona Versinina ran 26:54 for W35 55.76%; Andy Moore on 28:34 and M60 57.12%; Pauline Eccleston returned with 30:52 for W50 56.43%; Liz Sharrocks came in with 31:15 for W60 63.89% with Clare Belfield running 31:50 for W40 48.69%. Michelle Pitt and Kerry Eccles were together with 37:57 for W40 41.15% and W60 51.87%, with Sue Rigby herself running 39:57 for W50 41.97% with Anne Berry also 39:57 and a W60 graded 49.27%. Tony Sharrocks clocked 40:22 for M60 40.09%; and Phil Leaver recovering well to walk 48:56 for M70 36.04%. In the neighbouring Blackpool parkrun in Stanley Park Chris Haines ran 22:21 for an M35 60.63% and Rob Wallace returned 25:49 for 50.10%. On Fleetwood Promenade Dave Young ran 34:09 for M75 56.47%, and on Morecambe Prom Steve Abbott recorded 18:41 for M45 77.07%. In Manchester’s Alexandra Park in Moss Side Martin Bates ran 23:40 for M65 72.18%, and in the Silloth Promenade parkrun in northwest Cumbria Mike Eyre was 8th fastest in 23:31 for an M60 age graded 68.82% and Helen Eyre ran 30:28 for W55 61.93%.

17th February – Alex’s Newspaper Report

Adam Wilding and Tom Bamber to the fore in the Mid Lancs Cross Country in Towneley Park

It was a busier week for Fylde athletes as there are signs of spring in the air and there were several events on locally. Wesham put out a good team for the fifth fixture in the Mid Lancs Cross Country League in Towneley Park in Burnley. Five ladies ran in the 5.8km race of a small, medium, and large lap over wet ground with otherwise dry and bright conditions. Sue Coulthurst finished 2nd W55 and 50th overall to led the Wesham women in a time of in 26:44. Kay Twist was next in 59th position for 9th W50 in 27:50 with Lisa Minns 74th and 8th W55 with 29:27. Kirsty Holland ran well for 80th in 30:16 and Alona Versinina was 9th W35 and 84th overall in 30:49. The Wesham ladies team were 6th in Division 2 and they look set for relegation at the end of the season unfortunately. The W35 team are currently 15th overall with the 12th. The Senior men ran over three large laps for 9.8km distance. Adam Wilding came through on the last lap to take 14th place in 34:56 with Tom Bamber close behind in 20th place for 2nd M40 with his time of 35:52. David Taylor finished 62nd in 39:56 and Tom Crabtree was 79th in 41:18. Will Parkinson is improving quickly and he finished 80th in 41:22. Carl Groome ran a double with an earlier parkrun and he came in 83rd for 9th M50 in 41:32. Chris Haines placed 86th in 41:38; Steve Myerscough finished 113th for 12th M45 in 44:26.  Nigel Shepherd was 3rd M65 and 133rd overall in 47:52; and John Collier was 4th M65 and 137th with 50:19.  James Danson finished 19th M55 and 148th overall in 55:52.  The Wesham third team in Division 2 and are also 3rd for the season, tantalisingly close to promotion, and overall having only fielded a team once the “B” team are bottom on Division 3. The M40 team is facing a much better future next season as they won Division 2 on Saturday and are now in top slot, but they must turn out their best team at the final fixture on 2nd March. The M50 team were 7th and also this place overall, with the M60 team in 4th place overall with no complete team on Saturday.

There were three Wesham members at the Run Aintree 10k on Sunday with Dan Eyre finishing 25th in 42:13 for 4th M45 place. Stuart Mulrooney ran a time of 42:41 for 31st place with Natalie Mulrooney finishing 12th woman and 2nd W40 in 47:37, for 80th place overall.

Alek Walker finished 2nd in the Muddy Shoes 11 Mile trail race on Sunday in 1:28:08 to place 2nd M40 in a cross-country course starting and finishing in Caldervale in the hills near Garstang.  Jonny Allsop was in 18th place with a time of 2:02:09.

Jo McCaffery ran the Silverdale Circuit multi-terrain race from Milnthorpe over an undulating 19-mile course through Arnside and up and over the Knott. She finished 57th overall in 4:08:00. Former Wesham members Chas and Angela Colby were 91st in 4:43:00 running as a pair. Anne Berry finished 118th in a time of 5:08:00.

There were 19 Wesham members running a parkrun on Saturday after a controversial week when in an act of inclusiveness all ranking and comparative performance statistics were removed from the historical results. In the Preston parkrun Steve Abbott ran the 7th fastest time of the morning with 18:45 for an M45 age grade performance of 76.80%. Ian Nichols Hogg clocked 23:47 for 54.66%. Vicky Gore ran the Southport run in Hesketh Park in 24:09 for a W45 grade of 67.77%. At Wolverhampton parkrun in West Park Steven Gore had the second fastest time with 18:35 for an M40 percentage of 74.53%. In the Riverside run in Chester-Le-Street Emma Brook recorded 29:00 for W40 53.05%. There were six Wesham members at the Lytham Hall parkrun with Carl Groome coming in with the sixth fastest time of the day with 20:31 for M55 grade at 74.90%. Andy Moore ran 27:53 for an M60 percentage 58.52%, and Alona Versinina clocked 27:57 for W35 53.67%. Clare Belfield recorded 31:08 and a W40 graded 49.79%, both later to run the Mid Lancs cross country, with Sue Rigby on 38:43 for W50 43.31% and Michelle Pitt running 39:34 for W40 39.47%. Up the road in Stanley Park in Blackpool Chris Haines recorded 21:31 for M35 62.97%; Rob Wallace 25:35 with an age graded 50.55%; and Dave Young clocked 50:05 for M75 38.50%. On Fleetwood Promenade Alan Hudson recorded 25:24 for M70 73.36%, and there were three Wesham members in Birmingham for the Edgbaston Reservoir parkrun, where Mike Eyre ran 23:55 for M60 67.67%; Emma Wright a time of 29:24 and W45 54.54%; and Helen Eyre on 29:58 for W55 62.96%. On foreign soil for the Nidda parkrun in Niddapark on Am Ginnheimer Wäldchen in northern Frankfurt Dan Bolton ran the fastest time in 16:59 for 75.96%.

10th February – Alex’s Newspaper Report

Adam Wilding with mum Bev at the Blackburn Winter Warmer 10k

The week offered a rest from cross country but there was still variety to be had for athletes on the road and trail as February eased into some better weather.

The Blackburn Winter Warmer 10k took place on Sunday with a start and finish with a lap of the track in Witton Park and then headed up and out of the park onto the renowned Bunser Lane with a big climb up onto Billinge Hill. Adam Wilding finished 4th in 35:19 with Tom Crabtree placing 35th in 40:32 and Steve Myerscough in 54th with 42:54, placing 4th M50. Lee Barlow was 71st and 5th M50 in 43:57 with Ian Nichols Hogg 100th in 45:34. Carmel Sullivan was the 9th woman and 1st W55 in 48:00, 125th overall. Bev Wilding came in 2nd W60 and 42nd woman in 53:47, placing 232nd overall. Peter Rooney finished 279th and 8th M60 in 57:02, and Paul Carter was 352nd in 1:00:36 for 26th M50. There were no team results despite the race having 515 finishers and an entry of 570.

Kirsty Holland completed the Montane Grizedale Forest Trail 13 Half Marathon in the Lake District in 66th female place and 198th overall with her time of 2:48:19 (2:47:42 chip time). Helen Greenhalgh ran the Trail 26 Marathon and she finished 34th female and 9th W40 with an excellent run in 5:46:16 (5:44:31 chip time), placing 135th overall.

There were 20 Wesham runners taking part in a parkrun at 9am on Saturday morning in reasonable conditions, if a little chilly and breezy in some parts. The parkrun tourists revisited the Birkenhead parkrun where Dan Bolton took 17:03 for an age graded performance of 75.66% for a First Timer recording. David Taylor was 10th fastest in 18:32 for an M35 grade of 72.03%. Steven Gore ran 19:09 for M40 72.32% with Carl Groome on 20:16 for M55 75.82%. Vicky Gore returned 24:00 for W45 68.19%; Elliot Costello ran 25:51 and an age graded 50.16%; and Andy Moore clocked 28:20 for M60 57.59%. Michelle Pitt ran 49:46 for W40 31.38%; Tracy Clare 49:58 and 29.75%; and Sue Rigby 49:59 for W50 33.54%. At the Lytham Hall parkrun Jonathan Lawson recorded a time of 22:50 for an M55 grade of 67.88%. Ian Nichols Hogg ran 24:35 for 52.88% and Colin Smy clocked 24:50 for M40 56.64%. Anne Berry ran 32:24 giving her a W60 grade of 60.75%. In Blackpool’s Stanley Park Jamie Houghton ran the second fastest time of 18:17 for a new persona; best and an age grade of 70.56%. On Fleetwood Promenade Sharon Cooper ran 24:53 for W50 67.38%, and in Avenham and Miller Park in Preston Steve Abbott clocked 18:57 for an M45 75.99%. Further afield in the Keswick run in Fitz Park Jo McCaffery timed in at 28:58 for W45 55.35% and Martin Allison was on 36:44 for M40 37.16%, and in the Talkin Tarn Country Park in Brampton in Cumbria Mike Eyre ran 31:23 for M60 51.57% and Helen Eyre clocked 31:24 for W55 60.08%. Emma Brook was at home in Chester-Le-Street for the Riverside parkrun which she completed in 27:45 for W40 55.44%, while Alona Versinina was in Guernsey and ran the parkrun at Pembroke Bay in Vale in 26:22 for 5th female and a W35 age grade of 56.89%.

3rd February – Alex’s Newspaper Report

The Wesham men supporting Kirsty Holland at the Northern Athletics Cross Country

A small men’s and women’s Wesham team headed north-east to Sedgefield in County Durham in the east park of the Hardwick Country Park for the Northern Athletics Cross Country Championships and proved to be one of only three Lancashire clubs to turn out full squads. Kirsty Holland was the first Wesham member to run, in the Senior Women’s 8.1km race over two large laps. She finished 221st with a spirited run in a time of 50:15. While the underfoot condition wase firm going there were a couple of very muddy sections, and there was very little flat ground with a few testing climbs over rough grassland. In the Senior Men’s 12.1km distance of three large laps Adam Wilding had a great run to finish 104th in 45:19. Daniel Bolton was a couple of minutes behind in 151st position in 47:33, with Jamie Houghton showing his worth finishing 194th in 49:26. Will Parkinson was 290th in 54:33 with Steve Myerscough losing a lot of ground at one point when he lost his shoe in one of the particularly muddy sections but making a sterling recovery to come in 366th in 59:54. Tony Leach was 397th in 1:03:12 and Men’s Captain John Collier finished 416th with 01:06:21. The men’s team placed 21st with only Blackburn Harriers and Rossendale Harriers as Lancashire teams ahead of them. The weather had been benign all afternoon and made for a great day out.

There was some encouraging news from the Mid Lancs cross Country League of a sixth fixture this year now arranged for 2nd March in Beacon Park at Skelmersdale, a return to this venue after some twelve years.

Back in the Fylde on Sunday the main athletics event in the area was the St Annes 10 from the YMCA swimming baths in St Annes down the Inner promenade to the Lytham Windmill and back, and as is traditional for this race the conditions were windy with a south-westerly blast. This didn’t deter the runners and Wesham had a good turnout, being the next event in their road running championships for 2024. Despite the wind there were personal best performances to be had and Chris Haines was the first Wesham member to demonstrate this, finishing in 16th place with a new best time of 1:05:11. Carl Groome was 3rd M55 and 36th overall in 1:10:12. Dan Eyre also produced a new personal best by 3 minutes to place 53rd with 1:14:46 for 10th M45. Carmel Sullivan produced another dazzling performance with 1:15:52 to finish 134th woman, 3rd W55 and 57th overall. Mick Edge was some way behind in 62nd place with 1:17:41 to place 3rd M60 with John Naylor 82nd and 7th M40 in 1:21:57. Alan Hudson finished 2nd M70 and 108th overall in 1:27:21 and Peter Rooney was 3rd M65 and 113th in 1:28:06. Sharlan Butcher was 47th woman and 144th in 1:38:53 running all the way with Dawn Biggs who was 48th woman, 145th and 7th W55 in 1:38:54. Chrstine Fare ran a good time of 1:50:41 for 68th female and 172nd overall. The Men’s and Women’s teams both finished in 3rd place.

Helen Greenhalgh ran the Petzel Rivington Night Run on Wednesday to finish 51st woman and 13th W40 with a time of 1:21:43 for the distance of 10k and ascent of 1327ft and she was 312th place overall. The race started and finished at the Rivington and Blackrod High School and took a route up through the hanging gardens of the Leverhulme estate, out around Rivington Pike and up onto the Winter Hill moor. There were reflective signs marking the route but headtorches were required.

There were 24 Wesham members out running a parkrun on Saturday morning, a time run over a 5km course at 9am. Six members were running the Lytham Hall parkrun with Mark Holton running the 9th fastest time of the morning of 21:08 for an M45 age graded performance of 67.11%. Ian Nichols Hogg clocked 22:42 for an age grade of 57.27% and Jonathan Lawson returned 23:27 for M55 66.10%. John Burns clocked 27:18 for M65 63.19% and Finlay McCalman ran 28:11 with an M55 graded 56.42%. John’s daughter Emma Brook was down from Chester-Le-Street, and she ran 28:57 for W40 53.14%. For Blackpool’s run in Stanley Park Chris Haines kicked off his weekend with the 3rd fastest time of 20:03 for an M35 graded 67.58%, and Lee Barlow was 6th fastest in 20:45 for M50 72.21%. Neil Gregson made a welcome return with 20:59 for M35 64.58% and Jo McCaffery ran 34:40 with a W45 46.25%. Nigel Shepherd was at the Preston parkrun in Avenham Park to run 21:26 for an M65 grade 78.23%, and Emma Lund was on Morecambe Prom with a time of 22:39 for W40 67.55% for 3rd fastest female of the day. A big group of Wesham parkrun tourists were at the South Manchester parkrun in Platt Fields, where Steven Gore produced an epic run for the second fastest time of 17:59 and an M40 age grade of 77.02%. Carl Groome recorded 19:58 for M55 76.96% with Martin Bates on 23:34 for M65 72.49%. Vicky Gore ran a speedy 23:48 for W45 68.77% and Tracey Hulme clocked 25:41 for W60 75.54%. Andy Moore returned 27:13 for M60 59.95%; Alona Versinina ran 27:13 with a W35 55.11%; Sue Rigby finished with 36:01 W50 46.55%; and Michelle Pitt ran 38:11 for W40 40.90%. Further afield Mike and Helen Eyre were at the Workington parkrun, and out-and-back route from the Leisure centre where Mike ran 23:30 for M60 68.87% and Helen clocked 29:16 for W55 64.46%. Peter Rooney was in Kings Park in Bournemouth to run 27:36 for an M65 age graded 60.75%.

27th January – Alex’s Newspaper Report

Helen Greenhalgh and Dan Bolton in Saturday’s Inskip Half Marathon

Last week was the traditional January date for a half marathon race in many athletes’ preparation for a spring marathon, or just for a good long workout. Locally the Inskip Half Marathon was a sold-out affair on a long loop around the Fylde’s villages with a good Wesham contingent taking place, with many other members helping with the marshalling. Dan Bolton took over six minutes off his personal best time with 1:19:56 for 12th place, and excellent result. Daniel Shaw finished 17th in 1:22:38 with another good run. Bradley Flatt was in 43rd place with a time of 1:34:22. Helen Greenhalgh came 13th woman and 2nd W45 in 1:47:52 for 72nd place overall. Andrew Wilkinson finished 82nd in 1:52:13 for 4th M55; and John Naylor placed 87th with a time of 1:56:19 for 20th M40. Catherine Nicholls was 19th woman and 5th W50 in 1:59:58 for 93rd overall.

The popular Four Villages Half Marathon took place in Helsby in Chesire and Finlay McCalman finished 853rd in 2:00:57 with his chip time 1:59:39, placing 53rd M55 in this quality event.

Steve Abbott ran the Morecambe Festival of Running 10k to come in 4th place in 38:40 with a good run to secure 1st M45.

There were 28 Wesham members out running a parkrun on Saturday morning in inclement and wet conditions at 9am. The largest team were at the Lytham Hall event where the snowdrops are now showing though. Will Parkinson was the fastest with the 6th swiftest time of the morning with 20:41 for an M35 age graded percentage of 63.74%. Mark Holton ran 21:59 for an M45 graded 64.52% and Ian Nichols Hogg scored 22:50 for a grade of 56.93%. Bev Wilding had a W60 grade of 78.11% with her time of 25:12 accompanied by son Adam Wilding with the same time and an age graded 51.59%. Colin Smy returned 26:21 for M40 53.38% and Jo McCaffery ran 30:57 for W45 51.80%. Liz Sharrocks came in with 31:40 for W60 63.05%; Julie Rooney was on 38:40 for W45 42.84%; and Tony Sharrocks ran 44:36 and M60 36.29%. In the Blackpool run in Stanley Park Jamie Houghton showed his good promise with the second fastest time of 19:21 for 66.67%. Lee Barlow ran 21:39 for M50 69.21% and Rob Wallace clocked 23:02 for 56.15%. Across the Ribble in Hesketh Park in Southport Carl Groome clocked a good 19:46 for an M55 graded 77.74% with Vicky and Steven Gore running 24:32 and 24:33 for W45 66.71% and M40 56.42%. Elliot Costello returned 25:36 for 50.65%; Andy Moore ran 27:21 for M60 59.66%; Michelle Pitt clocked 40:22 for W40 38.69%; and Sue Rigby returned 40:25 for W50 41.48%. In Avenham and Miller Parks in Preston Steve Myerscough clocked 21:03 for M50 70.07% and Paul Carter ran 30:50 to M50 49.41%. Further afield Martin Bates was in Heaton Park in Manchester, and he scored a time of 25:45 for M65 66.34% for his fourth run here. Sharon Cooper was in the Delamere parkrun in Cheshire for 30:28 and a W50 grade of 55.03%. Andy Neville ran in Witton Park in Blackburn for 23:23 and M40 60.16% for the 8th fastest run here today. Further afield in Eastville Park in Bristol Chris Haines posted 20:04 for M35 67.52% and in Scotland at the Livingston parkrun Alona Versinina ran 26:18 for W35 57.03%. In Chester-Le-Street in the Riverside run Emma Brook recorded 28:37 for a W40 grade of 53.76%.