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%.

20th January – Alex’s Newspaper Report

The Wesham men at the Blackpool Mid Lancs cross country on Saturday.

January is a good month for athletics with some top road races intermingled with the cross country season, and last weekend was a busy one in the Fylde area.

The fourth and penultimate fixture of the Mid Lancs Cross Country League took place on Saturday on Blackpool’s Lawsons Ground, with Wesham helping the other Fylde clubs in setting up and marshalling the courses. Wesham also fielded good sizeable men’s and women’s teams in the senior events. The Women’s event was held over 3 medium laps totalling a 6km distance, and Emma Lund headed the Wesham team placing 51st and 12th W40 with a time of 30:34, a good start for the team. Kay Twist finished 73rd and 10th W50 in 32:57 with Lisa Minns placing 76th and 8th W55 in a time of 33:24. Alona Versinina was 80th and 8th W35 in 34:00 and Kirsty Holland 96th in 36:08. Clare Belfield finished 102nd and 20th W40 with a time of 37:06. In the incorporated Over-70 Men’s race over the same 5km course Dave Young was 9th overall and 2nd M75 in 41:06. The Women’s A team were 6th in Division 2 and the ladies fielded a “B” team for the first time this season. The W35 team were 15th and the W45s are 12th with only one score so far this season. The Senior Men’s race was held over 4 long laps totalling 10km and Adam Wilding finished well up in 12th place in a time of 33:00. Mark Belfield was 34th and 8th M40 in 34:56 with Dan Bolton 36th with his time of 34:59. Jamie Houghton came in 48th with a good effort in 35:59. David Taylor was 56th in 36:15 with Chris Haines finishing 101st in 39:27 and Will Parkinson 102nd with 39:33. Carl Groome placed 108th and 14th M50 in 40:01 and Steve Myerscough was 120th and 13th M45 with 40:49. Nigel Shepherd finished 165th and 4th M65 in 45:17 with Martin Bates 174th and 7th M65 in 47:23. John Collier was right behind in 175th for 8th M65 with his time 47:31. The Wesham were 3rd in Division 2 with an outside change of promotion back to Division 1 if they can muster a strong team next month in Burnley. The “B” team were 5th in Division 2 with the Vet-40 team 2nd in Division 2 with a good prospect of promotion. The men Vet-50 languish in 10th place and the vet-60s 4th with very few complete team scores for any club in this Division.

The Garstang 10k is one of the most popular January races attracting runners from far and wide and is a god opener for the new year. Wesham had a strong contingent with several runners doubling up from the previous day’s cross country and some event triple counting having run a parkrun for Saturday breakfast. Chris Haines had run the previous day in the cross country and today he finished 12th for the 6 miles in 39:02. Carl Groome completed the triple with a time of 40:48 for 27th place and 3rd M55. Bradley Flatt finished 30th in 41:18 and Lee Barlow was 36th overall and 3rd M50 with 42:02. Stuart Mulrooney placed 44th in 43:34 for 5th M40, with Ian Nichols Hogg 60th in 45:09. Carmel Sullivan finished 9th woman and 1st W55 in 46:01 for 64th place overall, with Mick Edge close behind in 67th place for 9th M60 in a time of 46:39.  Natalie Mulrooney was 15th woman and 4th W40 in 49:44 placing 93rd overall. Andrew Wilkinson was 97th and 9th M55 in 50:03 with Alan Hudson procuring 2nd Over-70 in 108th place in 51:40. Finlay McCalman finished 114th in 52:18 for 13th M55. Peter Rooney was 133rd and 4th M65 in 54:25; Andy Moore 134th with 54:52; and Paul Carter placed 153rd in 57:01. Sharlan Butcher finished 38th woman and 12th W50 in 57:20, 158th overall, and Dawn Biggs was 41st woman and 3rd W55 in 57:35 for 164th place.

In the Power of 5km at the Salt Ayre cycle track in Lancaster on Friday evening Steve Abbott ran 18:17 for 3rd M45 in 20th place overall.

There were many Wesham members out running a 5km parkrun on Saturday morning at 9am in sometimes drizzly and damp conditions. In Lytham Hall Mark Holton ran the 4th fastest time of the day with 21:45 for an M45 age graded performance of 65.21%. Jonathan Lawson ran 23:21 for an M55 graded 66.38% and Ian Nichols Hogg clocked 24:50 for 52.35%. Antoinette Holton recorded 29:53 for a W35 graded 50.86% with Liz Sharrocks on 31:21 for W60 63.69%. Jack Rayson ran 33:41 for 38.40%; Tony Sharrocks had 42:33 for M60 38.03%; and Phil Leaver was recovered from heart surgery to produce a fast walk of 50:43 for an M70 34.77%. At the neighbouring Blackpool parkrun in Stanley Park Daniel Bolton produced the fastest time of the morning of 17:43 for an age graded 72.81%. Tom Crabtree was 6th fastest in 20:17 for 63.93% and Carl Groome kicked off his weekend triple with the 7th-fastest time of 20:30 for M55 74.96%. Rob Wallace returned 23:11 for 55.79%; Alona Versinina on the double with the cross country across the road had 28:10 for a W35 graded 53.25%; and Andy Moore ran 29:56 for an M60 54.51%. Louisa Denye recorded 31:56 for W45 49.74% and Sue Rigby clocked 37:22 for W50 44.87%. In the Preston run in Avenham and Miller parks Paul Carter warmed up with 31:06 for M50 48.98% and Ryan Azzopardi travelled to the Princes parkrun in Liverpool adjacent to Sefton Park for a time of 25:14 and an age graded M40 55.35%. Martin Bates ran the Bolton parkrun in Leverhulme Park in a time of 27:38 for an M65 61.82% and Steven Gore completed the East Park run in Wolverhampton for the second fastest time of 18:19 for M40 75.61%. Vicky Gore clocked 24:25 for W45 67.03%. North East parkruns featured Emma Brook on home ground for the Riverside run in Chester-Le-Street for a time of 28:13 with a W40 age graded 54.52% and Emma Wright was visiting the Tyne Green parkrun in Hexham and ran 27:28 for W45 58.37%.

13th January – Alex’s Newspaper Report

The Wesham ladies set off on the Lancashire Cross Country on Saturday.

January will be a busy month for cross country running and the stakes increase as the focus moves on to the county, regional and national championships over the next three months.

January traditionally kicks off with the County Championships and the Lancahire Cross Country Championships took place again in its regular venue in Witton Park in Blackburn. Wesham had a Senior Women’s and men’s team and were successful with wining several county medals. In the Senior Women’s 3-lap 6.7km course, incorporating this year for the first time the Over-70 Men, Sarah Sherratt finished 50th in a time of 35:04, placing 3rd W50 and claiming a Lancashire bronze medal. Lisa Minns ran strongly for 58th place in 37:55, finishing 3rd W55 also winning a county bronze medal. Agness Woods just missed out on a county medal coming in 4th W55 close behind Lisa in 59th place in a time of 38:05. Alona Versinina was 62nd in 39:22, placing 7th W35. The Wesham team placed 7th and the Ladies Veterans were 8th team. In the incorporated Over-70s Men’s race John Coller was 2nd M70 in 34:42 for a Lancashire Silver medal. The Senior Men’s race took in 4 laps of the famous Blackburn course with its climb up the “saucer” for a 9.8km distance. Adam Wilding was the leading Wesham runner, and he finished 45th in 37:34. Jamie Houghton had a great cross country debut to finish 73rd with his time 40:53. Chris Haines placed 94th in 43:57 with Steve Myerscough 109th in 46:33 placing 10th M50. Nigel Shepherd gave a great result to win the M65 Bronze medal coming in 119th in 49:14 for 3rd M65. Martin Bates finished 133rd in 54:46 placing 7th M65. The Wesham Senior Men’s team were 9th with the Men’s veterans one short of a full team.

On Sunday the Central Lancs Half Marathon took place from Lea Town on its course through the country lanes of Catforth and Inskip. Jonny Allsop finished 126th with a big new personal best performance of 1:42:17. Andrew Wilkinson placed 250th with his time of 1:58:19 coming in 18th M55. Conditions were good for running with a bright still day.

There were 21 Wesham members running a parkrun on Saturday morning with 14 runners at Lytham Hall. David Taylor ran the 9th fastest time of the morning with 20:48 for an M35 age graded performance of 64.18%. Carl Groome was 10th fastest with 20:57 for an M55 age grade of 73.35%. Ian Nichols Hogg clocked 23:29 for 55.36% with Jonathan Lawson recording 23:52 for an M55 graded 64.94% and Ryan Azzopardi 25:38 with M40 54.49%. Bev Wilding timed in at 25:42 for a W60 76.59%; Alona Versinina returned 28:01 for W35 53.54%; and Andy Moore ran 28:27 for an M60 grade 57.35%. Liz Sharrocks recorded 31:26 for W60 63.52%; Julie Rooney ran 40:09 and W45 41.26%; Adam Wilding was saving himself for the afternoon’s cross country with a warmup of 40:09 for an age grade of 32.38%. Michelle Pitt posted 40:36 with a W40 38.46%; Sue Rigby ran 41:02 for W50 40.86%; and Tony Sharrocks clocked 42:17 for M60 38.27%. In Blackpool’s run in Stanley Park Lee Barlow ran 21:56 for an M50 68.31%; Elliot Costello came in at 27:06 for 47.85%; Dave Young recorded 31:49 for M75 60.61%; and Jo McCaffery clocked 33:14 for W45 48.24%. In the Midlands at the Walsall Arboretum parkrun over a 3-lap course around the Victorian highlights Steven Gore posted a time of 18:22 for an M40 age graded 75.41% and Vicky Gore clocked 23:51 for a W45 68.62%. In the Riverside run in Chester-Le-Street Emma Brook ran 28:01 for W40 54.91%.

6th January – Alex’s Newspaper Report

Wesham ladies and Stuart Topping with well-earned Christmas puddings.

The year 2023 was seen out with the ever-popular and highly well organised Ribble Valley 10k taking place on Sunday New Year’s Eve at Edisford Bridge in Clitheroe, and there were five Wesham members running this year around the traffic free triangular course out around Bashall Town and Withgill. The race was once again a hight quality with the Northern Athletics 10km Championships incorporated and this year the winning time was 28:47 and with nine runners faster than 30 minutes. Dan Bolton was the first Wesham finisher in 176th place with a time of 36:30 (chip time 36:02) coming in with a new personal best time for 10k. Mark Belfield came in 210th in 37:32 (chip time 37:26) to place 22nd M40. Steve Abbott placed 255th in 38:36 (38:29) with Chris Haines 301st in 39:48 (39:26). Clare Belfield finished 318th female and 1056th overall in 1:01:03, with her chip time 59:54 and 54th W40. There were 1264 runners, and the first woman was local lady and international Jess Warner-Judd in 32:42.

Also on News Years Eve the Trails and Ales Fell Race took offroad running enthusiasts on a 7-mile circuit up on to Winter Hill from the Little Tea Room at Higher Derbyshire in Rivington. Tom Crabtree was the first finisher for Wesham in 54th place with a time of 1:07:01. Jonny Allsop placed 105th in 1:13:44 with Jo McCaffery finishing 55th woman and 195th overall in 1:30:45, 21st in the W40 category. Finlay McCalman was 235th in 1:39:58, 31st M50. The race was started with bagpipes and could be rounded off during the afternoon presentation and party in the Crown Inn at the top end of Horwich. There were 260 runners in the race, a popular conclusion to the year of 2023.

Two Wesham ladies ran the Tolkien Winter Trail race on Saturday on the 11.1k route taking in many of the features that inspired the author in his “Hobbit” and “Lord of the Rings” books, starting and finishing at Stonyhurst College and taking in the Mount Doom, the river Ribble, the 16th-century Cromwell bridge and the “Fangorn Forest” with 528ft of ascent. Christine Fare and Dawn Biggs ran together to finish 114th and 115th women and 261st and 262nd overall in 1:35:58, giving them 43rd and 44th places in the W50 category.

The cross country season continues this weekend with the Lancashire County Championships in Witton Park in Blackburn over a revised set of courses due to changes in the park. This is followed a week after by the next Mid Lancs League event at Lawson’s Fields in Blackpool, and two week later with the Northern Athletics Championships in Sedgefield in County Durham.

There were 20 Wesham members running a parkrun on Saturday with the tourists away in Sheffield for the Endcliffe parkrun to the southwest of the city centre. Steven Gore ran the sixth fastest time of the morning with a time of 18:40 for an M40 age graded performance of 74.20%. Carl Groome clocked 20:11 for an M55 graded 76.14% with Vicky Gore on 25:37 for W45 63.24%. Andy Moore recorded 28:54 for an M60 56.46% and Sue Rigby ran 38:19 for W50 43.76%. In Stanley Park in Blackpool David Taylor produced the fastest time of the day with 18:55 for an M35 graded 70.57%. Adam Wilding was eight fastest in 20:26 for 63.62% pacing Will Parkinson to 20:35 and an M35 graded 64.05%. Rob Wallace returned 22:26 for his age graded 57.65% with Bev Wilding running 27:47 for a W60 70.85% and Jo McCaffery 29:07 and W45 55.07%. There were just two Wesham members running the Lytham Hall parkrun with Stephen Twist clocking 27:24 for M55 57.06% and Colin Smy 27:48 for M40 50.60%. Along Fleetwood Promenade with some windblown sand still on the path Dave Young was back running with 33:33 for M75 57.48% and in Avenham Park in Preston Nigel Shepherd clocked 22:14 for M65 75.41%. Two members were in Anglesey for the Nant y Pandy parkrun in the Nature Reserve at Llangefni, where Martin Bates recorded 26:38 for an M65 age graded 64.14% and Emma Wright ran 30:00 for W45 53.44%. Emma Lund ran the Morecambe Prom run for the fourth fastest female time of 23:18 and a W40 65.67%, while in Skelmersdale at the Tawd Valley parkrun Alona Versinina was 6th female in 26:58 for W35 55.62%. Dawn Biggs completed the Rothay Park parkrun in Ambleside in 34:06 for W55 53.08%.

30th December – Alex’s Newspaper Report

Wesham team members at the Longridge 7 race recently

As the year draws to a close Wesham members reflect on another successful 12 months for the club. The year started with the second half of the cross country season, and in the Lancashire County Championships in January john Collier won the M65 bronze and Rob Danson qualified for the Lancashire team in the Inter-Counties in March. The Northern Championships were local in Witton Park and the English National at Bolesworth Castle in Cheshire with 15 members competing. These events go to Sedgefield in North Yorkshire and to Telford in 2024. In the Mid Lancs League the Senior Men and the M40s were each demoted to Division 2 but the M60 team won silver medals and the Ladies won bronze. In the 2023/24 season after three fixtures the Senior men are third in Division 2 and 2nd in the M40 Division 2, and the Senior Women are also third in Division 2. Wesham submitted two Senior Men’s and a Senior Womern’s team in the Northern 12-Stage and 6-Stage Road
Relays returning to Redcar on a wet and windy day, but the club had a successful day out and all ran well. There was a successful season with the popular Inter Club race series with seven clubs each hosting a fixture, where Wesham finished 3rd overall with the women placing 6th; with men and women scoring together the Veterans were 4th, the Over-50s were 5th, and the Over-60s 3rd, with the Women Over-40s placing 3rd.  Wesham fielded 8 runners in the Large Team category of the Endure24 in Bramham Park in Leeds and two pairs and two individuals in the 24-hour relay of 8km stages, with the team finishing 4th with 34 laps credited. Rob Danson had an elite bib in the Great Manchester Run where he notched up 32:05 for 34th place. Mick Edge had qualified for the GB team for the World Triathlon Multisport Championships in Ibiza and he has qualified again for 2024. The club successfully ran its Summer 10k in May and the winter 10k in November, both events sold out and very popular. The club ran its club championships for road running, Trail and Fell, Cross Country, Age Related and Most Improved athlete, the trophies and awards presented at the annual dinner dance event held on the evening of the Wesham 10k.

The Worden Park Boxing Day 10k is a popular race to get out and about the day after Christmas and it has a long history as the run to do in Lancashire to finish off the year. On Tuesday this year Steve Abbott finished 21st and 3rd M45 in 38:48. Martin Bates was 82nd and 2nd M65 in 48:13. There were 322 finishers this year from far and wide over the multi loop course in and around the park.

There were 27 Wesham members running a parkrun on Saturday morning, with Adam Wilding running the 3rd fastest time at Lytham Hall for 17:32 and an age graded performance of 74.14%, with Mark Belfield 4th quickest in 18:28 for an M40 graded 74.46%. Will Parkinson clocked 20:49 for M35 63.33% with Ian Nichols Hogg on 23:53 for n age graded 54.43%. Michelle Tickle 6th fastest woman with a time of 24:26 for W45 67.80%. Agness Woods ran 25:35 for W55 70.75%; Bev Wilding recorded 26:39 for W60 73.86%; Clare Belfield was on 30:41 with W40 50.52%; and Jo McCaffery ran 35:30 for W45 45.16%. In the Blackpool run in Stanley Park Finlay McCalman returned 28:26 for M55 55.92% with Michelle Pitt and Tracy Clare running 53:54 and 53:56 for W40 28.76% and 27.56% respectively. Daniel Bolton ran the Preston parkrun in 17:30 for an age graded 73.71% for the 8th fastest time in this popular run with Steve Myerscough clocking 20:06 for M50 73.38% and Nigel Shepherd finishing on 21:44 for M65 77.15%. Andrew Moore was the only Wesham member in a small turnout on Fleetwood Promenade with a thick layer of windblown sand on the course, and he ran 27:34 for M60 59.19%. In the South Manchester parkrun in Platt Fields Tracey Hulme ran 28:50 for a W60 age graded 67.28%, and on the Edge Hill campus in Ormskirk Chris Banks was second fastest in 17:47 for M35 76.19%. The Wesham parkrun tourists went to the Alexandra run in Manchester’s Moss Side and David Taylor was seventh fastest in 17:50 for M35 74.86%. Carl Groome ran 19:54 for M55 77.22% and Martin Bates clocked 23:31 for an M65 graded 72.64%. Vicky and Steven Gore ran 24:39 and 24:40 for W45 65.72% and M40 56.15%. Alona Versinina returned 25:18 for W35 59.29% and Sue Rigby ran 35:07 with a W50 47.75%. In the Riverside run in Chester-Le-Street Emma Brook ran 28:36 for a W40 53.79% with dad John Burns running 27:03 for M65 63.77%.

There were nine Wesham parkrunners on Christmas Day at the special Southport run in Hesketh Park where David Taylor was ninth fastest in 17:48 for M35 75.00%. Michelle Tickle was seventh fastest woman in 22:50 for a W45 graded 72.55% with Steven Gore running 22:51 for M40 60.61%. Alona Versinina clocked 25:52 for W35 57.99% and Vicky Gore ran 26:18 with a W45 61.60% grade. Andy Moore came in on 27:54 for M60 58.48%; Elliot Costello 28:37 45.31%; Carl Groome returned 30:57 for M55 49.65%; Sue Rigby ran 38:46 with W50 43.25%; and Tracy Clare and Michelle Pitt ran together in 54:55 for age graded 27.07% and W40 28.22%.