The main Red Rose event this weekend was the Edinburgh Marathon and Half Marathon. Extremely windy conditions in the last 8 miles made it difficult for anyone to maintain their early race pace. Tony Thorley was first RR home in 3.47.35. John Naylor also beat four hours with a time of 3.56.33. Claire Smith was our first lady in a time of 4.10.09 and not far behind was Paula Plowman in 4.12.41. Sarah Hall ran an excellent 4.14.41.Keith Burrow, running in aid of the Parkinson charity finished in 4.18.56. John Plowman, running his first marathon was next in in a time of 4.29.54. Andy Hall recorded 4.36.14. A brilliantly paced run from V70 George Fletcher saw him go through halfway in 2.21.43 and finishing in 4.45.20 as seventh V70.
Wendy Ward was robbed of a sub 5hour time by the strong winds finishing in 5.00.43. Janice Johnstone arrived next in 5.01.47 and 3 minutes behind was Nicola Machin in 5.04.45. Keith O’Brien suffered the extreme weather even longer than others and finished in 6.10.20.
In the half marathon Andy Speer broke 2 hours in 1.55.00.Martin Foley headed a closely knit group finishing in 2.04.25 followed by Martin Simpson in 2.05.21 and Sue Aston in 2.09.47. V65, Jim Robinson finished in 2.21.52.
The Catforth 5K has gained a reputation as a fast course with a few chances to beat a PB over the summer months. Ben Donoghue returned close to his with 11th place and a time of 17.56. Karl Hodgson ran his second PB of the day in 18.01 and John Shepherd ran brilliantly for 18.10 and first V50. Thirty of the 112 runners were from Red Rose. Carol Douglass was the F65 winner in 24.37 and Joan Gouldthorpe finished in 25.44 to win the F60 prize.
At the Crazy Cow 10K, 499 runners took part. Gary Lambert marked his Red Rose debut with a time of 48.11with Steve Taylor and Peter O’Grady finishing together in 48.43.Jonathan Butterworth put in a good performance with a time of 52.57. Joanne Malcolmson followed in 53.13 before David Wilkinson and Vicky Gore finished in 57.23. Other Finishers: Sarah Haslam 62.36, Mark McCrea 62.46, Marion O’Grady 64.00, Dave Aspin 67.19, Evelyn Elkington 68.06 and Bernard Elkington backmarking in 1.46.58.
In the Fun Run, Lexie and Nina Colquhoun ran really well finishing in 11.32 and 11.45.
In the Preston Parkrun, Personal Bests were recorded by Richard Maughan (20.49), Steve Worswick (24.130 and Nicola Bentley (33.30). At Cuerden Valley Karl Hodgson ran 19.28 and Alison Mercer finished in 29.34.
Gareth Bell travelled to Bristol to do the 10k and came away with a new PB of 43.06.
Out of 18 starters at the Foxton 24. there were 3 from Red Rose. It was held at the Uclan sports arena from 12:00 Saturday 23rd may through till 12:00 Sunday. It was a scorching day on the Saturday, followed by rain for a few hours on Sunday morning, but all had a great time.
Gina Biggs finished after completing 56.4 miles, Jane Mowbray 65.37 miles and 3rd female, and Michael Pate finished with 80.5 miles.
The winner completed 110.9 miles.