As London Marathon training reaches its peak, ten Red Rose Runners joined a field of 700 for the Trimpell 20 mile race. With a nasty hill at Lancaster Castle to finish the runners off, all 10 runners gave themselves a great boost in confidence before the ‘big day’. Karl Hodgson confirmed his consistency and strength with a great time of 2.09.12. Next came Simon Croft with another superb effort and a time of 2.11.52. Close to 3 hour marathon pace, Jose Pinon Shaw finished in 2.16.32 and Mike Hall in 2.20.47. A good steady run from Andrew Christie saw him home in 2.23.02 followed by Jill Jefferson running a PB to take 2nd F55 in 2.35.27.
More great performances came from Martin Simpson in 3.03.50, Pita Oates, 3.26.14, Helen Greenhalgh, 3.52.45 and Gina Biggs 4.42.15.
At the Fleetwood Rotary Club 10k, two sub 40 minutes performances and top ten finishes came from Alex Venables, 3rd in 39.42 and Phil Darwen, 5th in 39.47. Liam ‘PB’ Hooton, 45.02, had another great run improving his best time by 3 minutes with Damien Russell also running well in 45.52.
At the local parkruns, Karl Hodgson led the charge for PB’s at Cuerden Valley with a time of 18.26. Also improving were Stuart Cann 19.54, Sam Harrison 20.18, Liam Hooton 22.44 and Natalie Moore 27.14. At Preston Steve Worswick ran 24.02 and Alexandra Fliegauf finished in 30.12.
Perfect running conditions saw PBs tumble, as 30 Red Rose Road Runners completed the first event in the 2016-17 Lakeland Trails series from Cartmel Racecourse. With the going officially ‘firm’ Lisa Bolton was first Red Rose to finish in the 10k race in a time of 53:18 (95th place) followed by Ian Waddingham 54:19 (113th), Jim Mclean 59:02 (181st), Vicky Gore 1:02:26 (234th), Lisa Semley 1:04:40 (280th), Davina Bowling 1:06:36 (320th), Jane Petrie 1:12:00 (409th), Janette Draper 1:22:34 (527th), Andrew Melvin 1:25:05 (542nd), Laura Johnson 1:27:55 (556th) and Emma Johnson 1:28:02, 559th of 576 finishers.
In the Challenge 18k Philip Davidson was first Red Rose home in 1:35:57 (30th) followed by Margaret Lupton 2:03:28 (223rd), Lynn Melvin 2:04:04 (228th), Steve Taylor 2:08:44 (261st), Lorna Taylor 2:08:44 (262nd), Austin Trelfa 2:13:46 (291st), Claire Shaw 2:35:00 (413th), Wendy Ward 2:35:01 (414th), Josephine Walsh 2:39:19 (426th), Mac McCormack 2:44:02 (445th), Nina Colquhoun 2:44:14 (447th), Lydia Plackett 2:58:25 (468th) and Ramona Mulligan 3:14:05, 475th out of 480 finishers.
However the performance of the day has to go to Ciaron Roddy in the 18k Race. Competing in his first Lakeland Trail Ciaron finished a remarkable 11th place in 1:18:46 followed by Dave Raynor 1:36:34 (74th), John Wiseman 1:50:01 (141st), Andy Speer 2:03:39 (186th) and Helen Orson in 2:28:54. Helen’s 203rd place finish would have seen her finish markedly higher in the Challenge which is run over the exact same course but starts an hour earlier and is aimed at the less competitive runner and fitness walker.
John Naylor went even further, completing the Gin Pit double marathon 2 in two, with times of 04:08:47 on day one and 04:04:10 on day two. In the cumulative results, he finished 10th. Michael Pate ran day 2 and finished in 03:57:59.
At the Coniston 14, nearly 1100 runners took part in the race around the lake. Richard Maughan took on the race for the first time and held his form well throughout, finishing 45th in 1.30.48. Joe Swarbrick made his annual visit to the race finishing 55th in 1.32.50 to take the V60 prize. David Singleton had a great run to be 13th V50 in 1.36.44.Janet Tolson also had a fine run finishing as 6th F60 in 2.05.33.
The Garstang Gallop over an undulating 7 mile course provided the scene for more club success. Ray Taylor comfortably took the V65 prize in a time of 54.16 followed by Alison Parkinson in 56.35. A superb run from Carol Douglass won her first F70 in 59.43 with Joan Gouldthorpe first F65 in 64.22. Sarah Runcie completed the team in 74.14.