Wesham Road Runners

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 2^nd W55 and 50^th overall to led the Wesham women in a time of in 26:44. Kay Twist was next in 59^th position for 9^th W50 in 27:50 with Lisa Minns 74^th and 8^th W55 with 29:27. Kirsty Holland ran well for 80^th in 30:16 and Alona Versinina was 9^th W35 and 84^th overall in 30:49. The Wesham ladies team were 6^th in Division 2 and they look set for relegation at the end of the season unfortunately. The W35 team are currently 15^th overall with the 12^th. The Senior men ran over three large laps for 9.8km distance. Adam Wilding came through on the last lap to take 14^th place in 34:56 with Tom Bamber close behind in 20^th place for 2^nd M40 with his time of 35:52. David Taylor finished 62^nd in 39:56 and Tom Crabtree was 79^th in 41:18. Will Parkinson is improving quickly and he finished 80^th in 41:22. Carl Groome ran a double with an earlier parkrun and he came in 83^rd for 9^th M50 in 41:32. Chris Haines placed 86^th in 41:38; Steve Myerscough finished 113^th for 12^th M45 in 44:26.  Nigel Shepherd was 3^rd M65 and 133^rd overall in 47:52; and John Collier was 4^th M65 and 137^th with 50:19.  James Danson finished 19^th M55 and 148^th overall in 55:52.  The Wesham third team in Division 2 and are also 3^rd 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 2^nd March. The M50 team were 7^th and also this place overall, with the M60 team in 4^th place overall with no complete team on Saturday.

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

Alek Walker finished 2^nd in the Muddy Shoes 11 Mile trail race on Sunday in 1:28:08 to place 2^nd M40 in a cross-country course starting and finishing in Caldervale in the hills near Garstang.  Jonny Allsop was in 18^th 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 57^th overall in 4:08:00. Former Wesham members Chas and Angela Colby were 91^st in 4:43:00 running as a pair. Anne Berry finished 118^th 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 7^th 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%.