All eyes were on the London Marathon on Sunday morning and Wesham had two members running this year in good conditions for the 26.2 miles. Bradley Flatt completed the distance in 3:51:41 for 17348th place. He went though the half marathon in 1:38:04 but slowed down considerably from 35k. Vicky Gore was 11068th woman and 33266th overall in 4:40:13 to place 1496th W45. She went through halfway in 2:07:53.
The team results for the Blackpool Inter Club race on 10th April were published last week and happily Wesham came in 2nd team in the overall placings (Adam Wilding, Tom Bamber, Dan Bolton, David Taylor, Jamie Houghton, Mark Belfield, Chris Banks, Chris Haines, Tom Crabtree and Alek Walker) which was a great result, and 1st Lady veterans (Sue Coulthurst, Emma Lund, Carmel Sullivan, Natalie Mulrooney and Bev Wilding). The overall veterans were 2nd (Bamber, Belfield, Walker, Steve Myerscough, lee Nixon and Dan Eyre), The vet-50s were 3rd (Myerscough, Carl Groome, lee Barlow and Mick Edge) with the Vet-60s 5th with Edge, Phil Quibell and Mike Eyre. The ladies were 5th with Sue Coulthurst, Emma Lund, Carmel Sullivan, Natalie Mulrooney and Kirsty Holland.
At the Wesham Cross Country presentation on Monday night for the 2023-24 season of Mid Lancs and Lancashire and Northern Championships the women winners were Sue Coulthurst, Kay Twist and Lisa Minns, with Kirsty Holland winning the Seniors, and the age categories going to Alona Versinina (W35); Clare Belfield (W40); Kay Twist (W50); Lisa Minns (W55); and the men’s winner was Adam Wilding Tom Bamber and Mark Belfield with the age categories winners Will Parkinson (M35); Tom Bamber (M40); Steve Myerscough (M45); Carl Groome (M50); Robert Danson (M55); and Nigel Shepherd (M60). Carl Groome also won the coveter Blood Sweat and Spikes trophy for dedication and effort across the season.
Alek Walker finished 10th in the Dean Barwick Dash in Grange, a 10km route to raise funds for the school in Witherslack running up on to the Cartmel Ridge. Alek clocked 59:45 6th Over-40. Steve Myerscough was 24th in 1:08:33, 6th Over-50. Chris Banks finished 4th in the Rivington 10-Mile Trail Race starting in the village and running up through White Coppice to Wheelton alongside Anglezarke reservoir and the Goit and back in a time of 1:12:49. Ian Nichols Hogg placed 30th in 1:27:48 with 139 finishers in this sold-out event.
The weekend saw the Blackpool Festival of Running, with a Marathon and Half Marathon on Sunday and 10k, 5k and 2k on Saturday. Finlay McCalman ran the 10k and he finished 74th in 52:06 for 6th M60. In the Half Marathon on Sunday, Dan Eyre produced a personal best time to place 25th in 1:31:48 coming in 1st M45 with a great run. Stuart Mulrooney also ran a new personal best to place 33rd in 1:34:02 and claim 5th M40. Natalie Mulrooney was 12th woman and 2nd W40 in 1:45:11, 104th overall. Antionette Holton finished 71st woman and 16th W35 in 1:59:59 (1:59:04 chip time) for 272nd overall. There were 588 runners in this race. The Marathon saw two Wesham members, with John Naylor finishing 169th in 3:56:44, chip time 3:56:11, for 28th M40. James Birchall was 419th in 5:58:59 with a chip time of 5:57:57.
Twenty-one Wesham members ran a 5km parkrun on Saturday morning at 9am at 6 venues around the country. In London to support Vicky Gore in the Marathon, David Taylor came in with the 4th fastest time in the Mile End parkrun in the east of the city in a time of 17:47 for an age graded performance of M35 75.07% of world record. Steven Gore ran 19:38 for an M40 graded 70.54%, with Carl Groome clocking a swift 20:10 for M55 76.20%. Sue Rigby returned 38:02 for W50 44.08%.
At the Riverside parkrun in Chester-Le-Street Emma Brook ran 27:36 for a W40 grade of 55.74% and in the Stretford run in Manchester Tracey Hulme came in with 24:46 for a W60 graded 78.33%. There were 8 Wesham members at the Lytham Hall event where John Naylor recorded 22:57 for an M40 60.86%; Stephen Twist clocked 25:22 for M55 61.63%; Jonathan Lawson eased round in 25:59 for M55 59.65%; Peter Rooney ran 26:16 with an M65 grade of 63.83%; and Andy Moore was on 30:29 for M60 53.53%. Julie Rooney ran 37:19 for W45 44.39%; Philip Leaver power-walked 45:15 in an M70 graded 38.97%; and Alona Versinina was tail walking with 57:06 for W35 26.36%. Up the road in Stanley Park in Blackpool Garry Barnett returned with 21:09 for an M55 graded 74.55%; Lee Barlow ran with friends for 32:26 and M50 46.20%; Peter Cooke put in a good run with 34:43 for M60 47.86%; and Kim McGuire ran 35:29 for W65 58.01%. On Fleetwood Promenade Mike Eyre ran a good 23:38 for M60 68.48%; George Kennedy clocked 24:56 for M65 67.91%; and Helen Eyre recorded 30:16 for a W55 graded 62.33.