Despite it being Christmas week, Red Rose found plenty of races to keep them happy. 19 runners joined over 200 others for the Worden Park 10K. Duncan Anderson had a brilliant run finishing 4th in a time of 35.14. Joe Swarbrick and Ken Addison battled it out again for the V55 top places. Joe just managed to sneak away in the last 4k to finish in 38.34 with Ken only a few seconds adrift in 38.53. Richard Oakley completed another V60 victory in a great time of 40.05, four minutes ahead of his nearest rival.
The course was slightly convoluted in the first three miles but opened out more in the second half. Small but significant gaps appeared between the club’s finishers. Phil Darwen was next home in 41.40. with Steve Gore next, in 42.52. Phil Butler followed in 43.37.
Cliff Utting and Debbie Kirkman ran together in 46.55 with Cliff 3rd V60. Breaking the 50 minute barrier was Matt Ashton in 49.30 followed by Peter Caunce in 52.00. Our second lady home was Debbie Porter in 52.38. David Wilkinson followed in 56.01 and another good effort from Percy Mayo saw him break the hour in 59.26 with Colin Manning hard on his heels in 59.36. Pita Oates stayed ahead of Lydia Drain in 61.36, Lydia finishing in 62.24. Evelyn Elkington came through in 68.30 with Bernard in a ‘back marking capacity’ in 84.53.
Richard Oakley was also in action in the Rudolf Red Nose Race. His time of 33.24 was good enough to win him the V60 prize. Barely a minute behind was Anthony Murphy in 34.28. Bernard and Evelyn Elkington, the best V75 couple for miles around ran together in 57.12.
At the Hot Toddy Road race over 8.9 km Ben Donoghue put in a great performance in time of 33.21. Fred Lynch showed the strength of his return to fitness with a time of 37.04 to take 3rd V55. Philip Davidson put a sub 40 min. time in, with 38.50. Anne Wallworth led the women’s team home in 45.43. Barry Wheeler ran 46.33 with Paula Plowman putting in a strong run in 46.36. John Plowman ran 50.55, followed by Yvonne Johnson 52.44, Allan Howard 53.50, Roger Johnson 56.11 and Pita Oates 59.09.
With over a thousand runners, the Ribble Valley 10K is a major fixture in the running calendar. Mark Billington was in great form to run an impressive 40.02. Simon Houghton also ran well with a chip time of 42.59. Doug Bryden’s chip time was 42.54 but crossed the line a few seconds after Simon. Steve Whitney ran a time of 44.04 and Adela Nuttall comfortably broke the hour with a time of 58.52.
The 2014 Championship gets off to an exciting start with a coach full of runners and supporters travelling to Helsby, Cheshire for the Four Villages Half Marathon on January 19th.