Red Rose travelled to the Grizedale 10 mile Trail Race for their latest Grand Prix event. Heavy downpours in the hours before the 1.00pm start meant conditions were always going to be wet. 26 club members took on the scenic forest trail course with long ascents from the start and undulating tracks throughout. The best performance of the day came from Janine Needham who finished as second lady in a time of 79.52. Margaret Lupton came away with the third F40 prize in 83.18 and Joan Gouldthorpe took the F60 title in a time of 96.15. Anne Walworth ran a very strong 88.25 for third F50 with Debbie Porter and Paula Plowman not far behind in 88.52 and 89.28. Team spirit brought home a group of five in 1 hr 51 minutes, namely Wendy Ward, Helen Orson, Pita Oates, Karen Clark and Chris Clark. Janet Saynor fought every hill and finished brilliantly in 129.10. All performances were achieved with great spirit and tenacity from all the runners.
In the Men’s race Joe Swarbrick had a decent run finishing first V50 and 6th overall in a time of 68.08. Phil Butler came in next in 72.52 in 16th and Dave Maudsley was third counter in 73.48. Tony Thorley used the race as preparation for London with a time of 80.01 with Frank Nightingale overcoming a knee strain to finish in 80.18. Rob Mather and Andy Binstead had a good battle with times of 82.08 and 82.17. John Wiseman made a spirited effort for a time of 84.42 and John Hyde finished in 88.34. John Plowman’s run of 92.04 kept him ahead of Andy Speer who finished in 93.07 whilst Richard Lodge beat the 100 minute target with a time of 97.20. Very little separated Martin Simpson in 108.03 and Allan Howard 109.21.
At the Blackpool marathon, runners battled tough conditions with Jose Pinon Shaw running his first marathon in a very respectable time of 3:16:12 to be 45th overall. Good performances were put in by Michael Pate in 3:50: 48 and Richard Maughan in 3:51:27. Other runners tackled the Half marathon with Kevin Reed leading the way with a time of 1:34:37. Michael Barlow ran 1:53:33 followed by Lisa Hyde in 2:09:05 and Lydia Drain in 2:20:49.
Meanwhile in the Manchester marathon, Shane continued his immense effort of training for his ’10 in 10’ with a steady run, five weeks before his big challenge.
The Lancaster 3 Bridges 10k also took place on Sunday. Simon Houghton enjoyed the success of a time of 44.20. Jamie Jardine also put in a good performance with a time of 47.58. Carol Douglass was the first FV65 in a time of 52.12 with Michelle Houghton finishing in 55.39. Bernard Elkington completed the line up as the only V75 runner with a time of 73.20.
Finally two new PB’s at Cuerden Valley were achieved by Yvonne Johnson in 27.40 and Alice Lodge in 31.05.