Red Rose travelled far and wide to find their competition this weekend. The Preston 10 mile was the big local event with 413 runners. Weather conditions were cold but close to ideal for most of the runners. Dan Hughes beat the hour for the first time with a great run of 59.53 for an overall position of 23rd very closely followed by Duncan Anderson in 60.19. Ken Addison continued his wonderful form with another V60 victory in a time of 62.38 to place him in 6th place in the Run Britain rankings. Sam Harrison ran a steady pace to run 63.31 followed by Joe Swarbrick 64.59 and Stuart Cann 65.29.Phil Butler ran a consistent pace to finish in 68.56. Janine Needham was first in the FV40age group with an excellent time of 70.02.Nicola Hughes also had reason to celebrate with her first 10 mile race and a time of 84.45. Results Ray Taylor 73.09, Andrew Stell 75.14, Neil Whatton 77.44, John Wiseman 80.16, Paula Stell 88.14, Allan Howard 90.04. Further afield and in colder conditions, the 13 Arches Trail Half Marathon saw some strong runs. Rob Mather was placed 66th and achieved a PB of 1.48.22 and Lee Burton finished 101st with a PB of 1.56.11. Two more excellent performances came from Marcus Howell 2.01.54 and Wayne Hope 2.10.12. The Conwy Half Marathon has a great reputation as a challenging but rewarding race. Liam Hooton’s was the stand out performance with a time of 1.40.47. Paul McMonagle and Anneke Crosby tackled the challenge together crossing the line in 1.52.51. Robert Taylor and Anees Shaikh pushed each other to successfully break 2 hours with times of 1.59.48 and 1.59.52. Andrew Hunnisett finished in 2.11.20 just ahead of Judith Ingham, 2.11.33. Faisal Ali ran 2.28.07,Nikki Bentley 2.38.29 and Gina Biggs 3.00.18.
A well received 10k was held by Chorley Fire with 16 0f our runners supporting the cause. Simon Croft put in a great run with 35.12 in 6th place followed by Dave Parkinson taking the V50 prize and a ‘top ten’ place in 38.27. Close behind was Alex Venables in 38.34.Our first lady home was Alison Parkinson in a great new PB of 46.43 with Natalie Moore next in 51.31 followed by Amanda Cutler in 52.42. Davina Bowling took an age prize in 55.22. Plenty of other good performances came from Steve Whitney in 40.24, Mark Billington 42.05,Jonathan Gore 50.39, Lewis Withnell 54.07,Shane Collins 56.54,Angie Fox Lane 59.25, Susan Heatley 67.51, Tracy Woods 68.16,Denise Fairhurst 71.00,Janette Covell 76.09.
The Kendal Mountain Trail 10k was also held this weekend with a Red Rose Trio in close contention. Andy Hale edged it with a time of 55.53, Dave Raynor finished in 58.22 and Ry Beardsworth was soon in, with a time of 58.59.
Gina Biggs finally cracked the Rivington Marathon assisted by Nikki Bentley. John Naylor completed a busy week by doing the Kirkstall Abbey Trial Marathon in appalling conditions. His reward was an excellent 3hours 50minutes a bottle of beer and a ‘grim up North’ cap.
Another cluster of Red Rose turned up at the Tatton Half Marathon. Team work saw Mary Conway, Kate Clipston and Jenny Bradley enjoy a great day encouraging and cajoling each other all finishing in 2.07.36.Nicola Patterson completed her first ‘Half’ in 2.08.36 helping Louise Withnell to a new PB of 2.08.36.Sarah Eccles had an amazing run, knocking off 22 minutes off her previous best to finish in 2.32.33. Close behind came Louise Walsh in 2.33.23 and Andy Clipston did well at this unfamiliar distance to finish in 2.46.52.