Southport Waterloo A C
NEWS REPORTS - OCTOBER 2008
27 October 2008: SWAC
represented in Dublin (by Ange Delaney)
Just got back from Dublin, where along with more than 11,000 runners I lined up
for the Dublin marathon. The Elite runners were mainly from Ukraine, Russia and
Kenya Ukranian Andriy Naumov was the male winner in a time of 2:11:06 Russian
Larissa Zouska was the first woman home won in 2:29.55.
Not far behind was Southport Waterloo runner Sam Dean-Howard in an impressive
3:01:15, followed by me in 3:29:41; my first marathon. The Irish were great and
pulled the runners on especially in the last two miles. We were lucky with the
weather as it stayed dry for the duration and the cold was welcome.
The course is fast and goes through Phoenix Park which is lovely to run through.
The main attraction is the crowd and the promise of a Guiness at the end!!
26 October 2008: Better
numbers at 2nd Sportshall
Brian Kelly reports on the girls: This second round at Widnes saw an increase
in the number of athletes and we were able to field full teams in two of the three
age groups.
The u11s consisted of newcomers Winona Brick, Victoria Mason and Amy Thomas and
all performed with great enthusiasm. Christina Leeson , Lucy Hunter and Natasha
Porter made up the team and they finished 4th of the seven teams. No winners yet
but this is a very young team with great potential.
The u13s went one better and finished 3rd. Amy Aitchison, Alice Cribb, Olivia
Croft, Sally Wareing and firstimer Jessica Hickey were a strong team. Sally Wareing
won the shot and was 2nd in both the long jump and the 2-lap race whilst Alice
Cribb took a 3rd place in the speed bounce. There is a good team spirit amongst
these girls and they can still make the final if the next two performances are
equal to that of today.
There is good news and bad news regarding the u15 girls. The bad news is that
we were able to field only two athletes. This is a shame because after a good
year last season I thought they were capable of winning the league. Frankly I
am puzzled. Every week there are plenty of athletes training down at the track.
Were they competing elsewhere this weekend? If so fine. If not then why are they
not being encouraged to take part in this exciting branch of their sport? What
are they training for? The good times are here and now! Anyway let's end with
the good news. Ruth Doran won the shot with a magnificent 9.46m which is only
5cm short of the record set in 1990. I'm sure she'll beat it at Wigan. Our other
star was Katy Morris who won both the 2 and 6 lap races and was 2nd in both the
jumps. Katy never lets us down and is everything a good club athlete should be.
Next match is on the big stage at Wigan.
Results for club athletes
Robby Clark reports for the boys: In the U11s we were represented by
Matthew Lawson and Drew Thomas (9 honest). Matthew is, of course, Chris's younger
brother and was starting to show that he is developing into a good all round athlete
towards the end of last season. Drew on the other hand is young Amy's brother.
This lad is a little live wire and had only come down to watch his sister, but
wanted to have a go himself. Once he started there was no stopping him, we even
had to drag him away from some events as he wanted to do them all. I just wish
as Brian has mentioned in his report that we had a few more youngsters and experienced
athletes like him wanting to take part.
U13s had the usual crew of Jordan Angell, Gary Clark & Owen Williams joined on
this occasion by Thomas Neal from Tina's sprint squad and George Ingram from the
Junior Middle Distance squad,. Still no one from the two starter or feeder groups
yet.
In the U11s the two guys finished a distant 4th out of 5 but thoroughly enjoyed
them selves and still managed to beat Warrington. In their individual events Matthew
produced a very good 28.9 for 3rd overall in the two lap sprint with Drew enjoying
his first ever race for a 38.1. In the 1kg Chest Push launched the ball out to
5.75m for 2nd overall with Drew finishing well up the field with 3.75m. In the
Vertical Jump where the event is based on how much higher can the athlete reach
over their standing height, Drew was able to launch himself upwards like a grasshopper
to record an excellent 4th place height of 38cm, Matthew recorded a creditable
34cm.
In the U13s we again let the athletes pick and choose their events without any
coerosion from the Team Manager into covering all the events as we thought at
the time there was no chance of qualifying for the Regional Finals in March or
getting selection for Merseyside in the County Championships (more about this
later).
In the 2 Lap we had four runners covered by 2 seconds over the three heats, their
results were Thomas 26.4, Jordan 27.4 George 27.6 and Owen 28.6. Thomas was only
beaten by the overall winner by the narrowest of margins when he was headed at
the last moment.
In the 6 Lap George Ingram was beaten by 0.1 sec in the second heat to record
the 2nd fastest time of 1.33.1. Thomas also ran in Georges heat as a non scorer
and recorded a creditable time of 1.36.8. In Heat 1 Gary was in control from the
start and eased away from the rest but this lack of a challenge was reflected
in his time of 1.37.5.
The 4x2 lap relay produced an epic performance from the team of GI, OW, JA & TN.
After falling behind slightly over the first two legs the boys fought back against
the division leaders to be pipped on the line by 0.4sec for 2nd.
In the field events the Speed Bounce produced an other overall win for Owen with
a mighty 76 which was 4 more than his nearest rival and 4 more than he scored
last round for a new PB. Thomas recorded 67 with Jordan on 65.
The Standing Long Jump gave 3rd overall to Gary with 1.93m a drop in distance
from the Deeside Round, George was close behind on 1.89m with Owen & Jordan on
1.80m & 1.77 respectivly. Vertical Jump had Gary 3rd again with 42cm, this is
2cms better than his PB from last years Regional Final.
When the final scores where read out it was a minor disappointment to find that
we had been pipped by the home team for 2nd place by 4.5points. S&W 107.5 to Halton's
112. This however put us up into 6th place in the league with a slim chance of
qualifying for the Regional's. If we had had one person in the Shot and one extra
in the VJ we would have gained those points. The team manager may have to use
powers of persuasion or bribery next time out to get us there.
Alex Roome was our only representative in the U15's. He again performed very well
to finish 2nd overall in that age group with 3rd in three events, the 2Lap (30.2),
Shot (4.5m), SLJ (1.58) and 2nd in the VJ (36cm).
I will be more than happy for other people to take part at the next meeting in
Wigan and would welcome them getting in touch we me direct or via their coaches,
details via the contacts page.
Results for club athletes
25 October 2008: Tracey
Peters wins Standish Hall Trail Race (by Richard
Cary)
By the time the race started, the weather had turned into something less foul
than seen over much of the weekend. However, earlier rain made sure the course
was just about the muddiest I have ever seen in the 9 times I have run it. But
the Southport Waterloo mudpluggers were up to the task, especially the ladies.
Great run from Tracey Peters taking the prize for first lady with 57:29 for 52nd
place overall. Vicki Harvey, first L40 with 52:15 (78th). Christine Cutner first
L50, 53:43 (81st), closely followed by the ever-relaxed Carole James second L40,
53:55 (83rd). And of course, following our club's previous success in this event,
we once again took the ladies' team prize.
Paul Cain, on the comeback trail after a long lay-off (something like 20 years!)
clocked a pleasing 46.07 for 45th place in spite of almost skiing across the muddy
field near the end of each of the two large laps with his road shoes. Poor Paul,
he thought we would only cross this field once; his heart sank when he realised
we would hit it a second time. Another lover of this course, and pleased with
34th place was Andy Hudson with a solid 44:34. Ricky Bowker and I compared excuses
before the start - he with a long, hard, tiring season under his belt, me disrupted
by injuries. My injuries held out, but Ricky found, as he so often does, that
bit extra for the finish and overhauled me on the final run-in. Ricky 21st with
41:24, and me just behind with 41:29. Comparing notes afterwards we all felt that
we had had a good run - this seems to be a course that suits us.
Ricky's GPS puts this as almost exactly 10k (and I'd be inclined to agree with
it), it's a tough 10k, and not one for a PB but I think it's the best course to
be found hereabouts. Next installment, end of Feb.
Full results
19 October 2008: David
Hamilton 5th in Southport Seaside 10K (by Brian
Grice)
David
Hamilton and Sue Cooper were first home for the club in the annual Southport Seaside
10k around the fast, flat Victoria Park circuit. There was another big turnout
for the event with 566 finishers, including 174 women. Southport Waterloo members
turned out in force to support the race with 30 runners plus others helping with
the organisation as well as many of our juniors in the 3K Fun Run which preceded
the main race.
Ultra consistent David Hamilton (35.12) finished 5th and 1st V40 behind Damian
Nicholls, Wilmslow (33.24) and may have broken 35 minutes but for the muddy section
and grass at the far end of the course.
Steve Wilkinson (35.51) 9th improved on his time in the Liverpool 10K but is still
well below his best due to lack of training. Peter Roome (36.22) 13th was next
for the club ahead of Rick Bowker (37.06) just beginning to recover from his gruelling
sub-3hr Anglesey Marathon. Ian Dodds (39.24) 40th is another remarkably consistent
runner, almost a minute clear of Mike Morgan (40.24) 54th, Mike Cunningham (40.35)
56th, 
Andy
Hudson (40.37) 57th, and Paul Cain (40.52).
It was good to see Neil Adshead (41.28) 66th racing again but not at his best
due to work commitments, Neil being closely followed by Phil Dean (41.35) 71st,
Steve James (41.42) 73rd and Simon Tobin (41.50). Steve is looking forward to
yet another hectic cross country season and will be delighted to get good support
for the winter fixtures, commencing with the fixtures at Beacon Park (November
8th) and Sefton Park (November 29th).
Ian Kilshaw (42.15) 84th has run virtually all the races around Victoria Park
and was followed by Andy Olsen (43.21) 104th Alan Gray (45.56) 159th and Nick
Sinclair (47.42) 213th and 1st V60. Brian Grice (55.02) 391st posted a pw by a
wide margin. An interesting runner was former SWAC elite road runner Terry Hanley
home in 37 minutes 08 seconds.
Sue Cooper (40.42) and 1st L55 was 3rd behind Kirsty Langley (38.44) but Sue was
a bit slower than her run in September’s 
Rufford
10k. Tracey Peters (42.34) finished 5th a brilliant run so soon after completing
the Berlin Marathon. Vicky Harvey (44.55) 10th and 1st L40 is another of our incredibly
consistent runners just ahead of Karen Faloon (45.22) 12th and 1st L60 with Christine
Cutner (46.57) 21st and 1st L50 enjoying a rich vein of injury free form. Carole
James (49.05) 29th made her excuses before the race which explained her failure
to give Christine a hard race. Rachel Thomas (50.31) 37th, Sharon Pardoe (52.45)
53rd, Jackie McDouglas (55.03) 65th, Gill Gillison (58.15) 98th and Sheila Marshall
(58.34) 102nd were our other finishers.
Darrel Soden and Ann Egginton are to be congratulating for another hugely enjoyable
and successful Natterjack 10K the result of an enormous amount of hard work. Let’s
hope they have the energy to organise the race again next year which would be
the 20th 10K race around Victoria Park.
Ed: The Victoria Park event included a 3K fun run which featured 5
Southport Waterloo youngsters. Gary Clark was the outright 
winner
in 11:18 and Lauren Clarehugh was the first female home in 11:57. Andrew Lyall
was 2nd overall in 11:25 and brother Michael completed the course in 12:57. Finally
George Bridges finished in 14:10.
Full results
Brian Grice adds: The Grand Prix
Table has been updated to include performances in the Southport Seaside 10k.
Sue Cooper is home and dry in the women's rankings but it is desperately close
for the men with David Hamilton just one point ahead of Steve Wilkinson, both
having beaten each other twice. The final two GP races are the Preston 10 on Sunday
November 16th and the UK Cross Country Challenge at Sefton Park on Saturday November
29th.
12 October 2008: Chasing
the rabbit in Hyde Park (by David Hamilton)
After
running the London Royal Parks Half Marathon on Sunday (12th Oct), I have to admit
there can be few better places to do a road race. The course starts in Hyde Park
then takes you past Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament, along the Thames
Embankment, past Nelsons Column and then back along the Mall before returning
to Hyde Park. The organisation was excellent and the weather (ok that can't be
guarenteed) was perfect. I came back in 1hr 17.13, slightly down on on my PB,
but I finished 8th so I'm happy with that. The race was won by Kenyan Athlete
John Mriithi in 1hr 10 (wearing a fancy dress rabbits head! I guess he could have
gone faster if pushed). It's the first time this race has been run, and I did
it for UNICEF this year. I'd recommend it for next year.
12 October 2008: Category
wins at Northern Vets 10 Miles (by Christine Cutner)
Steve James and myself found ourselves the only Southport Waterloo representatives
in this Northern Vets 10 Miles race at St Annes on sea, exclusively for "oldies"
aged over 35. It also incorporated the Northern Vets AC Championship of which
club we are both second-claim members.
The course was a fairly fast and pancake-flat out and back from the North Beach
car park at St Annes heading south past the pier, along Fairhaven Lake seawall,
past the white church and down to the turning-point at the windmill. It was a
pleasant sunny morning but we were challenged in the first half by a head wind,
and surprisingly in the second half by the warmth of the day. It brought back
memories of a Blackpool Marathon I ran some years ago in breezy but hotter conditions
along this course and I was glad to be finishing at St Annes!
Steve ran well to take the first MV70 prize in the open race and the gold medal
in the championship, with a time of 1:10:35. He was 45th in a field of 139.
Further back, I was first FV50 in the open race and gold-medallist in the championship,
74th overall, with a time of 1:18:30, my best ten-miler since 2005.
The race was won by Paul Freary in 54:51, with first lady, Scottish international,
Fiona Mathieson, 9th overall in 59:29.
Results
11 October 2008: Southport
Seaside 10K (by Brian Grice)
There has been a surge of entries for next Sunday’s Southport Seaside 10k (Sunday
October 19th starting at 11am) with a field well in excess of 400 expected again.
An entry form can be downloaded from the Fixtures
page.
Victoria Park has seen 19 runnings of the Southport 10k since it was first held
in 1986 when it was organised by Southport Waterloo. The biggest field was in
2001 when Rob Berry (31.16) won from 709 runners but the fastest times around
the park are still held by Martin McLoughlin (29.25) and Ann Williams (33.25).
Four SWAC men have ducked under 32 minutes for the race: Rob Berry, Kevin Taylor
(31.36), Rob Seddon (31.46) and Robin Watkinson (31.54) with four SWAC women breaking
the 40 minute barrier: Sue Cooper (38.29), Amanda Crook (39.04), Kate Harrison
(39.16) and Samantha Dean-Howard (39.22). SWAC
Southport 10k rankings give a complete record of the 266 club members (210
men + 56 women) who have made 685 appearances in the race since 1986.
In 2002, the SWAC Good Friday races switched from 10k to 4 miles but the Southport
10k was revived in 2005, promoted by Natterjack Running Centre. Last year’s race
was won by Robert Deakin (32.39) and Jenny Clague (36.43) in a field of 483 over
a slightly amended course after 618 runners had caused quite a bit of congestion
over the contra flow the previous year. The inaugural Southport Seaside 10k was
memorable for the deep water over sections of the course in 2005 which only added
to the enjoyment of the race. Almost 1,000 photographs of last year’s race can
be viewed using this link.
The Club Grand Prix table has been updated
to include SWAC performances in the Liverpool 10k.
Ed: Southport Waterloo is looking for a new race director for the Good
Friday races which Norman and Sheila Marshall have run for so many years. It can
be a very satisfying post for someone interested in road running and race organisation.
Interested? Speak with Norman or Ron Scott for more details.
10 October 2008: Local
Level 2 Coaching Course (by Neil Rothwell)
An opportunity has arisen for SWAC's Level 1 coaches to obtain their Level
2 qualification at our local base at Litherland Sports Park on 29 & 30 November
2008.
Level 2 provides coaches with the competencies to coach athletes at club level
in a selected group of events and to lead coaching sessions. The initial 2 day
course is known as the 'core' element and this can be followed up by a separate
1 day event-specific course. This might cover speed, endurance, throws or jumps
depending on your preference. This is a great opportunity for SWAC level 1 coaches
and the course organiser is (for a short time only) hasn't advertised it yet
so places are virtually guaranteed for the time being. The course costs £140
for the 2 day 'core' element plus a further £30 for the event-specific element.
SWAC will refund your costs once you've achieved the qualification providing
that you're coaching for the Club. Please let Neil
Rothwell (Coaching Secretary) or Ron
Scott (Club Secretary) know urgently if you wish to attend.
5 October 2008: 3
top 10 places in Liverpool 10K (by Sue Cooper)
More than 2000 runners lined up at the start of the Asics Liverpool 10K last
Sunday. The course, starting and finishing in Sefton Park and taking in Princes
Park along the way, was more or less the same as last year. It works well and
it's certainly pleasant to be running on a traffic free course with lots of
spectator support. After heavy rain overnight and most of the previous week,
none of us had high expectations of a pleasant morning's run. However conditions
turned out to be ideal; it was dry, mild and very calm. No excuses for poor
times!
The men's race was won by John McCole from Liverpool Harriers in 31:28 but two
of our members featured well up in the rankings. Dave Hamilton finished 11th
in a time of 35:15 and Steve Wilkinson finished 22nd in 37:01. This should be
enough to secure Dave's winning position in the Club Grand Prix. Our other finishers
were Steve McLean 38:32, Mike Cunningham 40:20, Ian Kilshaw 43:44, Alan Gray
46:14 and Nick Sinclair 49:14.
The women's race produced a magnificent second, fourth and eighth place for
SWAC! Sam Dean-Howard almost didn't make it to the start. Having arrived late,
she was forced to line up well down the field and fight her way through the
masses before she could really get going. However she still managed to finish
2nd in an excellent time of 37:43, just behind Hana Carroll of Liverpool Harriers.
Sam's time was all the more impressive, as she has been clocking up the miles
in preparation for the Dublin Marathon at the end of the month. I finished fourth
and first W55 in 40:40, not my best time this year but not my worst either.
Angela Delaney had an excellent run and finished eighth. Her time of 42:21 is
a PB I think and, given that she too is preparing for the Dublin Marathon, this
is very impressive. Our fourth finisher was Karen Faloon whose time of 45:25
earned her a clear first W60 place. For the record, Karen is currently sixth
in the national rankings for her age group!
Note: the times quoted are chip times not gun times.
5 October 2008: Sportshall
Athletics from Deeside (by Robbie Clark)
What a difference a year makes!! Last year Southport & Waterloo where able to
field on average 10 boys at most of these meetings. In what appears to be a
reflection of the summer season gone i.e. YAL & MLL meetings and poor turnouts,
the club could only muster 4 boys for this meeting 3 U13's & 1 U15.
Those that did come to compete enjoyed the day regardless, in the U13's 3 of
last years group returned again for this year. As we appear to have no chance
of qualifying for the regional finals due to the low numbers that have expressed
an interest, the lads where encouraged to enter events that they wanted to do
rather than cover as much of the events to maximise points gained.
Owen Williams was the only winner of the boys with 1st in the Speed Bounce (SB)
where he eclipsed Jordan Angels 63 with a very good 72, one short of equalling
his PB, last year the pair of them matched each other with only one or two between
them all season, this could indicate that the training with the middle distance
squad is starting to pay dividends. Owen also took part in the 2 lap sprint
and was a point scorer with 25.3 and also recorded 1.86 in the Standing Long
Jump (SLJ).
Jordan was second in the 2 lap sprint with 24.0, scored points in the SLJ with
1.95 for 5th and 63 in SB for 5th .
Gary Clark was the highest point scorer with 2nd in the 6 Lap with 1.27.1, 3rd
in the SLJ with 1.99m an improvement of 7cms, and 3rd in the Standing Triple
Jump with 5.36m.
In the U15's the clubs sole representative was Alex Roome making a welcome return
to Sportshall after only sporadic summer appearances due to school work. As
an U15 Alex is allowed to compete in 4 individual events, he made the most of
this with 3rd in the 2 Lap 24.2, 3rd in the Shot with 4.0m , 3rd in the STJ
with 5.10m and 4th in the SLJ with 2.08.
The ethos behind Sportshall is to provide young athletes with light hearted
competition during the winter months and is open to anyone in the U15's to U11
age groups. It is also the perfect opportunity for those new to the sport to
compete without feeling pressured. So if you want any more info on the remaining
four meetings (dates on the Fixtures page) contact
me (see contacts page)
And Brian Kelly reports on the girls performances. This first meeting
at Deeside was very encouraging in terms of performances but very disappointing
in that of the 18 athletes chosen to take part only 9 appeared on the day. There
were three in each age group and so no points in the relay. Those who were there
deserve to get to the finals in March where they are medal prospects but they
won't get there if we don't field full teams!
In the under elevens all those who competed last year vanished like a brick
in a pond except for the ever dependable Lucy Hunter who showed great improvement
in all her events and was our highest scorer. Very young newcomers Christina
Leeson and Natasha Porter showed great promise for the future.
The under 13's consisted of Sally Wareing and first-timers Amy Aitchinson and
Olivia Croft. Sally is fast becoming an excellent all rounder and she won both
the 2 and the 6 lap races and was second in the shot. Watch out Kelly Sotherton!
She was well supported by Amy and Olivia who scored valuable points and we hope
to have the injured Alice Cribb next time to form a strong team.
The under 15's were super. In her first indoor event Ruth Doran won the shot
with an excellent 8.58. Before the end of the season I'm hoping she will beat
the record of 9.51 set by Sally Field in 1990. Beth McBride performed superbly
coming 3rd in the 2 lap and scoring well in the 6 lap and standing long jump.
Katy Morris ran an exciting 6 lap race by just stealing victory in the last
few meters. This was pleasing to see as she has been unable to train for a while.
She also scored in the standing long jump and shot. We now need to work together
as these athletes deserve to be in the final.
Ring me, Brian Kelly, on 0151 924 8991 if you wish to take part.
Individual Results.
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