News reports and results should be E-mailed or telephoned to Ron Scott Photographs always welcome within 24 hours of event.

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28 September 2008: Trace and Jo do Berlin (By Tracey Peters)

On Sunday, myself and Joanne Wilson completed another one of the World Marathon Majors (London, Berlin, Chicago, Boston and New York) doing the 35th Real-Berlin Marathon. With over 40,000 runners and a million spectators, it was very exciting to be part of what it considered one of the fastest marathon courses in the world!
On the Saturday, we participated in the traditional Breakfast Run, a 6km jog from Charlottenburg Palace, with runners from all over the world waving flags, playing instruments and chanting creating an electric atmosphere up to the magnificent Olympic Stadium. Once there, competitors were treated to a substantial runners' breakfast to top up energy reserves. We now felt ready to tackle the famous 42.195km course the following day.
On the day, weather conditions were good as it was dry, not too warm and a slight breeze helped cool runners down throughout the race.
Unlike most marathons, the course starts and finishes in the same area with a scenic tour around the city taking in some of Berlin's most famous landmarks including the Siegessaule, Potsdamer Platz and the breathtaking Brandenburg Gate.
Despite getting there in plenty of time, poor directions as to where to drop off our bags together with extra long queues for the toilet resulted in a chaotic dash to make the start for us as well as many other runners.
Once over the start line, it was difficult to make any real progress with myself and Jo having to resort to using the pavement in order to pass other runners. The both of us stayed together until about halfway through. At this point I was 4 minutes behind my pace time of 1hr 42 mins in order to finish the marathon in my intended time of 3hrs 25minutes therefore I decided to push the pace to make up for lost time whilst Jo continued to run the race at a comfortable pace. The last 10kms of the course I began to see the error of my ways as I well and truly 'hit the Berlin Wall'. My legs ached like crazy and at 42km I was glad to run through the Brandenburg Gate as this meant it was finally all coming to an end. I crossed the line in a time of 3:37:40 which I was a little disappointed with as I was hoping for a PB, although considering the start and the fact that the crowd of runners never really broke away from each other, I don't think this was going to happen.
Meanwhile, Jo (the marathon pro) continued doing a steady pace and passed me somewhere along the 30km mark finishing in a time of 3:34:04. Jo really enjoyed the race and found it easier to cope with than London earlier in the year. All in all I would definitely recommend this event to anyone looking for a scenic route along the way (as well as free beer at the end) but unless you are near the front at the start of the race then it would be difficult to achieve a PB. That said it was amazing to see Haile Gebrselassie beat his own world record time in 2007 by 27 seconds in an excellent time of 2:03:59 and see him collect his award that evening during the much deserved Marathon Party!

28 September 2008: Sally improves her 200m club record at Blackpool (by Steve Boreham)

Has this been a long T&F season? Perhaps, but to end on a high note is always worth the wait. And so to the second and final Open Medal Meeting hosted by BFWAC where SWAC had Gold, Silver & Bronze medals, a new club record and a few PB's thrown in for good measure. Oh, and not forgetting the high drama and 30+ minutes suspension of activities on the track....want to know more....then read on.
Once again we were blessed with blue skies and autumnal sunshine as just 8 SWAC athletes gathered at Stanley Park in Blackpool all looking for that end of season fix. First off, on the track, were the 800m races with interest in 4 age groups. U15 Graham Boreham continues to improve with a PB run today of 2:32.9, U13 George Ingram completely demolished the opposition to take the Gold medal with a Grade 3 run of 2:32.6 (11 seconds in front of 2nd place).
For the Girls we had good performances from U15 Ellon Hart with a Grade 4 run of 2:38.2 and Catherine Hulme with 2:38.7 finishing 4th & 5th respectively. U13 Sally Wareing running in her last track meeting at this age group came away with the Gold medal in another Grade 1 time of 2:29.5
Next up were the 600m races for the U9 & U11 athletes. No-one in U9 for us but both Amy and Rebecca Sinclair and Georgia Simms were there in the U11s. Run in heats, due to the 24 entrants, Amy finished in 2:18.2, 7th in her heat and 18th overall whilst Rebecca finished in 2:11.2, 8th in her heat and 10th overall and Georgia 6th in the same heat and 6th overall with a time of 2:09.04.
Over on the field activities, U15 Graham Boreham, after qualifying for the throw off, managed a respectable 13m 90cm with the 1.25kg Discus for a 5th place finish, but Sally, due to running in the 800m missed out on the U13 girls long jump as she failed to registered on time.
Better luck in the long jump for the U11 Girls where again, all three girls competed. Georgia picked up the Bronze medal with a jump of 3m 41cm, Rebecca finished 4th overall with 3m 38cm and Amy finished with a jump of 3m 29cm for 8th place, not at all bad in a field of 28 competitors.
Next track events with interest for us were the short sprints where U13 George Ingram lined up to compete. Drawn to run in heat 2 he had to wait as high drama ensued with a 30minutes suspension of track activities. The winner (and eventual Gold medalist) of heat 1 had a very nasty fall over the finish line to huge gasps from the grandstand, which resulted in an ambulance ride to Blackpool Victoria Hospital for him. We all wish Josh Platt from Crewe & Nantwich AC a speedy recovery.
So back to George, who after the enforced wait obviously wasn't too phased as he came 2nd in his 100m heat with a new PB time of 14.7 for a 6th place overall. It seemed that the 100's were doomed as George then retired injured with a sore ankle.
So to our 3 intrepid U11 girls who battled in out amongst 28 other girls in the the 80m sprint. Run over 6 heats, all our girls won their respective heats with the final placings being Rebecca 2nd overall in 12.0 Sec and the Silver Medal, Georgia 5th overall in 12.4 Sec and Amy 8th overall in 12.7 sec. Well done all!!
With no club interest in the long sprints (300 & 400) or the 1500m we waited for the final track event, the 200m and we were not disappointed by the results.
For the U15 boys and running only his second 200 of the season, Graham Boreham came away in 5th place with a new PB time of 29.8. So a very productive day for Graham then. In the U15 Girls Ellon Hart ran a Grade 3 time of 27.4, 2nd in her heat and 5th overall in a field of 22 competitors.
But it was once again U13 Sally Wareing who stole the show, finishing her U13 track tenure in fabulous style with a new PB, Grade 1 time of 26.9 which smashed the U13 girls club record.
So, there we have it, all over for another season and what a way to end. Thanks to all our athletes for turning out today and a special mention too for Dave Whitehead, who was one of the timekeepers today.
Full results are available by clicking on www.bwfac.co.uk

21 September 2008: The 3 Rs master the Anglesey Marathon (by Rick Bowker)

On the start line representing the club was defending champion Rob Ashworth, in-form Rob McGrath and me!
With 1400ft of climbing and most of it in the second half, this was no p.b. course but a very tough challenge! Last year the two Rob's faced gale force winds and driving rain. This time we had almost perfect conditions with almost no wind and wall to wall sunshine. If anything, it would prove a bit on the warm side!
Rob Ashworth sped away at the start, while Rob McGrath and myself hung back and stuck to a more sensible pace. The first 7 miles are mostly downhill and I really enjoyed cruising along and looking at the breath-taking scenery. Rob and me ran the early stages in a group of 5 runners including a very tall guy who had run 2:44 at this year's London! We were to later leave him well behind.
The serious climbing started at about 9 miles. We went through 10 miles in 1 hour 4 mins, by which point it was just Rob and me running together. I was feeling really good and started pushing the pace on the uphills. Rob later told me he was going through a rough patch.
By 17 miles I could feel my energy start to drain away and by 17.5 Rob started to pull away on one of the many climbs. At this point Rob Ashworth was coming into our view. It was pretty evident that he was going through a hard time as he laboured up the climb!
By 20 miles the 2 Robs were together while behind I was dropping back.
At 22 miles the final climb started. By now I was down to running on body fat as my carb stores ran out! This 2 mile climb was a bitter blow. Despite suffering like hell, I still passed 4 runners, one guy stopped as I dragged my body past him.
I was now running on pure will power [I had nothing else left!]. I wanted to walk; no I wanted to stop! I felt dehydrated and sick in my stomach. Each mile felt longer and harder, could I keep going?
Up ahead Rob Ashworth put in a last desperate attempt to break away from hard man Rob McGrath, Rob A got a 50m advantage by the top of the hill but Rob M pulled him back at 25 miles.
At last I made my painful way to the final 1/4 mile. I just about got ready to turn in for the finish but the marshal shouted no and pointed to the next turn off 200m further on! How cruel, more climbing!
Some 4 minutes before, the same thing had happened to Rob Ashworth. The two Robs came into the final straight neck and neck, both too tired to sprint, so they came to a spur of the moment gentleman's agreement and crossed the line together for 7th place in 2:54.
At last I got to the 26 mile sign and some how sprinted down to the finish line in 11th 2:58, only seconds later to collapse in a heap, begging my wife for water!
This was my toughest ever marathon by far and respect goes out to every single person who finished!
Results

21 September 2008: Young members enjoy the Wigan Open Meeting

The Arnold Seddon open T&F meeting was held on Sunday, much later in the year than normal as a result of fixture clashes. This meeting caters for the under 9s to under 15s and, for young athletes taking their first steps in track & field athletics, the Robin Park Arena is a great venue - particularly on a fine summer's day in September.
There were many Southport Waterloo athletes making their debut appearance but it was established under 13, Sally Wareing, who set the standard and showed the younger members what can be achieved with hard work and dedication.
Sally produced two grade 1 standard performance in both the 800m and the 200m. She finished 2nd in each race; but being 2nd to St Helens Sutton's Chelsea Jarvis is no criticism - and it only motivates Sally to greater efforts. Today's 800m time of 2:27.2 was a new personal best by 2 secs!
The Arnold Seddon meeting is a medal meeting and two of our athletes won gold. They were Under 11 Georgia Simms who managed to throw a cricket ball a remarkable 23m 39 - maybe we have a future thrower there! - and Ellon Hart who, disappointed with her 2:32.0 in the 800m, powered ahead of a good field to win the under 15 girls' 200m in 27.5 secs.
And there were plenty more medals taken. Silver medallists were Becky Sinclair, Sally Wareing, Joe White and Graham Boreham. Becky got hers in the 75m where she was 2nd in her heat in 11.7 before going on, with team-mate Georgia Simms, to the final where she improved to 11.4, given 2nd place in a blanket finish with the first three girls all given the same time. Georgia improved in the final too, running in 5th in 11.7 secs.
Sally got her silvers in both the 200m and 800m. Under 9 Joe White took a silver medal in the 150m race finishing in 27.0 secs with Jack O'Neill taking the bronze in 27.4. And Graham Boreham opted for the 400m and discus today, taking a silver medal in the discus with a best throw of 14m 30 and recording a PB 68.2 secs for under 15 boys' 400m.
Our bronze medallists were Ellon Hart, Lucy Whitehead, Sarah Murphy, Jack O'Neill and Jordan Angell. For the girls, all the bronze medals came in the under 15 age group. Ellon got hers for her 800m run, Lucy for long jumping 4m 29 and Sarah who put the shot 7m 51 - a new personal best throw.
Both Jack O'Neill and Joe White qualified for the final of the 75m, Jack qualifying with 13.4 secs and Joe with 13.5. In the final, Jack took the bronze award with an improved 13.1 and Joe was just outside the medals, 13.2 secs giving him 4th place. Under 13 Jordan Angell competed in the 100m, 200m and the long jump, with a100m time of 14.2 secs earning him a bronze award.
There were no medals taken by our squad of new under 11s Boys but Jonathon Roberts, Charlie Haywood and Josh Birch enjoyed their afternoon's athletics and we hope to see more of them.
With Chloe Highton and Hannah Ashby also competing, we had 7 under 11s at Wigan today which is great for the future of the club. Hopefully, many of them will take advantage of the opportunity to compete in Sportshall Athletics over the winter. See Robby Clark's note below for further details.
And there is one more open track and field meeting before the season finally ends. That's at Blackpool next weekend but you will need to enter in advance. There are no entries on the day.
Results for Southport Waterloo athletes.

21 September 2008: Fun run on Sefton Coastal Path (by Robby Clark)

Formby's Range High School was the location for a 3K and 10K fun runs in aid of the Marie Curie Charity. The 3K event starts in the school grounds then loop out and around onto the Sefton Coastal path then along towards Sharrocks Hill Club before cutting back to the school for another lap of the school field.
The surface includes roads, hard paths, grass and several patches of very soft sand. This year's event was blessed with warm dry weather which meant that it was not as slippery as in previous years. Southport Waterloo again provided several of the juniors with seven in a field of over 60.
At the start it was eyeballs and elbows out as the field charged down the opening straight with kids of various age and ability out to do their best. After the first few hundred yards the more experienced runners quickly settled into the task ahead, with the eventual winner just ahead of what looked like a pack of hounds in SWAC vests snapping at his heels. Out onto the roads and tracks the leader was still being pursued by Gary Clark and Owen Williams with Lauren Clarehugh settling into fourth. As the leaders turned off the tracks and across a field with just under 1K to go, the leader was about 10 seconds ahead of Gary with Owen a further 15 seconds down. As the distance to the line shrank so did the gap between the front 2 with Gary winding the pace up all the time. Unfortunately for Gary the line was just that bit too near and the winner, Jamie Pennington, held on for a deserved win.
First overall was Jamie Pennington(u16) (Unattached) in 12:38, breathing down his neck was Gary Clark (u14) in 12:41, with Owen Williams (u14) 3rd in 13:16. First girl and forth overall was Lauren Clarehugh (u14) with 13:36. Other Southport Waterloo runners were: 6th Matthew Tobin (u12) 14:28, 8th Alex Roome (u14) 15:03, 10th Lauren Deane (u12) 15:15 & James Hough (u14) with 15:24.

Boys' Sportshall Athletics 2008/2009 Following last year' successes when the boys' team qualified for the regional final and all of the team where selected to represent Merseyside, it was hoped that there would be plenty of support for this year's events. (See Fixture list and attached for dates). However at present this is not the case. With only 2 weeks to go, I have had only 1 Under 11, 3 Under 13s and 1 Under 15 confirm that they will be taking part.
I have had several others expressing interest but at present nothing in writing. Sports hall is a great opportunity to compete indoors in a variety of different events and to be out of the wind and rain, in an exciting, fun and friendly atmosphere. Should you wish to take part please forward your details to me via e-mail or phone, as soon as possible. Should you have any questions please feel free to ask.

Ed: Girls interested in Sportshall Athletics should contact Brian Kelly.

14 September 2008: Sally Wareing takes her 3rd club record at Blackpool

The first of Blackpool's two September open T&F meetings attracted a good number of under 11s from the club but it was Sally Wareing who made the headline news, equaling the 27.4 secs club record for under 13 girls' 200m held by Kellie Grant since 1993.
It was uncharacteristically warm and sunny for this meeting, well attended by athletes from as far afield as Carlisle and Halifax. Southport Waterloo athletes have attended in good numbers in the past but those regularly competing at open meetings seem fewer now.
Many of the under 11s came from the beginner squads training at Stanley High in Southport. The under 11 girls were Becky Sinclair, sister Amy and Lauren Deane. All the girls recorded PBs in the 80m with Becky taking a gold medal for a great run in 12.5 secs - which compares to her previous best of 13.5 run in March this year. Amy ran 13.2 secs and Lauren 13.9. The three girls also ran in the 600m where Lauren recorded the best time, a new personal best 2:14.5 just ahead of Becky finishing in 2:15.9 and Amy in 2:20.9. Becky also equal her PB in the long jump, 3m 48 giving her 4th place just outside the medals. Amy's best jump was 3m 03.
The under 11 boys were Jonathon Roberts, Adam Cullen, Matthew Tobin, Alistair Reid and Joe Savin. I can't remember when we last had 5 under 11 boys competing at an open meeting but it is a good sign for the future to see the boys enjoying their athletics at this age.
In the 80m, three of the boys had very close times, Jonathon recording 13.4, Adam 13.5 and Matthew 13.6 with Alistair just behind in 15.0. In the 600m, Joe took the first of two bronze medals with a fine run in 1:57.6 and Adam was 4th overall in another sub-2 mins time of 1:58.8. Matthew ran 2:03.8 and Jonathon 2:07.2. All 5 of our boys competed in the long jump with Joe the best taking the bronze medal with 3m 59. Adam's best jump was 3m 14, Jonathon's 3m 02, Alistair's 2m 86 and Matthew's 2m 55.
Under 13 girl Sally Wareing was again showing her quality, leaving Stanley Park with two gold medals and a silver. In the 800m, she had a fairly easy run until a late challenge forced a final effort just 30m from the line. A win in 2:29.7 shows that, in the right conditions, she can run a much faster time. The shot event gave her a silver with a best put of 7m 50 and then, in the final event, she came from behind to win the 200m race in 27.4 secs, equalling the club record, in a very close finish where 2nd and 3rd girls were given 27.5.
Our sole under 13 boy did very well too! Patrick Cullen started the meeting with a silver in the 75m hurdles race, running 16.1, and then took a bronze medal in his 800m race in a time of 2:43.2. He also long jumped 3m 83.
Finally, Ellon Hart represented our under 15 girls. She was offered very little competition in her 800m race, winning the gold medal in 2:31.5, a full 12 secs ahead of the 2nd placed runner. Ellon did remarkably well to run such a good time in the circumstances. In her 200m race, she was finished 4th in the fastest heat in 27.7.
So a good day out for many of the club's young athletes. There is more open competition available for under 9s to under 15s next weekend with the Wigan Open at Robin Park on Sunday, starting at 11.30. Entries will be taken on the day. Then the 2nd Blackpool open is the following Sunday, 28th September, for under 9s to seniors. You will need to pre-enter for Blackpool (entry form)
Results for club athletes.

14 September 2008: Langdale Half Marathon (by Steve McLean)

As part of their preparation for next month's OMM mountain marathon (ultra long off-road race involving navigation), Michelle Spencer and Steve McLean ran the Langdale Half Marathon. Starting at the New Dungeon Ghyll Hotel in Great Langdale the course has several seriously steep climbs as it meanders round the lanes. Steve managed 1:42:01 and Michelle 2:01:47. Both were really pleased given the demanding route and the 4.5hrs terrain training in the Lakes the previous day and 1hr run before the race. Great race, great scenery!!

Ed: Meanwhile, Ian Kilshaw headed in the opposite direction and ran the Bristol Half Marathon, finishing in 1:35:54 - 5 mins faster than the Liverpool race earlier this year. However, Ian reports that GPS users found the course a 1/4 mile over-distance, enough to significantly affect times! Also in the results is ex-member Nicola Taylor in a sub-2hours time of 1:53:08.

13 September 2008: Gold and silver in County Relays

Cheshire hosted this year's combined North West Counties road relays, at Marbury Park in rural Cheshire just north of Northwich - a venue not used before. The mature parkland, part of the ancient Mersey Forest, proved an ideal setting, with the juniors running one lap around the park and seniors two laps.
And the weather was kind too, with warm sunshine throughout the day.
Six Southport Waterloo teams were entered for this, the first of the Autumn road relays; 2 x Under 13 boys, 1 x Under 15 Girls, 1 x Under 17 women and 2 x Senior Men. The Under 15 girls couldn't manage a team in the end but Merseyside medals were taken in the other age groups - a gold for the Under 13 Boys and silver for the Under 17 Women and Senior Men.
With a very strong squad of under 13 boy middle distance runners at present, it was no problem to get two teams along to Marbury Park. And with Liam Ellis, Gary Clark and Michael Panes running in the 'A' team, we were always in with an excellent chance. In fact, the lads finished 2nd out of all the 4 counties and first Merseyside team.
Liam gave the team an excellent start, running his 2.7 km in 9:49 for 6th place overall, Gary ran a great leg in 9:53 to bring the team up to 2nd and Michael held that position, almost catching the East Cheshire and Tameside boys. Michael's time was the 4th fastest of 66 boys on the day, the fastest 2 runners coming from the winning East Cheshire team. An excellent performance that gave the boys Merseyside gold, 25 secs ahead of Liverpool Harriers with Wirral taking the bronze.
In the 'B' team, Owen Williams kicked off, completing the lap in 10:22 for 15th place overall. Ryan Lee was the 2nd runner, 12:09 for 19th place, and George Ingram brought the team home in 18th place running a 10:26 lap.
The Under 17 Women's team was Sophie Kelly, Jenny Girdler and Louise Leek. Sophie led them off and was 6th overall at the first changeover, running 10:35 for the lap. Louise was next, holding on to 6th overall with an 11:11 lap and Jenny brought the team home in 7th with a 10:45 lap. A total time of 32:25 gave the girls Merseyside silver medals, behind Liverpool Harriers and 10 secs ahead of St Helens Sutton.
For the Senior Men, team manager Steve James reports that, on the 1st leg, new member Keith Middleman (18:52) ran particularly well for the 'B' team to finish ahead of an off-colour Rob Ashworth (19:18) in the 'A' team. Steve Wilkinson (18:43) picked up 9 places for the 'A' team before handing over to Rob Berry, our fastest runner, 16:58 to bring us up to 12th overall and within 5 seconds of Wirral; and Richard Shearer (17:59) went past them with ease to secure the 2nd place in the Merseyside Championship.
For the 'B' team, Jay Tartt ran the 2nd leg in 21:12, Peter Roome the 3rd in 19:08 and Mike Cunningham 4th in 21:26.
Full results.



13 September 2008: Farewell to Chris Barrett (by Rick Bowker)

There was a final farewell party at the Hesketh Arms in Churchown to say good-bye to Chris and his better half Mireille. They are now enjoying the good life in Lyon southwest France. It is hoped that a group of us can go out and visit them next October for the Lyon marathon.

9 September 2008: Grand Prix Update (by Brain Grice)

Christine Cutner and David Hamilton lead the Club Grand Prix Rankings after 9 races (10 for the women). But with 4 more races to complete this year’s Club Grand Prix the final placings are up for grabs. Sue Cooper and Tracey Peters are looming ominiously close behind Christine, though Tracey may find it hard to maintain her challenge as she plans to run her first marathon in Anglesey at the end of next week. David Hamilton’s principal threat comes from Steve Wilkinson who seems likely to finish ahead if he runs two of the remaining four Grand Prix races. Many thanks to club members who have supported this year’s Grand Prix with 69 individuals (25 women and 44 men) making 157 appearances so far. This compares favourably with the level of participation in other clubs’ grand prix.
The next GP race is the massive Liverpool 10k on Sunday 5th October, an entry form can be downloaded from the ‘run liverpool’ website. This is followed by the Southport Seaside 10k on Sunday 19th October, another great race which attracts 500/600 runners including a big entry from Southport Waterloo. The traditional Preston 10 on Sunday November 16th is the penultimate race in this year’s Grand Prix which concludes with the prestigious UKA Cross Country Challenge at Sefton Park on Saturday 29th November. Time to get your feet muddy, Mike Walker!

7 September 2008: Women rule at Rufford 10K (By Tracey Peters)

Nine SWAC members kicked off the Autumn season today competing in the 17th annual Rufford 10K with the women taking all the prizes!
Despite the threat of heavy downpours the weather remained dry and apart from a slight easterly wind towards the latter half of the course, conditions were more or less ideal.
Battle commenced for first SWAC member to cross the finish line. The two Robs (Ashworth and McGrath) fought it out and were neck and neck until mile six when Rob Ashworth was able to just pull away finishing in 35:32 with Rob McGrath hot on his tail - just 6 seconds behind.
Rick Bowker found the race today quite difficult especially after Rob McGrath's particularly tough interval session on Thursday (a ploy to weaken the opposition we think!). However despite feeling tired, Rick still managed to finish 17th overall with a time of 36:54.
Carlos Irizar didn't let his nerves get the better of him and ran well to cross the line in 40:34. Running legend Steve James also came along and despite my best efforts to keep up with him, managed to get away finishing in 42:05 and once again taking the 1st V70 prize.
As for the ladies - we were all winners! First in was Sue Cooper who although she didn't achieve her aim of sub 40 minutes ran a fantastic race to finish 2nd lady overall in a time of 40:07 (a massive 50 seconds up on her efforts in the Liverpool Women's in May).
Next in for the club was myself who after a slow start begun to pick up the pace after mile two and was certain a PB was in the bag. However my intense marathon training took its toll and I crossed the line rather disappointingly in 42:52. Although not my best effort, I still managed to take the 3rd lady prize.
Other winning women included Karen Faloon - 1st L60 (45:08) and Chris Cutner - 1st L50 (47:22).
Sue Cooper, myself and Karen Faloon also scooped the women's team prize to conclude the women's success!
On a final note, I'd just like to thank Rob McGrath for his rather bumpy car ride home from the race which unfortunately didn't reflect his choice of radio station - Smooth FM!
Full results

5 September 2008: Litherland an official Olympics site (reproduced from the Sefton web site)

Litherland Sports Park is flying the flag as an official Olympic training venue.
The Boundary Road facility, which is run by Sefton Council, joined centres across the country in raising an Olympic Flag as London became the official Olympic Games Host City.
Litherland Sports Park was named as an official training venue for athletics for the 2012 London Olympics earlier this year meaning top athletes will be able to train at the centre in the run-up to the Games.
Mike Woodruff, Senior Operations Manager at Litherland Sports Park, said: "We were absolutely delighted to be named as an Olympic training venue and it was great to take part in the flag-raising event, which saw more than 500 flags delivered to various locations, including embassies around the world.
"We are incredibly proud to host the Olympic handover at Litherland Sports Park and take part in this most symbolic of occasions. The handover and flying of the flag provides us with the opportunity to create excitement in the lead up to the Olympics and encourage children and young people in the community to see where their efforts can lead.
"We have a fantastic programme of sports and fitness opportunities for people of all ages and abilities and I hope that we will see some of the Olympians of the future enjoying our range of activities."

1 September 2008: Rufford 10K preview (by Brian Grice)

With the leaves beginning to turn and Liverpool still in Premier League contention it must be early Autumn and time for the 17th annual Rufford 10k this Sunday (September 7th) starting at 11am.
This is a small race confined mainly to club runners from the Central Lancs Grand Prix. The organisers deliberately keep publicity to the minimum as the race starts with 2.5 miles along the main Southport-Rufford road before heading back on quiet farm roads.
Sue Cooper has broken 40 minutes for the course on many occasions with 37.37 in 2000 being her fastest. Last year she posted an agonising 40.05. Conditions on the day can be decisive, Rufford is a pb course on a calm day but a pw course if the wind is from the east. Amanda Crook (38.51) in 2006 and Fiona Benn (39.41) in 2003 are other SWAC women to run under 40 minutes at Rufford. Of course, Amanda Crook ran 36.58 at a very windy Penny Lane in the summer.
Gerry Helme ran the fastest SWAC time at Rufford when winning the race in 2000 in 33 minutes 01 seconds while Jon Burnett ran 33.25 when 4th at Rufford in 2001. Rick Bowker managed 34.51 in the 2000 race, though he was just pipped by Jon Singleton when running 45.14 in 1998. These days Rick seems to prefer running races over curious distances (25.5 miles at Blackpool) perhaps good preparation for the Anglesey Marathon later this month. David Hamilton has been our fastest Rufford runner in recent years recording 35.02 (2007), 35.12 (2006) and 36.34 (2005)