Press report: Rob leads WCAC at Wrexham

ROB LITTLE spearheaded West Cheshire Athletic Club’s charge at the Village Bakery Wrexham Half Marathon.

Little rounded the 13.1 miles course in a time of one hour 18 minutes four seconds to secure 44th position overall and 10th spot in his over-40 age group.

He finished in the field of 1,300 runners ahead of club mates Chris Palmer (175th in 1:27:03), Andrew Carter (178th in 1:27:15), and over-60 age group category winner Joe Foy (1:28:32).

Other West Cheshire AC finishers included Luke Ellis (196th in 1:28:34), Mark Davies (223rd in 1:29:37), 11th lady overall Keely Smith (1:31:26), fifth over-60 finisher Rob Freeman (1:33:22), and Neil Carter (17th over-55 man in 1:41:25).

Clare Mallon posted 1:48:58 to secure 24th over-40 lady spot, ahead of Peter Smith (32nd over-55 man in 1:50:31), Brian Beattie (second over-70 man in 1:56:48), and Jo Bridge (103rd lady in 2:11:22).

WEST CHESHIRE AC duo Emily Ball and Sophie Percival warmed up for the outdoor season with appearances at the British Universities and Colleges Indoor Championships at Sheffield’s English Institute of Sport Arena.

Ball, representing Sheffield University, powered her way to a new shot put personal best of 13.08m for second spot in the under 23 womens age group and fourth position overall in the womens competition after winning her qualifying pool with 12.53m, and Percival, representing Chester University, fourth in her under 23 age group and 10th overall with 11.16m in the final after posting a new personal best of 11.99m for second spot in her qualifying pool.

TOM BOOTH completed the Shotover Moonlight Mountain Marathon in New Zealand with a sub-six hour performance.

The West Cheshire AC endurance runner negotiated the challenging course which comprised of 2,500 metres of ascent, with a time of five hours 36 minutes to secure eighth position.

JAC GOODALL clocked a new personal best time of 17:46 to win the Chester 5k parkrun, exactly one minute ahead of third-placed club mate Andrew Clague.

Other West Cheshire AC finishers included William Wright who posted a new personal best of 19:29 for fifth spot, Sammy Hollins (11th in 20:06), Adam Carlile (12th in 20:15), Isaac Tait (27th in 21:55), David Tait (28th in 21:56), Georgina Duffey (seventh lady in 24:44), Bob Benson (65th in 24:48), Sarah Hughes (99th in 26:53), Ingrid Tait (33:17), and Anne-Marie Tait (33:25).

Ethan Greenland clocked 18:00 for second spot at the Delamere 5k ParkRun, ahead of other West Cheshire AC finisher Rory Willson (10th in a new personal best of 19:23).
Rob Freeman finished seventh in 20:54 at the Ellesmere Port 5k Park Run, ahead of John Pughe (18th in 23:58), Harvey Tegg (19th in 24:24), Rosemary Rogers (fourth lady in 25:44) and Angela Tegg ( sixth lady in 25:57).

THREE West Cheshire AC members are preparing to represent Cheshire at next month’s CAU Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships.

Lucia Pyne, and sisters Katie and Issy Clarke have been selected for the annual fixture which will be held at Prestwold Hall, Loughborough, on Saturday, March 11.

EIGHTEEN West Cheshire AC youngsters have been selected to represent Cheshire at next month’s North West Sportshall Athletics Competitions at Sportcity, Manchester.

The under 11s Fun In Sportshall Athletics Competition takes place on Sunday, March 12, and the under 13 and under 15 regional event will be held on Saturday, March 18.

FIXTURES this weekend include the English National Cross Country Championships at Wollaton Park, Nottingham, on Saturday (11am start), the same day as the Welsh Cross Country Championships at Singleton Park, Swansea.

Other fixtures include the England Under 15, under 17, and under 20 Indoor Track and Field Championships at Sheffield on Saturday and Sunday; the Oulton Park 10k and Half Marathon on Sunday (10am start), and the Ruthin 5k and 10k on Sunday (9am start).

DETAILS of the Senior and Junior Fell and Hill Inter-Counties Championships are now available and links are given on the UKCAU web-page for fell running.

The Senior event will be in Broughton, Scotland, on May 13. The Junior event will be at Rossendale on June 10. Details of the event and entry process are available on the FRA website: www.fellrunner.org.uk. Competitors for the Senior event should enter in person, in advance, but to be eligible for the Inter-Counties competition runners must be nominated by their County/Region focal point. For more information and to nominate County teams contact Andy Watts by emailing: [email protected] or by phone: 01625 536896. The Inter-Counties fell website also has information at: https://britishintercountiesfellrunningchampionships.wordpress.com/

ENTRIES are now being accepted for the Essar Chester Spring Five Miles Road Race being organised by West Cheshire AC on Wednesday, April 12. Further details can be found at: www.westcheshireac.co.uk

The April 12 fixture is part of the Cheshire Grand Prix Road Race Series which also includes the Mid Cheshire 5k on Friday, April 28; the Alderley By-Pass Race on Sunday, July 2; The Pie & Peas Five Miles Race on Wednesday, August 2; The Essar Guilden Sutton Six 10k Race on Sunday, September 17; the Congleton Half Marathon on Sunday, October 1; and the Farndon 10k on Sunday, October 15.