Vale Royal AC Runners
A Running Club based in Northwich and Winsford.
Race Round-Up 17-18 January.
North Wales XC League - Wrexham
6 Vale Royalers made the trip to Wrexham for the the fourth round of the N Wales cross-country league. The condition were hard as the wind picked up throughout the afternoon. The ladies race demonstrated how Pauline's marathon training is starting to pay off as she used her strength to finish in 48th place. Carole headed off her Wrexham AC rival and ran well to finish in 59th place. Pauline and Carole's efforts left everyone wondering why Tattenhall ladies can put out so many runners but we struggle to get a team!?
In the men's race, Tom finished in 17th place after a tough battle in the windy conditions. Tom payed for a bit of overenthusiasm on the 2nd lap - pushing on hard into the wind and suffering in the last laps as a result. Goffy showed continued improvement as he finished just behind in 27th place - his best XC performance for a while and a good sign that he is getting the training right this year! Good to see Lord Archer back to racing after his prolonged battle with injury. Tony was being sensible and not pushing too hard on his first run back (he's looking good in training) but he still managed 115th place and was pleased with his efforts and to finish without Achilles pain. Recovering from a pretty nasty bug, Colin returned to racing and was happy with his run and his 140th place. Good to see Colin back to running - hopefully he can get a good run of training and build his fitness for London.
In all a good day although it nearly wasn't for Tom and Dave after nearly crashing head on into someone turning into the Bickerton Poacher on the drive there. However that waked them both up and the adrenaline probably helped. Everyone was pretty tired after battling in the winds but a pint on the way home helped.
Four Villages Half Marathon
As usual the club had a big turn out for the Four Villages Half Marathon in Helsby. Conditions were much better than forecast with some nice sunshine and lighter winds than expected. However what wind there was made it a bit of a battle in the exposed first 5 miles but it lent a welcome hand up the hills in tough 2nd half of the race.
There were many excellent performances. Big Stu finished in a superb 10th place in 1:14:45. Stu has put some extra miles in to be stronger over this distance and he showed his class for the 1st time at half marathon (after a poor run by his standards in this race in 2008). Well done Stu! Tom was next home in 27th place in 1:20:14 and was pleased with his run after his efforts at Wrexham the previous day. Toddy just broke 1:24 (by 1 second) - a terrific run on this tough course and he seemed pleased with his performance. Good to see Pete Clayton back to racing and having a good run - finishing in 1:24:28. Mike Harrington used the race as a training race as he gets back to fitness and he ran well to finish in 1:25:42. Next man home was Dave Haines who just beat his target time of 1:30 - 1:29:51! Perfect pacing Dave. John Carroll just missed dipping inside 1:30 (1:30:20) as did Rob again! (1:30:29) - how many times will Rob do 1:30 yet not dip under?! I think Wrexham half will see that barrier smashed! Goffy ran as pacemaker for Rob and cruised to 1:30 with a smile for the crowds on the way. Steve Smith was the next home for the men and finished in a solid 1:35:17
Gemma brought the ladies home with an excellent 1:31:11. After an excellent run at the Cheshire XC champs the previous week, Gemma will be slightly disappointed not to break 1:30 but the signs are there that she will make a big improvement soon. Mary had a strong run to finish in 1:36:57 and Jo should be pleased with 1:41:34. Both Mary and Jo have not trained as solidly as last year but both are showing they are in a good position to develop some good form soon. Helen Smith was pleased with her 1:41:19 (just ahead of Jo on the chip time but finishing just after Jo - need to get some practice with those elbows in the starting line-up Helen!). Jo Edwards 1:49:22 Jayne Lomax 1:54:34, Rachel Richardson 1:54:21 and Janet Snow 1:54:58 completed the Vale Royal line-up. Good to see so many out on a fine day for racing!
| Firstname | Lastname | Category | Cat Gun Pos | Gun Time | Gun Pos | Chip Time |
| Stuart | Doyle | MS | 7 | 01:14:47 | 10 | 01:14:45 |
| Tom | Annable | M40 | 6 | 01:20:21 | 27 | 01:20:14 |
| John | Todd | M45 | 13 | 01:24:19 | 67 | 01:23:59 |
| Peter | Clayton | M40 | 14 | 01:24:42 | 75 | 01:24:28 |
| Michael | Harrington | MS | 50 | 01:25:57 | 96 | 01:25:42 |
| David | Haines | MS | 85 | 190 | 01:29:51 | |
| John | Carroll | M45 | 33 | 01:30:41 | 204 | 01:30:20 |
| Robert | Olliver | MS | 93 | 01:30:43 | 207 | 01:30:29 |
| Dave | Gough | M45 | 34 | 01:30:44 | 208 | 01:30:30 |
| Gemma Louise | Barnett | FS | 13 | 01:31:32 | 228 | 01:31:11 |
| Steve | Smith | M40 | 65 | 01:35:36 | 328 | 01:35:17 |
| Mary | Tavener | F45 | 8 | 01:37:31 | 391 | 01:36:57 |
| Jo | Molyneaux | F45 | 13 | 01:42:10 | 534 | 01:41:34 |
| Helen | Smith | F35 | 14 | 01:43:16 | 567 | 01:41:19 |
| Joanne | Edwards | F45 | 29 | 01:50:03 | 822 | 01:49:22 |
| Jayne | Lomax | F40 | 38 | 01:55:16 | 1007 | 01:54:34 |
| Rachel | Richardson | F35 | 44 | 01:56:24 | 1030 | 01:54:21 |
| Janet | Snow | F45 | 40 | 1057 | 01:54:58 |
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Many thanks to Bryan Dale for allowing us to use his photos of runners in action throughout the site. Be sure to visit his racephotos website for more pictures!
