Four club members made the trip across the Mersey to take part in the Liverpool half marathon on Sunday the 2nd March. With strong winds, fast times were never going to be easy to come by, however all four finished well up the field. Clinching second in her age group was Alison MacDonald who actually posted the fastest time, unfortunately, gun times rather than chip times were used, so she narrowly missed out on first in the Vet 40 category by 6sec, 01:34:23 (chip time). Just in front of Alison and First home for the club was Brian Griffiths with a time of 01:34:11. followed by and running through the pain barrier with hamstring problems was Jon Hawker in 01:38:57. Completing the line up and making a welcome return to the racing scene was Debbie Hawker (01:58:25), just short of a PB but with form like this she will soon break the 1:55 barrier.
The winner was Ben Fish from Blackburn Harriers in a time of 01:08:01, with Rotherham Harriers runner Jenny Blizzard winning the ladies race 01:15:53.
Haweswater Half Marathon, Cumbria
Two members of the club made their way to Cumbria to take part in the Haweswater Half Marathon on Sunday the 2nd March. This course is very difficult at the best of times, but was made even harder with the strong winds. However, both runners acquitted themselves admirably considering the tough conditions. First home and just missing a top three finish in the vet 50 category was Madeleine Bird in 01:56:05, with Nigel Crierie close behind in 02:04:34.
The winner was Durham City Harriers runner Ian Crampton who completed the course in 01:13:17. Elizabeth Hawker won the ladies race in 01:20:52.
Trimpell 20 & Farndon 10k
Also on Sunday saw club members take part in Trimpell 20 & Farndon 10k. While club representation was slightly down on previous years at Trimpell, two of the clubs finest did make the trip to represent Ellesmere Port. Mathew Whitfield & Dave Nalder both produced solid performances and proved they are making excellent progress towards their respective marathon targets. While at the time of going to press, the official times were not available, first home for the club and beginning to return to his best was Mathew Whitfield in a provisional time of 2:17. This performance is even more impressive considering the negative splits posted against the wind. Dave Nalder completed the course in a time of 2:26 (provisional).
Also rapidly returning to form was Chris Marshall who took part in Farndon 10k finishing the course in 26th place and 8th M40 with a time of 38:39. By Chris’s own admission, he is not quite in his best shape yet, so this is a runner to keep a close eye on in the coming months as he continues at pace to reach full fitness. The winner was Clive West from Buckley running club in a time of 33:47. The women's race was won by Wrexham A.C. member Caroline Harney in 38:15.
