Vale Royal AC Runners
A Running Club based in Northwich and Winsford.
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Sunday 7 March: Knights Grange at 8am. Please join now......! Athlete of the Month for February: A tricky decision this month as there have been some incredible performances including Andy Gibbs' gold medal at the Northern Vets XC, Stevie Stockton winning a senior medal for Vale Royal at the National XC, and medals galore at the County XC Champs - but in recognition of his superb run at the Cheshire Championships, the Athlete of the Month is TONY ARCHER!!!! This website is sponsored by THE TERRACE, Davenham! 
8 March: David Jury led the team home at the Farndon 10k with a solid sub 40 minute run. Dave Murphy was next home followed by Helen Smith who had a superb run for a personal best in a little over 42 minutes and 2nd LV40. Colin was 1st MV65 and looking like the London build-up is working, and Carole showed continued her progress with an excellent run for 2nd LV55.
30 David Jury 39:03 65 Dave Murphy 41:44 76 Helen Smith 42:32 81 Colin Rathbone 43:22 273 Carole Williams 52:28
In perfect weather at the fast Trafford 10k, Gavin showed he is getting back to form with a superb sub 33 minute run.
| 23 | Gavin Tomlinson | 32:58 |
Mike Harrington continued his tour of the most obscure races in the country with a top-10 finish at the Newton's Fraction Half Marathon in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Mike described the course as hilly and tough and so was very pleased with his run.
| 8 | Mike Harrington | 1:20:30 |
Tom Annable finished a 6th and 1st MV45 in the Cloud 9 race in Congleton. Darren, Matt and Jayne enjoyed the fabulous course and the fine cold and sunny conditions. Pics on Bryan Dale's site.
| 6 | Tom Annable | 58:45 |
| 35 | Darren Cottier | 1:04:51 |
| 132 | Matt Brown | 1:15:13 |
| 291 | Jayne Lomax | 1:29:20 |
ENGLISH NATIONAL XC CHAMPIONSHIPS 
27 February: Stevie Stockton showed how much she has improved with an incredible silver medal in the senior ladies race at the English National cross country championships in Roundhay Park in Leeds. On the tough course, Stevie finished only a few seconds behind Steph Twell who took gold. Well done Stevie - doing Vale Royal proud! Backing Stevie up in the ladies race were Kate Spilsbury, who had a fine run to be just outside the top 100, and Carole Williams who ran well in the classy field. Colin Rathbone was the only finisher in the men's race after George Thompson pulled up with an ankle injury.
2 Stevie Stockton 28:07 107 Kate Spilsbury 33:27 490 Carole Williams 46:12 1203 Colin Rathbone 60:16
NORTHERN VETS XC CHAMPIONSHIPS.
14 February: A brilliant performance by Andy Gibbs at Northern Veteran's Cross-Country Championships in Warrington. On a flat and boggy course, Andy had a tight battle throughout the race eventually finishing a very happy 3rd overall. Most importantly though Andy retained his MV45 title for the 3rd consecutive year and beat a number of his England team rivals. Well done Andy! (Again!)
3 Andy Gibbs - 1st MV45
CHESHIRE CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS.
13 February: A fantastic team gold for the men at the rearranged Cheshire Championships on the flat Reaseheath course. The men beat Wilmslow in a tightly fought contest to retain their title. The counter's were Chris Perry, Stu Doyle, James Griffiths, Gavin Tomlinson, Tom Heaward and Graham Miles. The ladies secured team silvers in the seniors (Kate Spilsbury, Gemma Barnett and Maggie Fenn) and veteran catagories (Maggie Fenn, Helen Smith and Carole Williams). We had age category medalists too with Tony Archer 2nd Mv55, Colin Rathbone 1st MV65, Maggie Fenn 3rd LV35, Helen Smith 1st LV40 and Carole Williams 1st LV55. Too many excellent performance to mention them all but be proud of yourselves everyone! There were also numerous successes for the juniors (reported on the VRAC main site).
3 Chris Perry 37:16 5 Stu Doyle 37:30 7 James Griffiths 38:05 10 Gavin Tomlinson 38:58 17 Tom Heaward 40:08 28 Graham Miles 41:12 38 David Jury 42:18 42 Darren Cottier 42:55 45 Gary Weedall 43:21 51 Iain Wedge 43:42 57 Tony Archer 44:33 59 Pete Maher 44:55 62 Scott Bamber 45:38 66 John Todd 46:39 76 Steven Caldwell 47:35 85 John Clarke 48:26 93 Colin Rathbone 50:36 100 Steve Collier 54:01 103 Richard Pettitt 57:33 6 Kate Spilsbury 30:56 8 Gemma Barnett 32:16 11 Maggie Fenn 32:45 12 Helen Smith 33:17 28 Carole Williams 42:58
7 February: Ten Vale Royal athletes out for the Alsager 5. A high standard field as usual with 7 runners inside 24 minutes! The best conditions for several years saw some good times with Zach Cross being the quickest on the day - although Graham pushed him close! Tom Armstrong gets this years "unlucky" prize (Dave Gough won this prize last year!). Maggie Fenn was the quickest of our ladies although Mary was not far behind! No doubt the start was as crazy as usual? 70 Zach Cross 28:26 74 Graham Miles 28:37 104 Andrew Miles 29:55 111 Tom 'Unlucky' Armstrong 30:00 121 Pete Maher 30:11 197 Scott Bamber 32:49 203 Steve Caldwell 32:53 261 Maggie Fenn 34:08 295 Mary Tavener 34:59 526 Jayne Lomax 39:43
Sonya Young was 1st LV55 at the Central Lancashire Half Marathon with a fine run. Paul Lloyd was back racing on the road and was so close to that sub 1:30 barrier:
36 Paul Lloyd 1:30:16 68 Sonya Young 1:35:43
John Carroll and Iain Stanton were out racing too at the popular Radcliffe 10 mile trail race near Bolton:
55 John Carroll 1:12:30 79 Iain Stanton 1:14:56
6 February: A small turn out for the last match of the North Wales Cross Country League on the tough Oswestry course. Our veteran stalwarts were there however: Colin and Carole competing strongly and John, Pauline and Bernie there to support! Tom had a best ever finish for 13th place and in so doing secured the MV45 category for the season and finishing 11th in the overall league. David Jury also ran very well for a highest finish of the season. ....what would he do if he got some consistent training?! Colin and Carole were both quicker than last year and looked in good form. Pics in the gallery (a lot of pics of not many runners!)
13 Tom Annable 36:07 42 David Jury 39:37 105 Colin Rathbone 46:47 61 Carole Williams 30:13
30 January: The final round of the Manchester XC League at Wythenshaw: Stu Doyle's form over cross-country was demonstrated by his superb 9th place. Colin and Carole were both out competing and showing the rest of us what we should be doing with our Saturdays!
| 9 | Stu Doyle | 33:14 |
| 170 | Colin Rathbone | 45:45 |
| 107 | Carole Williams | 34:55 |
CLUB SUCCESSES AT THE NORTHERN CROSS-COUNTRY:
23 January: There was a large turn-out for the Northern XC Championships on the testing course in Witton Park in Blackburn. With the Vale Royal AC flags flying , the Juniors had an fantastic day with 2 team golds (Girls U20 and U17) and 2 team silvers (U20 and GU15) as well as 2 individual bronze medals (R Craigie and M Sheen)! In the senior races, there were some fantastic efforts in the very high standard fields! The course was rough, muddy and very hilly ensuring that everyone was exhausted at the finish! Full results for seniors and juniors are listed below! Pics in the gallery.
Men 112 J Griffiths 47:11 29th Team 148 T Annable 48:34 316 P Maher 54:34 357 T Archer 56:08 390 S Bamber 57:23 417 S Caldwell 58:40 487 S Ryabov 61:59 531 C Rathbone 65:14 Ladies 41 K Spilsbury 36:01 209 C Williams 51:18 MU20 15 A Clews 29:19 2nd Team 18 C Perry 29:33 36 Z Cross 30:46 37 E Crowther 30:49 58 T Heaward 33:01 77 A Perry 35:07 LU20 3 R Craigie 24:11 1st Team 7 N Meadows 24:42 15 K Stringer 25:55 26 K Howard 27:41 U17 64 A Miles 23:38 104 T Marsden 25:29 GU17 6 M Huxley 21:12 1st Team 16 C Mills 22:17 18 L Whittick 22:20 19 H Paver 22:21 47 C Perry 24:54 68 G Mayled 27:06 U15 16 Z Bamber 14:04 6th Team 48 R Moore 14:44 55 J Ayre 14:48 82 L Healey 15:15 85 N Tipping 15:19 123 A Zimmer 15:59 138 P Stradling 16:10 150 J Ikin 16:22 156 J Boyce 16:33 191 M Vennard 17:46 197 N Jakeman 18:13 GU15 15 T McCormick 15:59 2nd Team 21 J Evans 16:18 36 A Pettitt 16:51 65 K Moulds 17:38 77 C Heaher 17:50 97 B Archdeacon 18:21 98 L Towers 18:21 118 J Lee 19:01 U13 3 M Sheen 11:09 13 E Bowler 11:28 157 N Rothwell 14:04 GU13 6 J Parsons 12:10 11th Team 80 A Sorensen 13:40 83 J Costello 13:44 128 L Scott 14:16 156 E GravesBrayne 14:42 164 C Pettitt 14:49 178 Lucy Burch 15:03
17 January: Graham Miles had a terrific run in the superbly organised McCain Cross Challenge in Cardiff. In the Masters race Graham ran an even paced race finishing in 7th place. Andrew was a promising 43rd in the U17 race. 7Graham Miles 23:14
| 43 U17 | Andrew Miles | 22:08 |
17 January: Finally a respite from the bad weather - with perfect racing conditions at the Four Villages Half Marathon in Helsby. There was a good turn out for the club with some excellent performances. Stu Doyle was 10th overall and we had an age category winner with Sonya Young winning the LV55! Maggie Fenn was 3rd LV35. Rob was delighted with his PB as was Scott. The results below are chip times: 10 Stu Doyle 1:14:59 70 Pete Maher 1:23:41 71 Tom Armstrong 1:23:33 140 Rob Olliver 1:27:54 155 Matt Sweeting 1:29:08 163 John Todd 1:29:23 164 Gemma Todd 1:29:22 186 Glenn Wilson 1:30:18 235 Maggie Fenn 1:31:48 256 Scott Bamber 1:33:17 306 Helen Smith 1:35:55 323 John Clarke 1:36:18 345 Jo Molyneaux 1:37:42 412 Sergey Ryabov 1:38:51 440 Sonya Young 1:39:43 443 Mary Tavener 1:40:25
It with deep sadness that we heard the news of Ken Moss's death from cancer last week. Ken had many friends in the club. Ken was a superb runner, a great competitor and a big loss for the sport in the region.
13 January: Former member Steve Wilkinson is looking for sponsorship for a 100k treadmill challenge to raise money for an excellent cause. Please sponsor Steve here. www.justgiving.com/tomandstevetreadmillultra
3 January 2010: A fantastic win for Steve Caldwell in the Delamere Dash Trail Race. Steve was delighted with his first ever race victory in the icy conditions. Well done Steve! There were nearly 300 runners in the race so this is a superb performance! Results.
1 Steve Caldwell 40:14
There were 3 senior athletes out for Vale Royal at the penultimate round of the Manchester XC League at Woodbank Park in Stockport. In very cold but sunny conditions, Kate Spilsbury was an excellent 15th in the ladies race while Graham Miles had a top 40 finish and Pete Maher finished just outside the top 100. Andrew Miles was an excellent 7th in the U17 race. 15 Kate Spilsbury 27:53
37 Graham Miles 37:00 104 Pete Maher 41:27
27 December: At the Ribble Valley 10k, Iain Stanton had an excellent run in the very large and very high standard field......
338 Iain Stanton 43:22
.....and in the Chester Round the Walls Race Barry Chamber made his regular appearance with a fine run in the cold conditions:
174 Barry Chambers 28:57
26 December: Not many folk out racing this Christmas, but Rob Olliver found a cracking race in the snow - the Otley Chevin Chase. The 7-mile off-road course was very wintry but suited Rob's newly found off road skills as he finished well up in the 825 strong field.
136 Rob Olliver 53:15
13 December: Stevie Stockton was a fabulous 10th in the European XC Championships. Stevie was fourth counter in the victorious British team - just pipping Steph Twell! Results. Well done Stevie!
At the new Tatton Pud Plod 10k event, Ed Crowther turned in a strong performance to win the race (although not wearing his club colours!). John Carroll recommends the race for next year. Steve Caldwell ran well considering he ran XC the day before!
1 Ed Crowther 36:57 12 John Carroll 43:10 26 Steve Caldwell 45:44
Pauline Davies had an excellent run at the Great Langdale 10k in Cumbria. Pauline was more than two minutes quicker than last year and was 1st LV55. John also ran and was pleased to finish without injury but accepting that he's not in top form yet!
145 Pauline Davies 47:27 235 John Davies 51:26
At the Stockport 10, Colin Rathbone put his previous days efforts behind him as he finished 2nd V65. John Todd was 8th MV45 and Gemma Barnett 14th lady.
94 John Todd 67:21 105 Gemma Barnett 67:39 186 Colin Rathbone 72:24
Mike Harrington and Iain Wedge made the long journey south to find a fast half marathon - only to find out the first nine miles of the Bedford Half Marathon were all uphill (I assume the rest was downhill!).
45 Mike Harrington 1:20:58 65 Iain Wedge 1:23:14
NORTH STAFFS XC LEAGUE - FINAL MATCH:
12 December: The final match at the North Staffs League was on the tough course at Westwood High. The senior men's team was out in force and managed to ensure promotion into Division One with a season best team performance (this was despite some seasonal bugs and other ailments affecting most of the team)! James Griffiths was the highest finisher in the race with a superb run for 10th place. Andy Clews started fast but faded to 13th place - however this was still good enough to win the junior league and to finish a brilliant 2nd (tbc) in the senior league. Photos in the gallery and full results awaited. In the U17 race Andrew Miles was an excellent 5th (which would have been higher if he hadn't run the 1st hill like a sprint rep!).
10 James Griffiths 32:18 13 Andy Clews 32:40 33 Tom Annable 34:26 38 Graham Miles 35:05 82 Darren Cottier 37:30 89 Pete Maher 38:19 132 Marcus Crompton 40:44 156 Steve Caldwell 42:09 178 Luke Dale 43:37 184 Colin Rathbone 44:05
6 December: At the Helena Tipping 10k, the verdict was still out on whether this is a fast or slow course, but there were some strong performances from the club. Stu Doyle was 4th overall and 1st MV35 and Maggie Fenn was 2nd LV35.
4 Stu Doyle 34:18 20 Mike Harrington 36:36 29 Iain Wedge 37:30 48 Tom Armstrong 38:44 105 Maggie Fenn 42:37
Nicky Archer ran an excellent race in the Las Vegas Marathon, finishing 6th Elite Lady. After an early morning 6:15am start, Nicky finished in 2 hours 42 minutes. Nicky had reached the halfway point in 1:19. No doubt Nicky would have like to have dipped under 2:40 (we await comment!) but this is still an impressive performance and a massive PB! Well done Nic! (*Blog just added*). Dave "Stat-man" Gough has pointed out this is the 10th best performance by a British Athlete this year!
6 Nicky Archer 2:42:51
A great night at the W'OSCARS (hangover this morning!). BIG thanks to Bernie and Goffy for organising it. The prize winners were: Tennis Ball Challenge: BERNIE JONES! Most Improved Athlete: HELEN SMITH and JO MOLYNEAUX. Performance of the Year: ANDY GIBBS . Member of the Year: TOM ANNABLE. Here's a reminder of the nominations. Thanks also to Marcus (and The Terrace) for supplying the cakes, to the Club Committee for agreeing to make a financial donation to support the event and to Tesco for providing the raffle prizes.
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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!
