Vale Royal AC - Senior Section

SALE SIZZLER 5K

30 June: A rather lower turnout than usual for the first in the Sale Sizzler 5k series. Runners took advantage of good racing conditions to produce a fast race. A great run by Zack Bamaber going sub 17 minutes to secure 1st U17 and 2nd junior male. 3rd V55 and 1st LV60 honours for Barry Chambers and Pauline Davies respectively.

TOUGH TEAM

24 June: Heavy rain was welcomed by local farmers and Tough Team racers alike. VRAC members were represented in 4 teams with notable debuts in the famous vest for Steve MacNamara and Bob Corinaldi... and, according to the results, a game little fella 'P Chitterband'. Gemma Barnett's brilliant effort being 1st female home was tempered by the failure of her team to secure the mixed team prize - pipped by Ellesmere Port. Choose better team mates next time Gemma!  

LYMM 5K

25 June: An excellent turnout for the Lymm 5k with 20 VRAC vests on display. Some excellent performances below. Ladies were 4th placed team in the race, men 7th, 11th and 20th teams!  Amelia Pettitt was first junior female home.

This race completed the North Cheshire 5k Grand Prix for 2011. Hannah Bishop won the series female junior prize, Pete Maher was second in the MV55 category, Jayne Lomax second in the F40 category and Sacha Humphries third in the F35 category. 

WHALEY WALTZ FELL RACE

25 June: Three very hardy ladies put the blokes the shame as the sole VRAC participants in the Whaley Waltz Fell race which includes crossing a deep and rather wide 'water feature'. Jo Edwards led the trio home to secure 1st LV45 followed by Val Kinvig and Pauline Davies. Good effort ladies.  Full results and action video (video 2) here. 

DUNHAM MASSEY 5K 

17 June: Another good turnout (helped in no small part by the Jakeman family!) at the latest race in the North Cheshire 5k Grand Prix series. Steve Caldwell continues his recent form with another time close to the 18 min mark and a further PB improvement for Scott Bamber by 20 seconds.  A further junior female win for Hannah Bishop who looks well set to secure the overall junior title for the series. Solid runs from the ever present Barry Chambers and Jayne Lomax. 

LYME PARK FELL RACE SERIES 

See below for the final two races in the Lyme Park Fell Race series (also see the Vanessa Chappell earlier report).  CONGRATULATIONS to Jo Edwards on an excellent series vicory winning the LV40 category! 

WELSH CASTLES RELAY (PHOTOS ADDED TO GALLERY) 

The spirit of Vale Royal is reborn!   After missing last year's race, it is great to see Vale Royal out in full force at the Welsh Castles relay.  This 200 mile race from Caernarforn to Cardiff is over 20 stages and 2 days.  The traditional heatwave was replaced by driving rain and so everyone can be proud of their performances. Congratulations in particular to Ben, Matt and Andrew who set new club records! - provisional results:  

MOUNTAIN DESIGNS GEOQUEST 2011 - AUSTRALIA 

11/12 June: The second year in this event for Nathan Archer where teams of 4 tackle multiple legs including trekking (orienteering), mountain biking, kayaking and other 'mystery' challenges continuously with up to 48 hours for completion. A massive 4th place for Nath's team in the 'half' event and completion in 23 hours 50 mins. Soon after crossing the line the event was called off for the remaining teams due to safety concerns and flood risk! Good effort Nath! If you want a taste of the event take a look at the photostream here.

BOWDEN 5K

8 June: Another great run from the in form Steve Caldwell to break 18 minutes for the second time in the North Cheshire Grand Prix 5k series. Just 1 second slower than his PB at Dunham Massey. Scott Bamber also had an excellent outing to improve his recent PB at Dunham Massey by 11 seconds. As usual Pete Maher delivered a solid run to secure 2nd V55. John 'Click' Clarke will have been pleased to creep under 20 minutes with Hannah Bishop not too far behind. Jayne Lomax and Sacha Humphries completed a very successful event with further good performances.

COMBERBACH FETE 5K 

22 May: Excellent podium finish for John Todd at the Comberbach Fete 5k.   

CHESTER HALF MARATHON 

15 May: Belated congratulations to Stu Doyle on a superb run to secure 2nd place overall at Chester.

VANESSA CHAPPELL AND BOLLINGTON 3 PEAKS FELL RACES 

Sorry folks, belated posting for the above two races. Well done Stephen, Jo and Val!

26 May: Vanessa Chappell Fell Race 

 14 May: Bollington 3 Peaks... 5.6 miles with 1200 ft of ascent! 

   WINCLE TROUT

4 June: 10 VRAC runners faced up to the popular but notoriously tough Wincle Trout fell race. Allegedly (according to Clutty that is!) this years route was the toughest of the three variants. Clutty either entered very early or was top seed as he proudly sported '1' as his race number. Led home with a strong run by Tommy Armstrong with Iain Stanton not too far behind showing his strength on the hills in this type of race. Full results and photos here  

 HOLLINS GREEN 5K

4 June: A good turnout and a nice cross section of age ranges at Hollins Green. Some excellent results for the junior contingent. A successful and eventful day for the club chairman seeing his daughter first placed in her category... beating his own target time comfortably... and assisting a 64 year old blood soaked drunken cyclist on the way home. All part of the rich tapestry of running!  Well done all.

 Teams - Ladies 2nd: Parsons, Bishop, Lomax. Men 4th Bamber, Vennard, Caldwell, Weedall

BUXTON HALF MARATHON  

29 May: three toughy's tackled the 30th Buxton half marathon renowned for it's long climbs and descents. Very respectable 1.35 from Toddy with Gemma posting a top 10 finish in the ladies field just 5 minutes further back. Clutty limbering up for Drovers posted an excellent 1.49 and is now brimming with confidence that he can snatch the Drovers record from Nicky.  

(368 finishers) 

 SALE 5

30 May: 'On fire' Steve Caldwell continues his purple patch at Sale. Category wins for Colin and Pauline. And creditable team finishes for the ladies. Well done all. Full results here 

 DUNHAM MASSEY 5K

27 May: It didn't take long. Sure enough Steve Caldwell broke the 18 min barrier. Congratulations! Some other excellent runs and times at Dunham Massey which is not renowned as a fast course. A big PB for Scott Bamber and high V55 finish for Pete Maher and 1st junior lady for Ameleia Pettit. Good day at the office for VRAC. Full results here 

 ALDERLEY EDGE 5K 

22 May Another superb PB for Steve Caldwell at the Alderley Edge 5k and a top-5 finish.   The sub-18 minute 5k looks like his next target. 

 LANZAROTE IRONMAN TRIATHLON  

21 May:  A superb personal achievement for Jo Molyneaux at the Lanzarote IronMan.  Jo finished the event in 13 hrs 59 minutes with a very respectable 4:19 final marathon!    Time for some rest Jo!  Jo's facebook status:  "Jo Moly is an Ironman! Sprint finish ensured time of 13:59:48. Swim 1:23, bike 7:53, run 4:19. Well happy :-)"

SANDSTONE TRAIL RACE (The long version!) 

21 May:   An excellent run by Tommy Armstrong over the 33-mile Sandstone Trail - finishing in an impressive 5:14 for 5th place.   That included a wrong turn too! 

 BUPA GREAT MANCHESTER RUN  

15 May: 6 VRAC runners joined the multitudes at the BUPA Great Manchester Run 2011. Two excellent PB's. One for Steve Caldwell who now has sub 38 minutes in his sights and another for Scott Bamber. Bearing in mind Scott's return from injury his time just outside 40 minutes was all the more impressive. 

MOBBERLEY ROUND THE RUNWAY

12 May: 5 excellent results from the Mobberley Round the Runway race over the novel distance of 5.3 miles. Led home in style by Alex Mason and then Vets placings for Colin, Jayne, Pauline and Carol.  The latter 3 also secured 2nd ladies team ahead of Macclesfield (Wilmslow in 1st place). Well done all:

 NORTHFACE 100 BLUE MOUNTAINS AUSTRALIA 

******MORE Pics added to Gallery******

14 May: Congratulations to Nathan Archer on his outstanding achievement in completing one of the toughest endurance foot races in the world - The NorthFace 100. A 100k (62+ miles) trail race held in the Blue Mountains National Park, Australia. Nathan's build up to the race was uncertain with a leg injury that responded to treatment and taping from one of Nicky's Kinesio contacts down under!!  Duly taped Nathan competed the race in 18 hrs 49 minutes, well under his target time of 20 hours. 367th out of over 700 competitors. Stage details below.   

MARKET DRAYTON 10K 

8 May: Five VRAC runners completed the Market Drayton 10k in blustery conditions with some excellent performances.  An outstanding 3rd place for Stu Doyle and another V65 victory for Colin. 

HAWKSHEAD TRAIL RACE 

7 May:  Matt and Richard travelled up to the Lakes to run the beautiful Hawkshead trail race. 

CHRISTLETON 5K 

6 May:  A big PB for the fast improving Steve Caldwell - but the competitive instincts kept Gary in front (for now!).

LICHFIELD HALF MARATHON 

1 May:  A big improvement for Alex Mason over the half marathon distance but a little short of his 1:30 target. That'll come soon!

RUN THE BRIDGE '5' 

24 April:  Big squad out for the Run the Bridge 5 mile at Runcorn, Gar Weedall bringing the squad home and Tessa McCormick our first lady.  Ben Carter ran well in his first run for the club and there were excellent PB's for Stece and Jayne!

VIRGIN LONDON MARATHON 2011 

Results are in!   Colin Rathbone was the hero of the hour as he has been so many times at London.   1st MV65 by 10 minutes is a superb achievement - even more so considering the set backs he has had this winter.   He was reporting to have his "bad chest" back but that couldn't have held him back much.   Well done Colin - we're all very proud of you!  Not heard news of reactions to the other performances but the hot conditions look like they may have affected a few.....more news to follow.  

AIR PRODUCTS 10k

Sorry for the late result posting:   Stu was on top form at the Air Products 10k in Crewe.  A superb sub-35 minute run for Roger Alsop and another 1st MV65 for Colin,  

SPRING '5'

A good night for racing at the Spring 5 in Chester.   Tessa was 1st junior lady, Colin was 1st V65 and Pauline 2nd LV55.   

RADCLIFFE MULTI-TERRAIN 10K

With both 3rd in their age categories, it was a rare trip home without any prizes for Col & Carole.  Colin a bit disappointed with his form but we all know it'll appear again at London! 

WILMSLOW HALF MARATHON

27 March:  Fast conditions for the popular Wilmslow Half Marathon.   Excellent PB's for Steve Caldwell, Mel (with her lifetime ambition of beating her Dad at Wilmslow fulfilled, what will Mel target now?!) and Ian, and so with John Carter beating his comeback target too, it was a successful day out for the squad!    Dave Gough was our first home (just) and Mel was our first lady in 1:33.  

MUDDY BOTTOMS 9/17

27 March:  Something different for Colin this week - a 17 mile cross-country event in Bamber Bridge near Preston.  The race involved significant navigation which added a fun element.   Tom was along for the ride and his navigational errors contributed to a finishing distance of 18.5 miles....it didn't help that a marshal sent them the wrong way!   Pauline and Carole both enjoyed the 9 miler to (which seemed to measure closer to 10 miles).    An enjoyable race but very low key!

WORLD CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPS

19 March:  Stevie Stockton had a fine run in the World XC Champs in Punta Umbria in Spain.  Stevie finished in an excellent 37th place and in doing so was 3rd Britain and 7th European - and less than two minutes behind the winner!    

NORTHERN VETS/ST ANNES 10

20 March:  Colin and Carole were the only Vale Royal runners at the Northern Vets 10 mile championships in St Annes, Lytham.   However both returned back as winners of their age categorys with terrific runs over the very flat course!  More trophies for the cabinet!   In the open race, Col and Carole were 2nd and 3rd respectively in their age categories. 

SPEN 20 

13 March:  Very encouraging form for Colin at the tough Spen 20 mile race.   Colin was 43 secnds quicker than last year and a superb 1st MV65. 

TRAFFORD 10k 

13 March:  A very fast 10k for Stu Doyle at the Trafford 10k and and excellent sub-40 minute run for Steve Caldwell.   

TRIMPELL 20 

6 March:  The Trimpell 20 on a perfect day is about as fast a 20 miler as you could hope for, but the race is about building miles for London: 

 INTER-COUNTIES CROSS-COUNTRY 

5 March:    The inter-counties cross-country saw several Vale Royal runners representing their county.   In the men's race, Tom Carter showed good form to finish well up the field and in the ladies race Stevie Stockton showed again how good she is over the country.  Andy Clews and Kate Spilsbury led the way in the U20's races. 

CLOUD 9 RACE 

6 March:   A good turn out for the popular Cloud 9 Hill race at Congleton.   Darren is gradually returning to top form and led the squad home in 66 minutes but the big improver was Paul C who took 9 minutes off his best time over the course.   Photos on Bryan Dale's site.

WREXHAM HALF MARATHON 

27 February:   Not the usual fast times associated with the Wrexham Half but an excellent PB for Iain Stanton and some solid preparation for the marathon runners.   Graham was first home with the only sub 1:20 run of the day.   A tightly bunched club group was led home by Toddy.  Gemma was first club lady with a respectable 1:34..  

NATIONAL XC CHAMPIONSHIPS - ALTON TOWERS

At the National XC at Alton Towers, the heavy rain had produced the worst mud many had ever seen (only Glastonbury veterans would have experienced such conditions!).   Another great performance from Stevie Stockton in the senior ladies race finishing in 6th place - probably a disappointment after last years performance but still terrific.  Unfortunately we can't get a full ladies squad out to support Stevie but Kate ran strongly again as did an in form Pauline.   In the men's race, Stu had a very strong run in conditions you wouldn't expect to suit him.   Good to see Tom Carter competing again albeit finding the going very tough!  Colin is showing some improving form too - encouraging signs for the big race in April.  The club highlight in the junior races was Andy Clews 26th place - a typically gutsy performance.   Plenty of great performances by the youngsters too.  Check out the main club site for highlights. 

MDCC XC Match #5 - CLAYTON VALE

13 February:   The Manchester league has had only a small turn-out from the club this season.  The new Clayton Vale venue was excellent and one to look out for next year.   Pauline followed up her victory in the North Wales league LV55 category with overall victory in the MDCC league too.   A rare Vale Royal success in this league - so well done Pauline.  

RADCLIFFE 10 

6 February:   A small turn out for the Radcliffe 10 with Iain Stanton making his second racing outing of the weekend.  

 ALSAGER 5  

6 February:    A good turn out at the popular Alsager 5.  In windy conditions (as usual), the squad was headed by Gary Weedall with Pete Maher not far behind but picking up the MV55 prize. 

NORTH WALES XC LEAGUE MATCH #5 - OSWESTRY 

5 February:  The last match of the Welsh XC league at Oswestry was run in extremely wet conditions - which, of course, is why cross-country is so much fun!   Great to Iain Stanton out on the country as he brought the senior men home.  Rob showed much improved form and was pleased to claim Hainsey's scalp!   Pauline Davies was a superb winner of the ladies V55 in this match and in so doing claimed the gold in that category for the season.   Carole was 3rd overall and took bronze for the season.  Well done to the team.  

NORTHERN XC  CHAMPS

29 Jan: On a fantastic day for the club, on a muddy and hilly course in Sunderland, the undoubted star was 16 year old Megan Huxley who not only enjoyed an emphatic victory in the Under 17 girls race, but also led the clubs team to the silver medals. There were other excellent runs from many of the club who made the journey north included amongst these were Andy Clews (6th Under 20 mens) and Kathy Stringer (10th Under 20 ladies) superb runs to place so highly amongst the best runners in the region. 

HELSBY HALF MARATHON 

23 Jan: As usual a very good turnout saw 19 VRAC runners at 30th running of the Helsby 4 Village`s Half Marathon. In ideal calm, cool, cloudy conditions there were some excellent performances led home by Stu Doyle with a superb sub 1.15 time. Tommy Armstrong's marathon training clearly showing through with an impressive time. Pete Maher was obviously delighted to be off the mud and back on the road and secured 2nd V55 honours. Strong finishing Mark Thornley should take a big boost in confidence for his future marathon/ironman exploits. Tony Archer was delighted to get close to his PB and Dave Haines very satisfied with a sub 1.30 finish.  Credit to an under par Gemma for turning out with tonsilitis. Clutty and Steve Smith ran together and alledgedly crossed the line holding hands!  Well done everyone (great to see Val Kinvig racing again) .  Full results here

NORTH WALES XC LEAGUE - MATCH #4

21 Jan:  The 4th league match of the season at Lilleshall near Telford saw Pauline win her age category with Carole taking 3rd. The men did well too with Colin finishing 2nd M65 and young Rob finishing in his highest position to date in the overall race. 

GREAT WINTER RUN

8 Jan: Steve Caldwell made the long journey to Edinburgh for the Great Winter Run 5k in Edinburgh.   Despite the freeszing cold and snowy conditions Steve enjoyed the race and the trip! 

CHESHIRE CHAMPS XC - SUCCESS AGAIN FOR VRAC!

8 Jan: Congratulations to all those who braved the mud and surface water to represent the club at this years Cheshire Champs at Birchwood. Some excellent junior and senior performances with the mens senior squad (Carter, Perry, Doyle, Cross, Archer, Stanton) securing 2nd place in the team event. A fantastic result given the absence of several fast runners. Tom Carter, Chris Perry and Stu Doyle were all top 5 finishers with vets medals for Tony Archer (3rd V55), John Davies and Colin Rathbone (2nd and 3rd V65 respectively), Pauline Davies and Carol Williams (2nd and 3rd V55 respectively). Andy Clews continued his excellent form with a convincing victory in the U20 category. Well done everyone! Full results here Results.  

MDCC - WOODBANK PARK

1 Jan:  A superb performance from Vale Royal ladies with Stevie Stockton a winner of the latest round of the Manchester league at Woodbank Park.  Following up was a terrific Kate Spilsbury who finished an excellent 3rd place - continued improvement.   Supporting the top 2 were Pauline Davies and Carole Williams who finished  77th and 103rd respectively.  Stu Doyle had another fine run too in 7th place in the men's race.