Vale Royal AC - Senior Section

NOTICES

NATIONAL ROAD RELAYS: MENS TEAMS. PLEASE SEE REPORT BELOW FOR NORTHERN ROAD RELAYS TO REVIEW TEAM SELECTION PROCESS. LADIES DO NOT NEED QUALIFY.

CROSS COUNTRY: Dates for 2019/2020 North Staffs and Manchester League XC are here. Remember pre entry required for Manchester league. Names to Colin Rathbone or email info@valeroyalseniors.com.

RUNNING PAST 40: This will apply to a few of us! An interesting read from WeaverPysio Sports and Injury Clinic. Click here.

TRACK ETIQUETTE: PLEASE READ AND COMPLY TO THE RULES AGREED BY THE VRAC COMMITTEE. VIEW HERE.

RACE REPORTS: We try and keep the website up to date. The volume and variety of races makes this increasingly challenging. You can help by sending a brief race report with a link to the results to info@valeroyalseniors.com. If you have been a Park Run tourist somewhere novel let us know about that too!

Our wealth is our HEALTH.

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It's not the time you do, it's the time you have.

Anon

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

Plenty of high quality racing in August. As usual VRAC's Pie and Peas race saw a mass of blue and yellow and some fast and furious battles throughout the field. Plenty of county representation at Birchwood 10k with particularly well deserved vests for Mel Johnson and Rick Murray. Mid-Chshire 5K saw no less than 12 VRAC PB's. This month we recognise an athlete who raced 4 times during the month, representing Cheshire at Birchwood, England Masters at Barry Island, missed her PB by just 1 second at Mid=Chesire 5K, and claimed 1st F45 at Pie and Peas. August AOM is CAROLYN DOOLEY.


In 3 Words NATIONAL ROAD RELAYS

Other Useful Website links - Click here.

Thanks to Bryan Dale for allowing us to use his photos. Visit his racephotos website for more pictures!

Injured? There are a number of good physios - ask around. Several of us have had very successful treatment at Athlete Matters in Worsley (Duncan Mason): Details below. 10% Discount for VRAC.


RACE REPORTS please email us at info@valeroyalseniors.com with news and results.

ST. NICHOLAS RIVER RUN 10K - NORTHWICH

22 Sep: Three from VRAC tackled this new and interesting race. All three won their categories. James Edwards first race for a very, very, very long time rewarded with V60 win. His feedback: "Well organised, well marked course with virtually all terrains. Full of variety with a very hard finish up steep slopes and steps. The weather made it even better as I can imagine a normal September run round the campus playing fields being very wet!" Full results here.

Pos	Gun time	First name	Last name	Chip Time	Chip Pos	Gender	Pos	Category	Pos
5	44:07:00	Yasper	Freestone	44:07:00	5	Male	5	Under 18	1
11	45:37:00	James	Edwards	45:34:00	12	Male	10	Vet 60	1
17	47:36:00	Katie	Dickinson	47:35:00	20	Female	2	Senior Female	1
122	Finishers

NORTHERN ROAD RELAYS

15 Sep: All of our Senior teams ran brilliantly, the A team finished in 8th place, our best ever position in the Northerns with Chris Perry getting the 8th fastest individual time and 4 of our athletes in the top 75 out of 678 runners - with the B team finishing in 30th place it looks as though we have 2 mens teams through to the Nationals ( depending how you read the rules - but as our B team finished 30th beating the 25th A team we should be in ) - the C team finished in 79th place with 107 teams finishing. The only other clubs to qualify 2 teams were Salford, Sale, Leeds and Morpeth so we're in distinguished company!! Once we get confirmation then we only have a short window to accept the invitation therefore can any runners who have competed in either the North West or Northern relays let Stu Doyle know by Sunday 22nd if they wish to compete in the Nationals which are in Birmingham on Sunday 6th October. He can then assess whether there is sufficient interest for 2 teams and pick squads. Please either respond to this post, text Stu Doyle on 07775 550364 or let Andy, Shaun or Stu know in person. The The Senior Ladies did even better finishing 5th - with Liz Renondeau 4th fastest overall, Sarah Murphy 19th fastest, Holly Smith 27th and Amelia Pettitt 30th out of 284 runners - the B team came 13th with Chloe 14th fastest and Sophie 55th - the C team finished in 43rd out of 69 teams .The Ladies do not need to qualify for the Nationals so will e able to enter as appropriate. Well done all. Full results here.

SUTTON 6 10K - GUILDEN SUTTON

15 Sep: Excellent win for Chris Williams only 6 seconds short of his PB. Nice category win for Gemma Barnett. Nice cakes too it seems. Full results here.

Pos	Gun time	First name	Last name	Chip Time	Gender	Pos	Category	Pos
1	32:28:00	chris	williams	32:27:00	Male	1	Senior Male	1
20	38:02:00	Tom	Armstrong	38:00:00	Male	18	Male Vet 40	5
30	39:30:00	Michael	Harrington	39:28:00	Male	28	Male Vet 45	6
35	40:21:00	Gemma	Barnett	40:19:00	Female	3	Female Vet 35	1
94	48:53:00	Barry	Chambers	48:43:00	Male	79	Male Vet 65	4
118	50:54:00	Jayne	Lomax	50:49:00	Female	20	Female Vet 50	4
169	01:00:10	Debbie	Richardson	01:00:05	Female	44	Female Vet 50	9
200	Finishers

VALE OF YORK HALF MARATHON

15 Sep: Disappointed and disenchanted at the late cancellation of the English Half Marathon at Warrington Katie Olliver made the trip north for an alternative, She was rewarded. "Ran my heart out today for sub 90 min and achieved 87 min. Just an agonising 8 week wait for the Championship places to open up at London marathon now".

Pos	Name	Chip	Cat	Pos
129	Katie Olliver	1.27.56	F35	2
1449	Finishers

NORTH WEST ROAD RELAYS - EDGE HILL

8 Sep: Good conditions and an excellent location including an interesting 5k+ course which started and finished on a running track but incorporated path’s and roads with several twists and turns and some undulations.The senior men fielded 4 strong 4 man teams with ages ranging from those making their debuts in the senior ranks to V50’s! All Team’s acquitted themselves well and out of 71 complete teams with 12 complete Cheshire Teams achieved the following results:

A team 5th place overall (within 30 secs of 2nd place) and were 1st Cheshire team.

B team - 13th Overall and 3rd Cheshire

C Team – 25th Overall and 4th Cheshire

D Team – 45th Overall and 10th Cheshire

The ladies also put in a very creditable performance fielding 3 teams with 51 teams competing overall and 9 Cheshire teams.

A Team 3rd overall and 1st Cheshire

B Team 12th overall and 3rd Chashire

C Team 36th overall and 8th Cheshire

Full results here.

GREAT NORTH RUN

8 Sep: The GNR has become a regular race in John Clarke's schedule. This year Mel Johnson made the trip too. Good runs from both with John going 4 minutes quicker than last year.

Name	Pos	Finish Time
Melanie Johnson	2443	01:39:20
john clarke	2687	01:40:12

SALFORD 10K

8 Sep: Two quick ladies joined a big field at Salford. Carolyn Dooley comments: New tactic, racing myself to fitness Salford 10k 40.33 and 14th female overall. 4 weeks to Cardiff Half, time to focus and prepare. Debbie Broad comments: a little pb from me 45.46. Not sure about my hair band!!

Name	Name	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos	5K	Gun	Pos	Chip	Pos
Carolyn	Dooley	F	14	F45+	5	00:19:59	00:40:37	109	00:40:33	114
Debbie	Broad	F	46	F50+	4	00:22:45	00:45:53	309	00:45:46	337	PB
1992	Finishers

SANDBACH 10K

8 Sep: Jayne Lomax reports: Very cold start before the sun burst out to heat things up before the sting in the tail hill at the end. Not the biggest turn out with so much going on today elsewhere but what we lacked in runners was made up for in effort with both ladies and gents holding there own in the category places. Great to see the Mike Harrington's return to racing with an excellent 2nd M45 finish. Bionic Bob Corinaldi (who wasn't feeling it) had a nap in his car before revving up his own engine to secure 3rd in his category. The Nifty 50's women's club cut through the glam and glitter to show their grit, all finishing well up in the field.

RESULTS
MEN
Chris Jones Pos: 6th SM: 3rd. Chip: 35:36
Mike Harrington. Pos: 20th. M45: 2nd. Chip: 41:14
Bob Corinaldi. Pos: 31st. M50: 3rd. Chip:42:41
199 Finishers
LADIES
Debbie Morton Pos: 15th. F50: 3rd. Chip: 49:24
Jayne Lomax Pos: 24th. F50: 4th. Chip: 51:37
Caroline Buckley. Pos: 30th. F50: 5th. Chip: 52:37
Helen betteley Pos: 48th. F50: 9th. Chip: 55:07
Debbie Richardson. Pos: 85. F50: 14th. Chip: 59:21. P.B
231 Finishers

MONTANE DELAMERE HALF MARATHON TRAIL RACE

8 Sep: Jo Edwards reports: Jo Edwards took part in this race 8th September, tough race with lots of hills and a sting in the tail at mile 11, up to the top of the mast, narrowly missing an age category win by twenty seconds, finished in 1.58.41, 14th out of 50 women, didn’t mind the 2nd place as I finished eight minutes quicker than last year. Great race.

CHESHIRE HALF MARATHON - CAPESTHORNE HALL

1 Sep: Good to see Vincent Jensen enjoying his running again. Following up on the Mid Cheshire 5k on Thursday he tackled the Cheshire Half Marathon on Sunday! "Absolutely stoked with the time considering the amount or lack of training I have been doing. A year ago today I walked away from Dingle marathon very disappointed due to getting injured. Today I ran Cheshire half marathon and completed it in a time I never thought I would be near after the limited training I have done. Today I also finally got my motivation back since Dingle. The last mile was an absolute killer till I saw Rach and kids. This gave me the boost I needed. Now to push on from here and build". Full results here.

Pos	Name	Gun	Chip
141	VINCENT JENSEN	01:38:00	01:37:38
793	Finishers

MID CHESHIRE 5K - KINGSLEY

29 Aug: Another fast, furious, high quality race with 15 runners going sub 15 minutes. Charlie Hulse from Liverpool Harriers stormed home in 14.21 closely followed by VRAC's Chis Perry equalling his PB of 14.25. Great running conditions and, as usual, VRAC heavily represented with 36 athletes with great performances and battles throughout with no less than 12 PB's. Brilliant evening's racing. Full results here.

No.	Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos	3K	Finish
6	2	14:25	Chris	Perry	14:25	Male	2	Senior Male	2	08:43	14:25	=PB
32	26	15:22	Andrew	Miles	15:21	Male	26	Senior Male	18	09:10	15:21	PB
24	57	15:53	Matt	Rowlinson	15:51	Male	57	Senior Male	39	09:31	15:51	PB
135	63	15:57	Chris	Standidge	15:54	Male	63	Senior Male	43	09:37	15:54	PB
128	66	16:00	Nathan	Williams	15:59	Male	66	Senior Male	45	09:32	15:59	PB
642	127	16:51	George	Thompson	16:49	Male	122	Senior Male	75	09:58	16:49
280	152	17:19	Tessa	McCormick	17:13	Female	8	Senior Female	4	10:15	17:13
147	155	17:23	Holly	Smith	17:18	Female	9	Under 21	5	10:10	17:18
162	179	17:47	Sarah	Murphy	17:44	Female	17	Vet 40	18	10:37	17:44
226	181	17:51	Chloe	Dooley	17:46	Female	19	Under 21	8	10:42	17:46	PB
211	198	18:01	Rob	Mcbain	17:51	Male	175	Vet 40	22	10:47	17:51
676	216	18:19	Tom	Armstrong	18:13	Male	190	Vet 40	24	10:55	18:13
402	218	18:22	matthew	hough	18:13	Male	192	Vet 45	15	10:59	18:13	PB
727	226	18:32	Richard	Murray	18:23	Male	200	Vet 50	7	11:00	18:23
285	252	18:58	Graham	Miles	18:49	Male	221	Vet 50	8	11:22	18:49
316	265	19:15	Kate	Moulds	19:03	Female	33	Senior Female	17	11:19	19:03
302	277	19:24	Craig	Sephton	19:14	Male	239	Vet 45	26	11:30	19:14
655	280	19:25	Carolyn	Dooley	19:17	Female	40	Vet 45	3	11:31	19:17
331	282	19:28	Scott	bamber	19:18	Male	242	Vet 50	10	11:34	19:18
401	341	20:16	David	Roberts	20:05	Male	285	Vet 45	32	12:08	20:05	PB
381	344	20:19	Paul	Davies	20:00	Male	288	Vet 45	33	11:53	20:00	PB
299	345	20:20	Hollie	Carrington	20:09	Female	57	Senior Female	26	12:14	20:09
408	349	20:23	Anna	Begbie	20:10	Female	60	Vet 35	9	12:03	20:10
374	363	20:45	Paul	Jackson	20:33	Male	298	Senior Male	155	12:16	20:33	PB
439	371	20:56	Melanie	Johnson	20:42	Female	68	Vet 35	12	12:20	20:42
264	372	20:57	Vincent	Jensen	20:43	Male	304	Senior Male	158	12:23	20:43
414	389	21:17	Geoff	Fawkes	21:08	Male	315	Vet 45	34	12:33	21:08
425	403	21:37	John	clarke	21:22	Male	323	Vet 65	4	12:45	21:22
513	480	23:27	steve	collier	23:13	Male	371	Vet 60	14	13:56	23:13
640	499	24:03:00	Sharon	Wilson	23:38	Female	121	Vet 45	17	13:53	23:38	PB
562	500	24:05:00	Joanne	Edwards	23:48	Female	122	Vet 55	5	14:12	23:48
697	503	24:06:00	Debbie	Moreton	23:49	Female	124	Vet 50	5	14:13	23:49
515	514	24:33:00	Jayne	Lomax	24:16:00	Female	131	Vet 50	6	14:20	24:16:00
569	519	24:50:00	Barry	Chambers	24:21:00	Male	386	Vet 65	15	14:47	24:21:00
558	526	25:02:00	Nick	Mort	24:43:00	Male	388	Vet 55	22	14:48	24:43:00
587	558	27:18:00	ann	collier	26:50:00	Female	157	Vet 55	9	16:09	26:50:00
696	570	28:08:00	Debbie	Richardson	27:50:00	Female	166	Vet 50	12	17:02	27:50:00	PB
	603	Finishers

CILCAIN MOUNTAIN RACE

25 Aug: Gareth Williams reports: Cilcain Mountain Race is held every August bank holiday as part of the Cilcain village show. The race is 4.5 miles starting and finishing in the village and essentially goes to the summit of Moel Famau and back. It is popular with clubs from North Wales, Cheshire and Merseyside and is a great family day out, usually with sunny weather to match. The winner this year was Stephen Skates of Prestatyn RC and first lady was Gemma Moore of NWRRC. Finishing in 21st, Gareth Williams had hopes of retaining the over 50's Llys Fynydd Shield but could only manage 3rd in category this time. Full results here.

NATIONAL TRUST - CHIRK

25 Aug: Debbie Moreton reports: Free to enter National Trust 5K & 10K at beautiful Chirk Castle held on the fourth Sunday of the month. 1st lady & 2nd person home for the 5K. Was going to do another loop and make it 10K but very hot and hilly so went back to the family at the ‘van for a cooked breakfast instead.

PARK RUN TOURISM - ANGLESEY

24 Aug: Debbie Broad reports: Tourist parkrun in Anglesey interesting multi terrain course with some sand dunes thrown in but a new parkrun pb 22.49 so very pleased.

BRAMHALL RUNNERS FOODBANK 5K

21 Aug: Chris Jines reports: On Wednesday I raced the Bramhall Runners Foodbank 5K. I had planned on racing at Ellesmere Port 5K but left it too late to get a place and managed to find this race on the same night, entry was just £6 plus a donation for the local foodbank.Though being advertised as 5K it is actually a 5.5K multi terrain race over stone paths, muddy fields, roads and twice through a river. I had a tough decision whether to opt for racing flats or trail shoes, after choosing flats it got a bit hairy through the muddy field sections but was worth the risk for the benefit on the road sections. After taking the lead early on I managed to stay in front to take the win after being pushed all the way by a young runner from Stockport Harriers but was able to distance him a little in the last 500 metres

Well worth 6 quid and a tin of fruit. Full results here.

Pos	Time	Name	Name	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
1	20.43	Chris	Jones	Male	1	Senior	1
167	Finishers

ELLESMERE PORT RC 5K

21 Aug: Seven from VRAC at EPRC 5k (formerly Capenhurst 5k). A trio of Pettits all performing well with Ed first U20 and a 5 second PB. Tessa McCormick (course record holder) went well placing 2nd lady. Amelia Pettitt and Kate Moulds were also placed high in the field. Great to see Steve Caldwell racng again and delivering a not too shabby time just outside 20 minutes. Full results here.

Pos	Gun time	First name	Last name	Chip Time	Chip Pos	Gender	Pos	Category	Pos
6	16:22	Edward	Pettitt	16:22	7	Male	6	Under 20	1	PB
29	17:34	Tessa	McCormick	17:33	28	Female	2	Senior	1
43	18:09	Amelia	Pettitt	18:07	43	Female	4	Senior	2
53	18:43	Michael	Harrington	18:41	54	Male	48	Vet 45	5
69	19:13	Kate	Moulds	19:11	69	Female	9	Senior	4
91	20:03	Steven	Caldwell	20:02	93	Male	78	Vet 35	17
200	24.22	Richard	Pettitt	23:58	196	Male	153	Vet 55	11
327	Finishers

BIRCHWOOD 10K

18 Aug: Stu Doyle reports:A good turnout for this morning's race which featured an inter counties event between Cheshire, Staffs and North Wales. Quite a number of the VRAC contingent were representing Cheshire and helped them to first place in the ladies and 2nd in the men's competition.The course is relatively flat although is quite twisting as it follows footpaths round Birchwood. Conditions were reasonably good although pretty windy in parts. The most notable performance was Chloe Dooley's 3rd place overall whilst we had 2 age group victories plus a number of placings and in addition a first sub 36 for Aaron Doyle in his 2nd 10k.

Pos	Gun time	First name	Last name	Chip Time	Chip Pos	Gender	Chip	Category	Chip
12	34:13:00	Stuart	Doyle	34:12:00	12	Male	12	MV45	1
25	35:58:00	Aaron	Doyle	35:56:00	25	Male	25	MJ	2	PB
39	37:16:00	Gary	Richardson	37:13:00	38	Male	37	MV45	4
54	38:09:00	Chloe	Dooley	38:07:00	54	Female	3	FS	3
65	38:40:00	Richard	Murray	38:38:00	65	Male	59	MV50	1
72	39:07:00	Katie	Brough	39:03:00	72	Female	8	FV35	2
82	39:36:00	Brian	Dooley	39:33:00	82	Male	70	MV45	11
97	40:27:00	Carolyn	Dooley	40:24:00	98	Female	14	FV45	2
158	44:05:00	Melanie	Johnson	44:00:00	160	Female	25	FV35	6
912	Finishers

EL PORT DE LA SILVA 10K - SPAIN

14 Aug: Holidaying Mel Johnson managed to squeeze in a warm and cheeky 10k race. She said "Should have been a 10k but measured short (5.73 miles) 3rd lady in 43.34".

BRITISH MASTERS TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS - BIRMINGHAM

10 Aug: Top work by Liz Renondeau and Mark Crabtree at the British Masters Track and Field Champs in Birmingham. Liz rounded off a busy week of racing where she had already set 3k and 1500 track PBs, ranking her 2nd and 3rd in the UK W40 rankings, Liz claimed the W40 1500 title at the Alexander stadium meeting. Key message from Liz: "Don’t let age be a barrier. I genuinely thought my track days were behind me until this summer!" Mark Crabtree was also in action picking up silver in the M40 5000 meters. Well done both.

PRESTON 5 MILE

11 Aug: Debbie Broad reports: No other blue and yellows ventured up north for the windy 5 miler but so glad I did with a v50 category win. Full results here.

Pos	Gun time	Name	Name	Chip Time	Gender	Pos	Category	Pos
53	37:04:00	Debbie	Broad	37:02:00	Female	16	FV50	1

PIE AND PEAS 5 MILE - MOULTON

7 Aug: Another brilliant VRAC Pie and Peas event incorporating an additional fun run to celbrate VRAC 25 year anniversary. Thanks to the organisers and all the volunteers. A high quality race with fast and furious competiton throughout the field. A large VRAC contingent in the mix throughout. Some excellent individual performances and team wins for ladies and men. Team and category results plus photos on the main VRAC website here. Category wins for Alex Doyle, Stu Doyle, Gareth Williams, Carolyn Dooley and Jeanette Pope. The two Debbie's also practiced their well rehearsed rehydration strategy. Full results here.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip Time	Gender	Pos	Cat	Pos
2	27:32:00	Alexander	Doyle	27:31:00	Male	2	U20	1
3	27:49:00	Raif	Serif	27:49:00	Male	3	U20	2
4	27:53:00	Nathan	Williams	27:53:00	Male	4	Senior	2
5	28:00:00	Matt	Rowlinson	28:00:00	Male	5	Senior	3
6	28:05:00	Stuart	Doyle	28:04:00	Male	6	Vet 45	1
11	29:39:00	Aaron	Doyle	29:38:00	Male	11	U20	4
12	30:10:00	Gareth	Williams	30:09:00	Male	12	Vet 50	1
13	30:14:00	Gary	Richardson	30:14:00	Male	13	Vet 45	2
17	30:58:00	Robert	Roe	30:56:00	Male	17	Vet 40	3
25	32:16:00	Graham	Miles	32:15:00	Male	25	Vet 50	2
28	32:32:00	Brian	Dooley	32:30:00	Male	28	Vet 45	8
32	32:41:00	Scott	Bamber	32:39:00	Male	32	Vet 50	3
39	33:21:00	Matthew	Scott	33:19:00	Male	37	Vet 45	10
44	33:38:00	Carolyn	Dooley	33:37:00	Female	3	Vet 45	1
46	33:57:00	Anna	Begbie	33:55:00	Female	5	Vet 35	3
58	34:47:00	Bob	Corinaldi	34:44:00	Male	52	Vet 50	8
61	34:57:00	Geoff	Fawkes	34:55:00	Male	55	Vet 45	15
64	35:00:00	Chris	Weedall	34:57:00	Male	58	Vet 40	9
81	36:34:00	John	Moulds	36:29:00	Male	73	Vet 50	9
82	36:35:00	Katie	Dickinson	36:31:00	Female	9	Senior	3
90	37:13:00	John	Clarke	37:09:00	Male	79	Vet 65	2
117	38:43:00	Emma-Louise	Pyatt	38:39:00	Female	17	Senior	7
118	38:53:00	Jeanette	Pope	38:48:00	Female	18	Vet 40	1
123	39:05:00	Steve	Collier	39:00:00	Male	103	Vet 60	5
129	39:28:00	Liz	Gale	39:24:00	Female	22	Vet 40	3
134	39:43:00	Eleanor	Riches	39:36:00	Female	25	Vet 45	6
160	41:18:00	Anthony	Dutton	41:11:00	Male	127	Vet 45	23
162	41:20:00	Debbie	Moreton	41:13:00	Female	35	Vet 50	3
163	41:22:00	Jo	Edwards	41:15:00	Female	36	Vet 55	4
177	41:53:00	Christopher	Griffiths	41:47:00	Male	136	Vet 60	10
193	42:57:00	Barry	Chambers	42:39:00	Male	146	Vet 65	5
207	43:37:00	Nick	Mort	43:28:00	Male	154	Vet 55	25
247	46:00:00	Paula	Manley	45:54:00	Female	72	Vet 40	13
267	47:31:00	Ann	Collier	47:25:00	Female	86	Vet 55	10
276	48:01:00	Debbie	Richardson	47:53:00	Female	95	Vet 50	13
382	Finishers

SALE SIZZLER 5K - RACE 4

8 Aug: Another set of good results from the Sale Sizzler crew. Mark Crabtree within 2 seconds of his PB.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gender	Pos	Cat	Pos	Chip	Finish
10	15:48	Chris	Williams	15:47	10	Male	10	SM	8	8	15:47
29	16:34	Mark	Crabtree	16:34	29	Male	29	Vet 40	3	3	16:34
45	16:59	Chris	Jones	16:58	45	Male	44	SM	32	32	16:58
62	17:24	Elizabeth	Renondeau	17:23	63	Female	2	Vet 40	2	2	17:23
76	17:48	Tessa	McCormick	17:48	77	Female	4	SF	1	1	17:48
113	18:40	Tom	Armstrong	18:30	110	Male	106	Vet 40	12	12	18:30
129	19:06	Michael	Harrington	18:59	128	Male	122	Vet 45	12	12	18:59
139	19:18	Darren	Cottier	19:11	140	Male	131	Vet 45	16	16	19:11
467	25:59:00	Barry	Chambers	25:37	465	Male	341	Vet 65	9	9	25:37
568	Finishers

NORTH WALES HALF MARATHON

4 Aug: Jo Edwards reports: Jo gave herself a full week to prepare for this race by entering it the week before. The first and last miles were on the beach at Conway Morfa, a nice slightly undulating first five miles then a gruelling ascent up Conway Mountain, one little flat bit at the top then the scary slow ( Jo turned her ankle three days before) down the other side with the castle in sight. Not a PB course but great scenery and even better support, not a fast time but really enjoyed it.

Chip time 208.44, 4th FV55, 194th/365.

TEGGS NOSE FELL RACE

3 Aug: Great to hear from Andy Gibbs. Here's his report: On Saturday 3rd August 2019 one Vale Royal athlete ran the Teggs Nose Fell Race. Saturday was a very hot and humid day, surprisingly the route was in very good condition considering how much rain we have had over the last month! From the start the pace was pretty easy and 5 of us split away and ran in a tight bunch. The bunch stayed together through the fields and didn’t start to spread out until the first climb. I was feeling very strong at this point, the first four runners started to pull away on the second climb and down the steep hill the gap increased and I was left in limbo. I kept running hard and on the second ascent of Teggs Nose was caught by another runner, I tried to stay with him but on the tracks leading off the top he left me. I had to really dig in to my reserves as I did everything I could to stay with him. Crossing the last set of fields the wheels came off and he left me and I just hung on for dear life. Running the last mile on the road was so painfully slow. All in all, a disappointing time, my slowest in 14 years, but a great finishing position.

Andy Gibbs, 6th overall 1st Vet 50, 64.54.

BARRY ISLAND 10K

4 Aug: Brian Dooley reports: Mrs D and I made the long trip to the home of Gavin and Stacey (Barry, South Wales) for the Barry Island 10k. We wouldn't normally travel this far for a 10k but Carolyn had been selected to represent England Masters again. In my unofficial role of agent/manager/chauffeur I decided I may as well run also. A great location for a 10k if you're a spectator, less so if you're running!. Described as a 'challenging course' by the race director (we all know what that means!) it certainly lived up to expectation. After a nice flat start things started to get lumpy at 2k with a tough climb from 4k to 5k, this was followed by a mostly downhill section to 8k but then two surprise climbs in the final 1.5k put pay to any quick times. I was happy overall with my run, managing to keep it under 40mins despite the tough course, a good confidence boost in my road to recovery. Carolyn also had a solid run going slightly quicker than her other England appearance at the Birmingham 10k an equally challenging course. Great finishers T-Shirt as a bonus.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
70	39.44	Brian	Dooley	39.34	72	M	60	M45	7
103	41.23	Carolyn	Dooley	41.19	108	F	22	F45	5

SEFTON PARK 5 MILE

31 July: Frequent racer Anna Begbie managed to squeeze in a mid week event and delivered another impressive performance. Including parkruns (20) it looks like she has run in 42 races in first 7 months of 2019! 1.35 events per week. Phew.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gender	Pos	Cat	Pos
74	33:51:00	Anna	Begbie	33:45:00	74	Female	9	Senior	5
458	Finishers

HELENA TIPPING 10K - WREXHAM

28 July:Rain didn't dampen the VRAC spirits in Wrexham on Sunday with PB's for no less than 5 Vale Royal Athletes. The race was won in a staggering 29:57 and with a new faster course promised for 2020 this is one to watch in the future. Chris Williams paid the price for going off with the early blistering pace however still led the club home and finished in the top 3 overall just outside 33 minutes. First PB of the day was an extremely impressive 36:41 by Gary Richardson smashing his old 10k PB by almost 2 minutes. Tommy had a solid run leading home the 'infamous' VRAC train of Lee, Rob and Rick who all recorded new PB's. The final PB of the day and her first sub 60 was from Debbie Richardson making it a clean sweep in their household for the day.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
3	33:07:00	Chris	Williams	33:06:00	Male	3	SM	2
27	36:47:00	Gary	Richardson	36:41:00	Male	27	Vet 45	2	PB
37	37:32:00	Tom	Armstrong	37:28:00	Male	34	Vet 40	9
39	37:45:00	Lee	Carrington	37:40:00	Male	36	SM	19	PB
43	37:55:00	Robert	Roe	37:49:00	Male	40	Vet 40	12	PB
45	37:56:00	Richard	Murray	37:51:00	Male	42	Vet 50	3	PB
107	42:57:00	John	Todd	42:52:00	Male	96	Vet 55	5
118	43:39:00	Anna	Begbie	43:10:00	Female	14	Vet 35	3
224	49:25:00	Eleanor	Riches	48:55:00	Female	51	Vet 45	7
250	50:47:00	Joanne	Edwards	50:16:00	Female	59	Vet 55	3
430	59:49:00	Debbie	Richardson	59:17:00	Female	148	Vet 50	18	PB
590	Finishers

CHIRK CASTLE NATIONAL TRUST 10K

28 July: AOM Bob Corinaldi still recovering from Comrades reports! Every 4th Sunday the National Trust organise a free 10k around Chirk Castle. Its 2 twisty loops of mainly trail with a fair few lumps and bumps along the way. Last Sunday was a typical Welsh summers day (howling gale & raining). At the start I was in a group of 3 which broke away early but I drifted off the back and spent most of the time plodding round on my own expecting to get caught by the pack behind. At the end of lap one this looked likely as there was a small group of people about 30s behind. This gave me the kick up the backside I needed and on lap 2 I dropped the pursuing group then caught and passed the second place runner on the last uphill at about 9k to finish second overall.There’s no official results as it’s a fairly low key event but I can assure you that more than 3 people ran it!

PARKRUN TOURISM - CAFFARELLA, ROME

20/27 July: Two Parkruns at Caffarella for Matt Scott. 2nd place (20.42) on 20 July and 4th place (21.13) on a 'bloomin' hot' 27th July.

SALE SIZZLER 5K - RACE 3

25 July: Possibly the most sizzling Sizzler ever but some cool performances from the 10 gentlemen VRACers. Family Doyle the first 3 back with a close battle between Messrs Armstrong and Hough. Likewise another close one between friends and rivals Haines and Beard. Well done lads. Ladies?

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
7	16:08	Alexander	Doyle	16:07	Male	7	U20	2
22	16:47	Stuart	Doyle	16:46	Male	22	Vet 45	4
57	17:54	Aaron	Doyle	17:52	Male	56	U20	8
83	18:41	Tom	Armstrong	18:35	Male	81	Vet 40	11
85	18:46	Matthew	Hough	18:42	Male	82	Vet 45	12
132	19:57	Darren	Cottier	19:49	Male	124	Vet 45	18
153	20:22	David	Haines	20:10	Male	140	Vet 45	22
163	20:42	Chris	Beard	20:30	Male	149	Vet 50	12
225	22:10	Geoff	Fawkes	21:57	Male	201	Vet 45	32
359	25.42	Barry	Chambers	25.17	Male	291	Vet 65	10
483	Finishers

ALDERLEY PARK TRAIL RACE

17 July: Tony Dutton reports:The inaugural Alderley Park Trail Race took place on Wednesday evening. A 2 lap course of approximately 5 miles within the hidden grounds of Alderley Park which was part trail and part road made for a exciting course. I would definitely recommend this race for next year, well organised and marshalled, the race sold out within 48 hours this year. Chairman Stuart Doyle lead home the Vale Royal 4 finishing in 4th place with a time of 28:20. Son Aaron was 1st U20. A solid run by Debbie Moreton finishing 10th in her age category was another brilliant run on the night with a total of 430 finishers.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Chip Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
4	28:21:00	Stuart	Doyle	28:20:00	4	Male	4	Vet 45	1
13	31:11:00	Aaron	Doyle	31:09:00	15	Male	13	U20	1
113	39:41:00	Anthony	Dutton	39:37:00	120	Male	92	Vet 45	15
164	42:08:00	Debbie	Moreton	42:03:00	169	Female	37	Vet 45	10
430	Finishers

SALE SIZZLER 5K - RACE 2

11 July: Another good turnout and excellent performances from VRAC. Mark Crabtree is in good form and equalled his PB. Liz Renondeau had a good race on the track earlier in the week and backed this up coming in second lady and first F40. Chloe Broad had another good race and mum Debbie posted an impressive PB. Looks like messrs Cottier, Haines and Beard had quite a battle with the latter two posting identical gun and chip times!

Pos	Gun	No.	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
15	16:33	827	Mark	Crabtree	16:32	15	Male	15	Vet 40	3	PB=
46	17:22	776	Elizabeth	Renondeau	17:20	46	Female	2	Vet 40	1
108	18:51	692	Chloe	Broad	18:46	110	Female	7	Senior Female	4
109	18:51	720	Matthew	Hough	18:36	99	Male	102	Vet 45	11
144	19:35	757	Darren	Cottier	19:26	142	Male	133	Vet 45	14
175	20:06	655	David	Haines	19:58	179	Male	161	Vet 45	19
177	20:06	657	Chris	Beard	19:58	180	Male	162	Vet 50	15
311	22:25	690	Debbie	Broad	22:12	313	Female	49	Vet 50	5	PB
446	24.48	684	Barry	Chambers	24.16	435	Male	349	Vet 65	9
603	Finishers

NORTWICH FESTIVAL OF RUNNING 5K and 10K

7 July: Another excellent event staged by our friends at Northwich Running Club. A 2k Fun run and a 5K and 10k trail run in and around Carey Park. Good representation in all races by VRAC. The 5k saw Messrs Ainsworth and WIlliams (senior) take 2nd and 3rd with Mel Johnson 1st lady. In the 10K Williams (junior) repeated his victory from last year with Gary Richardson in 3rd. Carolyn Dooley took 1st lady and Anna Begbie took ist U40. It seems Mel Johnson doubled up and raced both 5K and 10k back to back finishing 4th lady and second in her category!!

5K
Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
2	18:00	James	Ainsworth	17:59	2	M	2	Over 40	1
3	18:56	Gareth	Williams	18:55	3	M	3	Over 50	1
11	22:26	Melanie	Johnson	22:24	11	F	1	Under 40	1
26	24:40	Daniel	Richardson	24:40	26	M	22	Under 40	14
144	Finishers

10k
Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
1	36:54:00	Nathan	Williams	36:53:00	1	M	1	Under 40	1
3	39:15:00	Gary	Richardson	39:13:00	3	M	3	Over 40	1
11	41:42:00	Rob	Mcbain	41:41:00	11	M	11	Over 40	4
14	43:09:00	Carolyn	Dooley	43:08:00	14	F	1	Over 40	1
18	44:38:00	Anna	Begbie	44:34:00	18	F	2	Under 40	1
26	45:49:00	Mel	Johnson	45:46:00	26	F	4	Under 40	2
85	54:20:00	Christopher	Griffiths	54:17:00	85	M	68	Over 60	6
242	Finishers

ALDERLEY EDGE 10K

7 July: Stu Doyle and Debbie Moreton report: Six of us did this mornings race - an out and back course with a few undulations but reasonably quick and the conditions were pretty good although it did get warm towards the end. Stu Doyle under 34 mins for the first time in 18 months with 33.55 to win his age group. Matt Hough had a storming run to finish in 38.35 which he was delighted with. Debbie Moreton (49.29) , Jo Edwards (50.24) , Jayne Lomax (53.10) and Debbie Richardson (breaking the hour mark in 59.39) also ran and seemed to enjoy themselves - particularly the glasses of prosecco they were all drinking afterwards!!

Debbie Moreton adds: Thankfully not as hot as last year’s race being cloudy with a slight breeze at the start, however by the time I was halfway round the clouds cleared and it became a bit of a scorcher. Luckily there appeared, like an oasis, a pop-up pub “Air of the Dog” at which Debbie Richardson was insistent that we celebrate her PB with a glass of Prosecco. Would have been rude not to!

To pre-empt complaints it can be confirmed the ladies have been reported to to committee for having too much fun. The trial continues.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
13	33:59:00	Stuart	Doyle	33:55:00	13	M	13	M45	1
58	38:44:00	Matthew	Hough	38:35:00	59	M	55	M45	5	PB
516	49:51:00	Debbie	Moreton	49:29:00	553	F	77	M45	8
576	50:46:00	Jo	Edwards	50:24:00	602	F	93	M55	5
711	53:32:00	Jayne	Lomax	53:10:00	770	F	142	M50	9
1210	01:01:44	Debbie	Richardson	59:38:00	1187	F	388	M50	28	PB
1818	Finishers

FOREST PARK LADIES 5K

3 July: Lisa Meadows reports: A lovely sunny evening saw 182 ladies take part in the 27th annual Forest Park Ladies 5k at Birchwood on Wednesday 3rd July. Just myself and Val Dunne taking part in VRAC colours this year along a single lap course that offers a bit of everything, firm parkland paths, wooded trail and a grassy start and finish with a few twists and turns for good measure! Whilst Val hadn’t run this race before and so quite naturally had a few pre-race nerves, she needn’t have worried, completing the race in 22:13 to finish 8th overall. and also secure a fantastic V60 age category win. For me this was my second year running at this event with recent training sessions paying off and helping me to a course PB of 22:43, an improvement of 24s on last year and a V45 age category win too! Definitely a race I would recommend, a lovely friendly race for runners of all abilities, with great support along the course..

Pos	Name	Time	Cat	Cat Pos
8	Val Dunne	22.13	V60	1
11	Lisa Meadows	22.43	V45	1
182	Finishers

TRIERER HALF MARATHON - GERMANY

30 June: Holidaying Craig Sephton couldn't resist. Here's his report.

I took the opportunity to hop over the border from Luxembourg into Germany on Sunday morning and ran the Trierer Half Marathon. The organisers had already moved the start time forward as temperatures later in the day were 37’c! Thankfully In the morning I just had to contend with the high 20’s. It’s a 2 lap city race, the atmosphere, German brass bands and impromptu showers provided by the residents and spectators made this sight seeing tour in my trainers one to remember!

Chip time 1:32:35 50th placed overall & 6th in age group

BMC GRAND PRIX - WATFORD

29 June: Congratulations to Chris Perry who blazed away from his competitors to record a new 3k steeplechase best of 8:44.55. Full results here. Well done comrade Perry. The story behind the vest is yet to unfold.

SALE SIZZLER 5K SERIES RACE 1

27 June: The first in the summertime 4 race series with weather to suit. A good start for 11 VRACers. Chris Williams first home for VRAC with a great battle between father Doyle and his two sons. All very close wth Alex taking the bragging rights with an U20 course record. Another solid performance from Chloe Broad taking 2nd lady. All rounded off with the evergreen Barry Chambers.

Pos	Gun	No.	Name	Last name	Name	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos	Finish
6	15:38	335	Chris	Williams	15:37	Male	6	SM	6	15:37
12	16:04	254	Alexander	Doyle	16:04	Male	12	U20	1	16:04
22	16:24	252	Stuart	Doyle	16:23	Male	22	Vet 45	2	16:23
35	16:48	263	Aaron	Doyle	16:46	Male	35	U20	4	16:46
91	18:26	242	Tom	Armstrong	18:18	Male	87	Vet 40	9	18:18
131	19:22	271	Chloe	Broad	19:17	Female	6	SF	2	19:17
135	19:31	269	Darren	Cottier	19:23	Male	128	Vet 45	14	19:23
152	19:53	226	David	Haines	19:44	Male	143	Vet 45	17	19:44
154	19:57	230	Helen	Harrington	19:52	Female	11	Vet 35	3	19:52
180	20:17	225	Chris	Beard	20:08	Male	163	Vet 50	15	20:08
376	24:55	257	Barry	Chambers	24:22	Male	293	Vet 65	8	24.22
520	Finishers

NORTH CHESHIRE 5K SERIES RACE 5 - HOLLINS GREEN

23 June: Four regulars at the final race of the series. Congratulations to recent member Anna Begbie who was in the prizes with a very worthy series win in the F35 age category.

Pos	Gun	Name	AG
50	21:26	Anna Begbie	V35
85	24:21:00	Mary Tavener	V55
101	26:09:00	Anthony Dutton	V45
136	Finishers

PARKRUN TOURISM - ROME

23 June: Geoff Fawkes reports: Two options available and I chose the one nearest to where I was staying, called Caffarella in the south eastern quadrant of the city. Set off on a 3 mile jog in 27 degree heat (with my mate Ed from Sunderland Harriers) and arrived at 8.50 to find a small gathering of about 20 locals, half a dozen Brits (including us) and about 5 Australians. The briefing was done in Italian and English and we were off bang on 9 onto the relatively flat dusty trail course (2 laps), which was very well marked out with signs, cones and nearly as many Marshals as runners! Finished 5th out of a field of only 31 (Ed was 4th) and then we jogged backed the 3 miles to our apartment for a well earned Italian breakfast.

COLSHAW 10K

23 June: Another very well organised Mike Harrington Cute Fruits event at this years Colshaw Hall 10k helped by good weather and a great venue. The course is pretty fast and flat other than for 2 reasonably tough hills at 1m and 4.5m. An excellent VRAC contingent who featured heavily among the prizes with men's and ladies individual titles thanks to strong runs from Chris Williams and Sarah Murphy. Three out of the top 4 men were wearing the blue and yellow quarters of VRAC. Sarah Murphy, Gemma Barnett and Mel Johnson won the ladies team prize which resulted in a clean sweep after Chris Williams, Raif Serif and Stu Doyle took the men's title. There were age category wins for Raif Serif, Stu Doyle and Sarah Murphy and a 10k debut for Debbie Richardson. It was also good to see Vincent Jensen back racing for VRAC after a lay off with injury. Full results here.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
1	33:03:00	Chris	Williams	33:03:00	1	Male	1	SM	1
3	34:18:00	Raif	Serif	34:18:00	3	Male	3	U21	1
4	34:24:00	Stuart	Doyle	34:23:00	4	Male	4	V45	1
15	36:46:00	James	Ainsworth	36:44:00	15	Male	15	V40	3
28	38:51:00	Rob	McBain	38:48:00	27	Male	28	V40	5
32	39:04:00	Sarah	Murphy	39:02:00	32	Female	1	V40	1
37	39:47:00	Matthew	Hough	39:26:00	35	Male	36	V45	7
53	40:56:00	Ian	Simpson	40:48:00	54	Male	52	V50	6
69	42:20:00	Gemma	Barnett	42:16:00	70	Female	5	V35	3
73	42:40:00	Vincent	Jensen	42:32:00	77	Male	68	SM	28
87	43:30:00	Melanie	Johnson	43:20:00	91	Female	8	V35	4
110	44:30:00	John	Todd	44:14:00	114	Male	99	V55	7
119	44:56:00	Paul	Jackson	44:44:00	122	Male	107	SM	43
192	47:22:00	Lisa	Meadows	47:06:00	197	Female	23	V45	6
295	50:32:00	Debbie	Moreton	50:10:00	311	Female	52	V45	11
303	50:39:00	Joanne	Edwards	50:16:00	313	Female	56	V55	5
340	51:39:00	Jayne	Lomax	51:17:00	353	Female	76	V50	10
723	01:02:08	Debbie	Richardson	01:00:39	709	Female	261	V50	30
1071	Finishers

U20/U23 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - BEDFORD

22/23 June: Brian Dooley reports: Having achieved the qualifying time over 5k at the Cardiff 5k and also at Christleton Chloe travelled to Bedford to compete in the U23 national championships. Conditions for racing were far from ideal with a strong wind and high humidity and the race was inevitably quite tactical. In a quality field which included Jodie Judd, Chloe who had the slowest time on paper had a strong race finishing 6th overall in a time of 18:09 and was very happy with her performance and thoroughly enjoyed her first exposure to top class track racing. Also competing at the championships in the U20 class was soon to be senior Ben Lee, Ben made it through to the 800m final and finished in 7th place with a new PB of 1:50:52 in a race which saw the British U20 record fall.

TOUGH TEAM - TATTENHALL

21 June: Classic Friday night 'fun' at Tough Team. Mark Crabtree, George Thompson and Ed Shepherd made a formidable trio and secured an excellent 2nd place overall. Lee Carrington was part of the first mixed team. Many other VRAC runners in various teams can be seen in the results here.

MEERBROOK 15K

22 June: Fantastic to see 6 from VRAC representing Cheshire with county debuts for Rick Murray, Gary Richardson, Anna Begbie and Debbie Broad. Hot weather and brutal ascent/descents, allegedly the 4th hilliedt course in Britain, made this a tough, tough race. Great performances from all helping Cheshire to 4th place in the mens and 3rd in the womens team events in a very strong field. Category wins for Rick Murray and Gemma Barnett. Full result here.

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
10	Chris Jones	MS	3	59.31
25	Gary Richardson	M45	2	1.02.05
35	Rick Murray	M50	1	1.04.41
50	Gemma Barnett	F35	1	1.07.21	6th Lady
84	Anna Begbie	F35	4	1.12.07
94	John Todd	M55	4	1.13.44
166	Debbie Broad	F50	3	1.25.18
255	Finishers

BMAF 5k ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS - HORWICH

16 June:A small but committed group made their way to Horwich for the BMAF 5k champs and encountered the usual high quality fields in all age groups. The ladies did superbly to come away with 2 individual bronze medals plus an excellent them gold. Times were a bit down for all as the course contains 3 laps with a decent hill on each plus a strong wind on the long back straight. Results here.

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time	Gen Pos
13	Stu Doyle	M45	5	16.29	13
40	Liz Renondeau	F40	3	17.57	3
53	Sarah Murphy	F40	5	18.27	5
74	Carolyn Dooley	F45	3	19.47	13
128	Finishers

STONE 10K

16 June: Two VRAC ladies helped the Cheshire team to second place at Stone. Chloe Broad was 3rd lady overall and first Cheshire counter with a PB and improving on her recent Manchester 10k time by nearly a minute to go sub 39 minutes. Great to see the new Mrs Olliver enjoying her comeback and racing again, winning her age category... and some alcohol. Perhaps to be shared with Mr Olliver. Perhaps not.

Full results here.

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Chip
42	Chloe Broad	SF		38.41	3rd Lady	PB
64	Katie Olliver	F35	1	40.20	5th Lady
517	Finishers

MARPLE 10K TRAIL RACE

16 June: Debbie Moreton reports Jayne Lomax,Jo Edwards and Debbie Moreton thoroughly enjoyed this trail race. Scenic, lots of mud, puddles and hills. Lovely lot Marple Runners, very friendly and supportive and very generous with the goody bag. Even a copy of the Beano and looking at their strip I understand the connection. Rather epic medal too. Have to admit to a huge schoolgirl error though as left my trail shoes in car at Jayne’s house and whilst wearing my road shoes nearly ended up going for a swim in the canal! Jayne 3rd in age category, Jo 1st and myself 2nd.

Full results here.

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Gun	Chip
115	JO EDWARDS	Female 55-59	1	00:54:03	00:53:56
126	JAYNE LOMAX	Female 50-54	3	00:54:43	00:54:37
131	DEBBIE MORETON	Female 45-49	2	00:55:07	00:55:02
288	Finishers

PARK RUN TOURISM - HERMANUS, S AFRICA

15 June: Bob Corinaldi reports: Bit more Parkrun Tourism. Went to Hermanus parkrun and started at the back because I've got a stinking cold and didn't want to get carried away or home for that matter. Finished 14th from 245 runners in 26.22 on a very twisty / technical course!

NORTH CHESHIRE 5K SERIES RACE 4 - DUNHAM MASSEY

13 June: A great turnout for the 4th race in the series with 18 VRACers on the start line. Some good performances with age category wins for Stu Doyle, Aaron Doyle and Andrea Hilldrup who also clocked a PB. One more race to go in the series at Hollins Green 23 June. Full results here.

Pos	Name	Cat	Time	cat pos
5	Stu Doyle	M45	16.32	1
8	Chris Jones	SM	17.02
9	Aaron Doyle	MJ	17.19	1
21	Gary Richardson	M45	18.10	4
25	Matthew Hough	M45	18.24	5
32	Andrea Hilldrup	F40	18.41	1	PB
46	Tom Armstrong	M40	19.21	6
69	Anna Begbie	F35	20.26	3
71	Geoff Fawkes	M45	20.32	18
72	Mel Johnson	F35	20.34	4
137	Mary Tavener	F55	23.21	3
155	Debbie Moreton	F40	23.59	6
162	Jo Edwards	F55	24.12	6
167	Jayne Lomax	F50	24.20	5
175	Tony Dutton	M45	24.53	25
185	Oliver Johnson	MJ	25.20	8
224	Debbie Richardson	F50	28.45	11	PB
242	Finishers

COMRADES MARATHON 'UP RUN' - DURBAN

9 June: Bob Corinaldi reports: This was part 2 of my 50th birthday present to myself. I did the Comrades 'down run' last year but apparently that's only half way. So I returned to Durban to complete this years 'up run' and taste the final part of my 50th birthday treat to myself. Also if you complete your first 2 Comrades in succession you get an extra medal called a 'Back to back'. That's a once in a lifetime deal that fools like me can't resist!

The Comrades has a huge following in South Africa & spectators turn out along the entire route to support the runners and offer food & drinks, salt, massage, physio etc, which is in addition to the official aid stations placed every few km along the route. The race itself is also streamed live on national TV throughout the day. The up run is shorter at only 87km long (it was just over 90km last year on the down run).The up run is exactly as you might imagine, generally uphill for about 68km but with plenty of downhills in there as well so the climbs can be quite brutal. The only flat part is the racecourse at the finish which is only a few hundred metres long. For a decent course description click here.

All started well as it was relatively cool but very humid in Durban. As planned I took my time and held back at the start, letting the over enthusiastic runners disappear into the distance. I plodded steadily up Cowies and onto Fields hill which came sooner than expected. The 4km steep climb can make or break your day. All good up Fields although I did get passed by the 9 hour bus near the top but I decided not to go with them. Onto Bothas hill, leaving a flower on Arthur's seat, wishing him good morning and and onto the halfway point in 4.35 & feeling ok. Inchanga beconed which is a long undulating climb passing through the 42km to go marker and beyond. A few amusing comments made by runners at this point were;

1. 'I love this point as we only have a marathon left to finish!'

2. 'If I felt this bad at the start of a marathon I would go home!'

On the steady climb to Umlaas Road (the highest point) the sun came out and things started to hurt. By Umlaas, the gels & percy pigs wouldn't go down and so the latter stages were fuelled by coke & energade. The energade turns everything bright orange so it looked like I'd spilt fake tan all over my hands. Things were turning ugly! Down to Little Pollys and the sub 10hr finish is looking doubtful as Little Pollys is a speed bump compared to the real Polly Shorts.

At the top of Little Pollys the supporters take great pleasure in reminding us that were about to take on the real thing and we'd better get ready. Up we go, I get plenty of encouragement from seasoned vets with many Comrades under their belt, it looks like my back to back medal is in the bag, but can I get the new sub 10hr medal the Robert Mitshali.

Once over Polly's just stay on your feet and roll downhill to the finish, legs absolutely battered. Turns out I managed a bit of a sprint finish and crossed the line in 9:47:46. Very happy/relieved. In general I had a much better run than last year although both runs are wildly different. Yes it hurt but at no point did I feel that a finish was doubtful. That was the end of a journey that started in June 2017 with training for Chester Marathon as my first qualifier, ending a few days ago on 9th June 2019. The Comrades medals are probably the smallest out there but definitely the hardest won.

Special thanks must go to my long suffering wife Ashlin for her understanding and support as I've spent the past 2 years running at every opportunity although she has had 2 holidays out of it so it's not all bad!

PARK RUN TOURISM - DURBAN

8 June: Ahead of Bob Corinaldi's epic 2nd Comrades Ultra marathon he and Mrs C took a in a Park Run in Durban. "North Beach parkrun for a gentle stretch prior to the big one. 1999 runners, swelled by the influx of Comrades runners but this one is regularly over 1000 runners." Winner did 16.24! Results here.

NADEN VALLEY - ROCHDALE

8 June: Tony Dutton off piste: Picture from today's race at Naden Valley Rochdale. Not sure I'm happy with the Photographer position on this, I'll be honest, not my finest hour! Stylish effort Tony.

RACE THE HORSE - WALES

8 June: The Man versus Horse Marathon is an annual race over 22 miles (35 km), where runners compete against riders on horseback. The race — which is a shorter distance than an official marathon road race — takes place in the Welsh town of Llanwrtyd Wells every June. Brian Dooley reports: Well folks I survived, 22.5 miles, 4000ft of ascent and I beat 5 horses, also snook under my target time of 4 hours with a finish time of 3 hrs 47mins. Phenomenal event and experience, brutal but thoroughly enjoyable at the same time and great sense of camaraderie between both runners and riders - oh yes and I got a cheeky snap with Sophie Raworth who finished 10mins behind me. (Wow... respect Sophie!)

NORTH CHESHIRE 5K SERIES RACE 3 - BOWDEN

6 June: Debbie Moretn reports: The rain stopped and the sun shone. Good VRAC turnout. Age category wins for Andrea Hilldrup, Anna Begbie and Mary Tavener. Ladies team 2nd again!

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Finish Time

20	Adrea Hilldrup	F40	1	19.07	2nd lady
41	Anna Begbie	F35	1	20.27
44	Mel Johnson	F35	2	20.36
51	Geoff Fawkes	M45	9	20.50
59	John Clarke	M65	2	21.22
77	Tony Dutton	M45	11	23.05
86	Mary Tavener	F55	1	23.43
97	Debbie Moreton	F45	4	24.14
99	Jayne Lomax	F50	3	24.20
165	Finishers

NORTH CHESHIRE 5K SERIES RACE 2 - BIRCHWOOD 5K

30 May: Full results here.

1st M Ed Shepard SM. 1st. 15:06 rumoured to be new course record

17th M Gary Richardson V45 2nd. 18:31
47th M Geoff Hawkes V45 5th. 21:18
82nd M Tony Dutton V45. 12th 24:35
90th M. Barry Chambers V65. 26:13

4th Male team out of 15 teams ( 4 to count )

3rd F Katie Moulds SF 2nd. 19:06
8th. F Anna Begbie V35 1st 20:26
27th F. Mary Tavener V55 2nd 23:48
30th F Debbie Morton V45 5th 24:26
35th F. Jayne Lomax V50 5th. 24:50
51st F. Debbie Richardson V50 7th 28:42

2nd and 7th Female teams out of 11 teams ( 3 counters )

BLACKPOOL 10 MILE

25May: Great run from Helen Harrington winning the ladies race overall in 1.07.24 (gun). "Sunny and Fun! Came home with lots of booze and chocolate.

First race win in around 13 years and 12s off my PB at Blackpool 10m this morning."

MANCHESTER 10K

19 May:

Name	Pos	Finish Time
Raif Serif	38	00:33:03
Chloe Broad	262	00:39:41
Melanie Johnson	419	00:41:34
Ella Ferguson	2562	00:49:33
Sharon Wilson	2875	00:50:11
Geoff Davies	9953	01:02:45
Lydia Davies	9962	01:02:46
David Humphreys	16154	01:19:48

NORTH CHESHIRE 5K SERIES RACE 1 - DUNHAM MASSEY 5K

23 May: The hard way round! Full results here.

MEN:

22nd M     Gary Richardson.         18:38.     V45. 2nd
31st M.     Tommy Armstrong.      19:05.     V40. 3rd
82nd M.   John Clark.                 21:40.     V65. 1st
116th M.    Tony Dutton                23:29.     V45 14th
LADIES:
9th F.   Anna Begbie.                   20:50.     V35
33rd F. Joanne Edwards.            24:09.     V55 4th
34th F.   Debbie Morton.              24:16.     V45 7th
36th F. Jayne Lomax.                 24:34.   V50 4th
56th F.   Debbie Richardson.        28:59.     V50. 9th

CHESTER HALF MARATHON

19 May:

Pos	Gun time	No.	First name	Last name	Chip Time	Chip Pos	Gender	Pos	Category	Pos
7	01:13:34	14	Chris	Williams	01:13:34	7	Male	7	MSEN	5
109	01:25:52	1046	Rob	McBain	01:25:43	107	Male	103	MV40	17
153	01:28:09	5247	Gemma	Barnett	01:28:01	152	Female	8	FV35	2
188	01:29:39	410	Chris	Swift	01:29:31	189	Male	179	MV35	38
383	01:36:05	420	John	Todd	01:35:18	370	Male	360	MV55	9
579	01:40:09	696	Paul	Jackson	01:39:36	591	Male	519	MV35	102

ANDERTON MULTI -TERRAIN 10K

19 May: Full resuts here.

8th M Gary Richardson          39:46      V45 1st
3rd F.   Anna Begbie.              44:21.     V35. 1st
17th F. Jayne Lomax.             54:17.     V50 3rd
52nd F. Debbie Richardson.   1:02:31      V50 9th

BIRMINGHAM 10K

26 May: Brian Dooley reports: Sarah Murphy, Liz Renondeau, and Carolyn Dooley swapped their Vale Royal vests for England ones at the Birmingham 10k with Chloe gaining an elite entry making up the foursome. At 5k all 4 looked on for impressive times but a tough uphill second half and headwind finished off with a final 1k of twists and turns including a 180 degree turn around a traffic cone meant times ultimately suffered. Nonetheless a day for all to be proud particularly for Sarah, Carolyn, and Liz rewarded for their commitment and representing England topped off by Liz taking the V35 prize.

Name	Pos	Finish Time
Elizabeth Renondeau	86	00:37:12
Chloe Dooley	100	00:37:53
Sarah Murphy	141	00:39:20
Carolyn Dooley	224	00:41:24

CHRISTLETON 5K

17 May: As usual there was a great VRAC turnout for one of the fastest 5ks in the region. There were numerous PBs including Matt Rowlinson getting agonisingly close to a sub 16, Chloe Dooley shaving even more time off her recent 5k PB and taking second place. This helped the women's team to a great victory in a traditionally strong race. Good to see the spring marathoners back out racing the shorter stuff and great to see Amelia Pettitt running well and injury free. Full Results

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
19	15:40	Andrew	Miles	15:39	19	Male	19	Senior Men	15
35	16:05	Matt	Rowlinson	16:02	35	Male	35	Senior Men	23
52	16:17	Stuart	Doyle	16:16	53	Male	52	Over 45	5
61	16:29	Edward	Pettitt	16:27	62	Male	61	Under 20	7
66	16:36	Mark	Crabtree	16:32	65	Male	66	Over 40	11
67	16:37	Aaron	Doyle	16:34	67	Male	67	Under 20	9
96	17:20	Gareth	Williams	17:15	96	Male	95	Over 50	2
117	17:50	Chloe	Dooley	17:48	119	Female	2	Senior Women	1
124	17:57	Robert	Roe	17:49	122	Male	121	Over 40	18
127	17:59	Sarah	Murphy	17:58	128	Female	4	Over 40	2
130	18:06	Amelia	Pettitt	18:00	129	Female	6	Senior Women	3
137	18:12	James	Griffiths	18:07	134	Male	130	Senior Men	68
141	18:19	Lewis	Brown	18:13	142	Male	133	Senior Men	71
146	18:24	Richard	Murray	18:17	144	Male	137	Over 50	6
175	19:00	Kate	Moulds	18:56	178	Female	13	Senior Women	6
177	19:02	Graham	Miles	18:57	179	Male	163	Over 50	7
185	19:08	Andrea	Hilldrup	18:59	182	Female	17	Over 40	4
195	19:22	Carolyn	Dooley	19:17	198	Female	23	Over 45	3
203	19:27	Brian	Dooley	19:24	208	Male	179	Over 45	26
211	19:36	Helen	Harrington	19:30	215	Female	25	Over 35	6
242	20:14	Hollie	Carrington	20:02	241	Female	38	Senior Women	14
245	20:15	Lee	Carrington	20:02	242	Male	204	Senior Men	95
246	20:17	David	Haines	20:07	248	Male	205	Over 45	33
264	20:46	Geoff	Fawkes	20:33	264	Male	215	Over 45	35
331	22:53	Debbie	Broad	22:36	329	Female	69	Over 50	4
350	23:35	Anthony	Dutton	23:17	349	Male	272	Over 45	44
380	25:18:00	Richard	Pettitt	25:09:00	382	Male	287	Over 55	20

MIDDLEWICH 5K

12 May: A strong turnout for Vale Royal in this reasonably new race as the club took four of the top five places. The men took the team prize and the women took the women's team prize with Mel Johnson claiming 2nd lady and Debbie Richardson with a strong PB. Full Results.

SANDSTONE TRAIL RACE

11 May: Bob Corinaldi sent us this report on the full Sandstone Trail Race:

A small Vale Royal contingent took on the Sandstone Challenge on Saturday 11th May and an ‘interesting' day was had by all.

The Sandstone Challenge is organised by Helsby Running Club and takes in the full Sandstone trail from Whitchurch to Frodsham which is about 33 and a bit miles depending upon how good your navigation skills are! As this was Gary's first foray into ultra running, shoe choice was critical. Thankfully he brought several pairs of road and trail shoes with him to try and he was seen jogging round the car park sporting various types of running shoes trying to make up his mind. I'm sure at one point he may also have tried a pair of Debbie's high heels. He eventually settled on road shoes by the way!

As the run started, the early morning mist lifted and Lee disappeared into the distance. He had a cracking run, breaking the 5 hour barrier, finishing in 2nd place in a time of 4:58. Given the number of stiles and the ground conditions this was a fantastic performance and he took 20 minutes off his time from the previous year. Gary was hot on Lee’s tail eventually finishing in 7th place in a time of 5:31 claiming that he should have stuck with trail shoes after all! Bob was on for a sub 6 hour finish until two schoolboy errors saw him get lost twice on a course he allegedly knew like the back of his hand! The navigational blunders dashed any hope of a sub 6 and he finished in 18th place in a time of 6:02 & still managing to shave a few minutes from last years time. Matt got off to a flying start but seemed to suffer in the heat towards the end and followed Bob into the finish (probably not a good idea) finishing in 19th place also in a time of 6:02. Sophie who is preparing for an Ultra later this year and true to form had a few falls but a steady run given the conditions, finishing in 29th place in a time of 6:29 John has obviously kept both his stamina and the ability to run on a full stomach between aid stations (see photo) finishing in 39th place with a time of 6:51. Full Results

ROUND THE RUNWAY - MOBBERLEY

7 May: Tony Dutton reports: Perfect conditions for Wilmslow Running Clubs spring Round the Runway 5 mile trail race. Myself and Debbie Moreton took on the event this year that usually sells out within a few weeks. This was my 2nd time running the race and Debbie's first, would definitely recommend this race, which has one rather steep climb after crossing underneath the runway through the Bollon tunnel. Full results here.

Name	Pos	Time
Tony Dutton	139	40.15
Debie Moreton	147	40.46
Finishers	331

KESWICK HALF MARATHON

5 May: Bob Corinaldi reports: Made my annual visit to the Keswick Half Marathon over the weekend. Much cooler conditions than last year but I still got sunburn! Made a conservative start, not wanting to get tripped in the melee at the start and I was also wary of the previous days 'easy' run..12.8 hilly miles which included an enthusiastic Parkrun. From the first mile onwards it just got better and better. Went really well through the hilly first 8 miles and found another gear when I hit the road back to Keswick at Grange. Target was to equal or sneak under last year's 1:44 but managed 1:36:37 which took 5 minutes from my previous best around that course. Old age seems to be working out!

Position 86

Time 1.36.37

CARDIFF 5K

5 May: 'Proud Dad' Brian Dooley reports: On the back of her performances at the Northern X-Country champs and recent 10K PB at Arley Chloe was selected to run on the Northern team at the Cardiff 5K. Perfect conditions for racing and despite a tough course there were lots of fast times and PB’s, Chloe didn’t disappoint posting a huge 48 second PB and going sub 18 for the first time with 17:57. The young Northern team came third overall only being beaten by more senior teams from Wales and Northern Ireland. Looks like mum and dad will be bringing up the rear at Christleton in a few weeks time

MID CHESHIRE 5K (SPRING) - KINGSLEY

26 April: Last Friday saw the return of the Mid Cheshire 5k and great support from VRAC again with 29 runners taking part. Many noteable performances across the board including 3rd overall for Ed Shepherd in 14.20, PB for Alex Doyle, great debut at this distance for John Humphries with a 15.38, and a 16.47 PB for Chris Jones just 3 weeks after the Manchester Marathon. There were PBs also for Liz Renondeau, Kate Moulds and Hollie Carrington. Full Results

Entry to the summer staging event is here.

Pos	Gun time	No.	First name	Last name	Chip Time	Chip Pos	Gender	Pos	Category	Pos	3K	Finish
3	14:20	832	Ed	Shepherd	14:20	3	Male	3	SM	3	8:40	5:40
41	15:33	200	Alexander	Doyle	15:31	41	Male	41	Under 21	4	9:17	6:14	PB
42	15:36	141	Andrew	Miles	15:34	42	Male	42	SM	35	9:11	6:23	PB
44	15:40	190	John	Humphries	15:38	44	Male	44	Under 21	5	9:20	6:18	Debut
96	16:30	208	Stuart	Doyle	16:28	99	Male	94	Vet 45	7	9:48	6:39
116	16:47	137	Chris	Jones	16:43	119	Male	114	SM	76	9:59	6:43	PB
146	17:05	233	James	Ainsworth	17:01	147	Male	141	Vet 40	16	10:10	6:51
151	17:11	838	Elizabeth	Renondeau	17:09	151	Female	7	Vet 35	2	10:11	6:57	PB
177	17:37	354	Gareth	Williams	17:31	177	Male	165	Vet 50	3	10:29	7:02
213	18:05	358	Robert	Roe	17:58	209	Male	190	Vet 40	23	10:50	7:08
247	18:45	398	Graham	Miles	18:38	248	Male	217	Vet 50	8	11:09	7:28
269	19:07	421	Kate	Moulds	18:59	269	Female	40	SF	21	11:09	7:50	PB
277	19:18	440	scott	bamber	19:07	276	Male	234	Vet 50	10	11:26	7:40
284	19:25	243	George	Thompson	19:20	286	Male	240	SM	136	10:00	9:19
292	19:33	413	Andrea	Hilldrup	19:23	292	Female	48	Vet 40	6	11:28	7:54
325	20:09	644	Melanie	Johnson	20:01	329	Female	51	Vet 35	8	12:04	7:57
336	20:21	474	Paul	Davies	20:04	332	Male	283	Vet 45	34	11:55	8:09
342	20:26	507	Hollie	Carrington	20:18	346	Female	54	SF	26	12:04	8:13	PB
361	20:48	481	Geoff	Fawkes	20:41	368	Male	302	Vet 45	37	12:18	8:23
365	20:54	621	Paul	Jackson	20:36	362	Male	305	SM	158	12:22	8:14
377	21:09	448	Craig	Todhunter	20:53	378	Male	314	Vet 45	41	12:18	8:34
385	21:17	573	Clara	Pettitt	21:07	388	Female	66	SF	31	12:33	8:33
387	21:18	556	John	Clarke	21:01	385	Male	321	Vet 65	3	12:40	8:20
414	22:23	818	Gary	Weedall	22:11	421	Male	341	Vet 55	23	13:07	9:03
439	23:06	594	steve	collier	22:49	440	Male	354	Vet 60	7	13:34	9:15
472	24:24:00	606	Jayne	Lomax	24:05:00	477	Female	98	Vet 50	7	14:17	9:48
474	24:24:00	661	Barry	Chambers	24:00:00	471	Male	376	Vet 65	6	14:35	9:25
525	27:21:00	677	ann	collier	26:52:00	523	Female	126	Vet 55	6	16:16	10:36
544	29:43:00	672	Paul	Hudson	29:14:00	544	Male	406	Vet 65	12	17:32	11:41
563	Finishers

VIRGIN MONEY LONDON MARATHON

28 April: Good weather conditions for this years race with 7 VRACers taking on the challenge. Tommy Armstrong threatened the 3 hour barrier but like many others slowed a little over the second half. Excellent PB for Carolyn Dooley rewarding her for her commitment to training. Rick Murray ran a very quick first half but paid the price in the second half. Experienced David 'Spud' Murphy completed another creditable marathon. Our amazing Coiln Rathbone outpaced much of the field to secure 2nd vet 75. Mary Tavener and Liz Gale delivered solid performances to bring the club home. Special mention (editiors licence) for ex VRAC member Amy Sheils (nee Archer) who ran a 6 minute PB at Manchester 3 weeks ago and a further 5 minute PB at London 3.28.29! Great pics from John Davies and Clara Pettitt in Gallery here.

Pos	Cat Pos	Name	Cat	Half	Full
2501	525	Tom Armstrong	M40	1.28.34	3.02.35
3563	32	Carolyn Dooley	L45	1.31.08	3.12.00	PB
4284	354	Rick Murray	M50	1.28.26	3.16.56
4627	1972	David Murphy	SM	1.35.28	3.19.09
9458	2	Colin Rathbone	M75	1.45.37	3.41.53
10520	56	Mary Tavener	L55	1.49.11	3.46.09
13349	710	Liz Gale	L40	1.56.27	3.56.07

PORT OF BLYTHE 10K AND HALE 5 MILE

7 April: Liz Renondeau reports: I ran in the Port of Blyth 10K which incorporated the British Masters 10k road championships on Sunday April 7th. This was an out and back course along the coast and the Breeze off the North Sea was relatively kind! I finished second lady overall to Aly Dixon (who went on to finish 16th lady at Boston a week later) in 35.44 and won the V35 British Masters title. Obviously really pleased as had been targeting this all winter. No other VRAC athletes there as far as I’m aware. Full reults here.

21 April: Liz Renondeau reports: Yesterday Mary Tavener and I ran at Hale 5. Mary was first in her age group. I was First Lady in new PB (29.08). Pretty hot conditions but lovely well organised race that I would recommend! Full results here

CREWE 10K

21 April: Stu Doyle repors: Pretty warm conditions for today's race which featured a number of VRAC members.1st home in 6th place overall (1st v45) was Stu Doyle (34.11), closely followed by 2 16 year olds - Ed Pettit (10th in 35.30) and Aaron Doyle making his debut at the distance in 36.17 to finish 17th. Tommy Armstrong had his last outing before London ( where he'll be hoping for cooler conditions) with 42nd in 39.41 whilst Gemma Barnett had another strong performance to finish 4th lady overall and 2nd v35, narrowly missing the 40 min barrier by 6 secs. Paul Davies was next home in 91st with 43.29 with Colin Rathbone also completing his London preparations with a v75 age category victory in 49.21. Completing the finishers was Richard Pettitt with 53.35 to finish well inside the top 2/3rds.

THREE SHIRES WALK

7 Apr: A little different to our usual races was Bob Corinald's latest adventure. Bob tells us:

"The LDWA (Long Distance Walkers Association) organise challenge events which are long distance events for both walkers and runners in a similar format to the popular Sandstone event in May. The 3 Shires has 21,23,28 & 30 mile options & I went for the 30 mile route running from Swythamley, The Roaches, Three Shires Head, Shuttlingsloe, Wildboarclough (twice) and back to Swythamley. The route is almost entirely on footpaths / bridleways with navigation required but nothing too serious. With 5,400ft of climbing, its best described as 'a bit lumpy' but the scenery made it all worthwhile and the sun shone throughout. I'd set myself a target of 6 hours, nothing scientific behind that, just thought 6 hours was a nice round number but my main aim was to get round without injury as after all it was just a training run. All went well until Shuttlingsloe which took its toll and things started to slip. I seemed to recover throughout the second half and pull it back....the 6 hour finish was back on. With a desperate sprint to the village hall at the end the Garmin said 5:59:39 but I couldn't get back in the village hall as the door was shut! Turns out we'd left through an emergency exit in the morning and the proper entrance was round the side! Quick jog round the side to check in as complete and my time officially recorded as 6 hours 0 minutes, happy with that! No idea where I came as there aren't any official results but chatting to a few people, 6 hours seems like a reasonable time for a 30 mile training run.If anyone fancies something different, a really well organised low key event with no pressure, amazing views and some of the best food I've ever seen at a checkpoint (which you have to visit twice) then this is the one for you but be warned.....you have to run past the Wincle Brewery at around 25 miles"

GREATER MANCHESTER MARATHON

7 Apr: Perfect weather conditions for the 4 VRAC toeing the line at the Greater Manchester Marathon. 1st home was Chris Jones with with a huge PB of 2.50.01. Next home making his marathon debut was Mark Pilliner who ran superbly well after recovering from hip injuries earlier in the year. Debbie Broad was next in with a fantastic 3.57.08. Another huge PB and securing a good for age for London (next year). Fourth finisher for VRAC was Eleanor Riches who finished behind Debbie but with a faster chip time of 3.53.30 Obviously Debbie had her elbows out at the start line. All four should be extremely proud of their achievement and take a well deserved recovery. As a footnote is it a coincidence that all four used the Village Bakery Wexham Half in their build up? Full Results.

POS	NAME	BIB	M/F	CATEGORY	GUN TIME	CHIP TIME
226	Chris Jones	1006	M	MO35	02:50:11	02:50:01
3321	Mark Pilliner	4527	M	MV50	03:45:24	03:38:16
4518	debbie broad	7789	F	FV50	04:01:13	03:57:08
5061	Eleanor Riches	6763	F	FV45	04:07:32	03:53:30

NATIONAL 12 & 6 STAGE RELAYS - SUTTON PARK BIRMINGHAM

6 Apr: Colin Rathbone writes: Unfortunately no Men’s team this year despite qualifying in the Northern 12 Stage at Birkenhead Park. But fielded a partial team in the Women’s 6 Stage. Four stalwarts ran soundly in perfect conditions. Pity we couldn’t muster the full 6.

Leg 1, long leg. Amelia Pettit. 32.52.
Leg 2, short leg. Clara Pettit. 21.41.
Leg 3, short leg. Carole Williams. 28.44
Leg 4, long leg. Kate Moulds. 36.44

Leeds won both the Men’s 12 Stage and the Women’s 6 Stage - A very entertaining day of racing - certainly on a par with the Grand National and the Varsity Boat Race.

WILMSLOW RUNNING FESTIVAL

24 Mar: Colin Rathbone reports: A perfect day for running a Half Marathon, attracted 2836 finishers, 5 of them Vale Royalers. Sarah Murphy had a good run - 5th lady overall - 2nd F40. Darren Cottier a sound run, Matt Hough improving all the time. Eleanor Riches a super PB performance and a sub 1.45 for Colin Rathbone 1st M75. In the 10k Paula Manley (Shaun’s daughter) ran soundly for a 7th F40.

Name	Name	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos	Gun	Pos	Chip	Pos
Sarah	Murphy	Female	5	F40+	2	01:23:17	103	01:23:13	103
Darren	Cottier	Male	217	M45+	24	01:28:04	229	01:27:50	234
Matthew	Hough	Male	292	M45+	37	01:30:51	314	01:30:07	312
Eleanor	Riches	Female	91	F45+	15	01:43:00	791	01:41:40	786
Colin	Rathbone	Male	769	M75+	1	01:44:37	879	01:44:21	966
							2836	Finishers

Name	Name	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos	Gun	Pos	Chip	Pos
Paula	Manley	Female	43	F40+	7	00:55:10	146	00:54:16	185

NORTHERN 12 STAGE ROAD RELAYS - BIRKENHEAD

24 Mar: Despite a couple of enforced late changes we fielded a strong 12 man team at Birkenhead park this afternoon. Conditions were dry and sunny but pretty windy and the team performed admirably achieving a best ever position of 11th ( within 30 seconds of a top 10 finish) and beating the previous best of 12th set last year. There were some superb performances enabling us to reach a peak of 4th after 4 legs. We inevitably slipped back marginally over the remaining 8 legs however it is notable that 3 of our team are first year seniors and 3 are over 45 therefore we will undoubtedly get even stronger in forthcoming years as our juniors develop and more come through to replace the old guard!! It is also worthy of note that every one of the 10 teams ahead of us is based in a city or major town so we are definitely punching above our weight!

Name	Name
Chris Perry	Alex Doyle
Ben Lee	Chris Williams
Andrew Miles	Ryan Moore
Matt Rowlinson	Gareth Williams
Stu Doyle	John Humphries
Jacob Brown	Gary Richardson

CHESHIRE 10K - ARLEY

23 Mar: Good racing conditions and some very good results. First back for VRAC Chris Standidge our triathlon specialist. Next,James Ainsworth satisfied with his continued progress after injury. Another good race for Liz Renondeau finishing a tantalising 4 seconds short of her PB. Performance of the day came from Chloe Dooley posting a big PB (nearly 2 minutes) witnessed by her proud parents. Mum Carolyn commented: "5 weeks ago Chloe ended up in A & E after spraining her ankle in training just before Nationals, on crutches and unable to walk let alone run. Today after much hard work, rehab and cross training she took almost 2 minutes of her 10K PB running 37.03. She often says I’m her inspiration to keep working hard...well today she was totally mine!". A great run from Helen Harrington once more posting sub 40 minutes and her fastest time since 2005! Solid runs from Paul Davies and frequent racer Mary Tavener. George Thompson completed the VRAC line up limping home with a torn calf.

Pos	Net Pos	Name	Time	Net Time	Category	Cat Pos	Gender	Gen Pos	Net Gender Pos
34	34	CHRIS STANDIDGE	00:34:32	00:34:26	Male	28	Male	33	33
46	47	JAMES AINSWORTH	00:35:18	00:35:17	V40	4	Male	44	45
54	56	ELIZABETH RENONDEAU	00:35:41	00:35:41	Female	4	Female	4	4
75	74	CHLOE DOOLEY	00:37:06	00:37:02	Female	6	Female	6	5
134	142	HELEN HARRINGTON	00:39:56	00:39:47	Female	13	Female	16	17
208	213	PAUL DAVIES	00:42:38	00:42:19	V45	28	Male	185	189
339	344	MARY TAVENER	00:47:10	00:46:26	V55	3	Female	49	49
391	422	GEORGE THOMPSON	00:48:40	00:48:36	Male	168	Male	326	349
1241	Finishers

THIRSK 10 MILE

17 Mar: Colin Rathbone reports: Lovely sunny day here for the 40th running of the Thirsk 10 Miler starting & finishing at the racecourse. This single lap course, well organised with very supportive marshalling attracted over 1000 runners. Colin & Carole made the voyage into Yorkshire to compete and were satisfied with their performances.

POS	NAME	CAT	CAT POS	FINISH TIME
501	Colin Rathbone	M75	1	1.22.33
878	Carole Williams	M65	5	1.40.20
1042	Finishers

WIGAN FESTIVAL - HALF MARATHON AND 5K

17 Mar: A VRAC double at Wigan Running Festival with victories in both half marathon and 5K. Congratulations to Chris Perry as he steps up his race distance to include half marathon. Chris was overall winner at Wigan by over one minute to set a new course record. Full results here.

POS	NAME	CAT	CAT POS	CHIP TIME	FINISH TIME
1	Chris Perry	SNR	1/289	01:10:49	01:10:50

Also a great win for Andrew Miles and category win for Graham Mies in the 5k. Graham reports: Andrew and myself returned to the Wigan 5k,held in conjunction with the half marathon.The course is basically an out and back route,with the first half downhill.The advantage this year was the wind was against us for the first half which made the second half not too bad despite the climbs.Andrew won in 16.04 ,and I was 14th and first v50 in 19.13 out of the 806 finishers.For anyone thinking of an early season 5k,I would highly recommend this race.

POS	NAME	CAT	CAT POS	CHIP TIME	FINISH TIME
1	Andrew Miles	SNR	1/128	00:16:04	00:16:04
2	Graham Miles	V50	Jan-27	00:19:14	00:19:17

POYNTON 10K

17 Mar: Racing junky Debbie Moreton the lone VRACer here. She reports: Another of my races postponed from last year. Third time this multi-terrain race has been held. The weather was definitely not kind to us. Hail at the start line and hail to finish! Change to the route, for the better I think, despite a 2K steady climb to begin with. Pleasant but very wet run along the canal then lots of very muddy trail and puddles like lakes! Race finished with a lap of Poynton Pool (park) and then ended back on Park Lane right outside a Costa Coffee. Delicious flapjack, sweets, banana and medal on offer. After feeling rubbish a couple of weeks ago, pleased with my steady run and overall time in the conditions finishing 5/56 in my age group.

NAME	TIME	SPLIT	LEG	SPEED	FV45 POSITION	GEN POS	OVERALL POS
Debbie Moreton	00:50:10	50:10.3	50:10.3	05:01.3 Min/K	5	34	217

KNIGHTON 20

10 Mar: Colin Rathbone reports: Colin Rathbone was the sole Vale Royaler in the Knighton 20 as part of his London “build-up”. High winds and an undulating course meant fast times were hard to achieve. A great race, well organised, supportive marshalls and a quality tee-shirt all for £15.

Position 136th Colin Rathbone 1st V75. Chip time 2:54:44.
Total finishers: 270

INTER-COUNTIES XC - LOUGHBOROUGH

9 Mar: LADIES - Debbie Broad reports: A slightly depleted senior women’s Cheshire team headed over to Prestwold hall in Loughborough to compete in the intercounties cross country in which the women and men ran an equal distance of 10km plus. Our very own Lucy Burch swapped her shorts for a very smart Team Managers jacket. Sarah Murphy and Chloe Broad from Vale Royal put on there Cheshire Team Kit today. Instead of the mud of last years intercounties it was strong winds and occasionally Hale. Sarah has a fabulous race coming in 63rd -third counter for Cheshire and only one place behind Cheshire’s second counter. Chloe also had a great race her second year to represent Cheshire as a senior coming home in 153rd and 5th counter for Cheshire. The team came 12 /29 complete teams.

MEN - Robert Brown reports: Jacob Brown1st home for Cheshire 85th, Stuart Doyle 177th, 5th Cheshire. High gusting winds but good underfoot conditions, Cheshire men's team 17th of 32 teams. Sam Whitehead didn't run due to his car breaking down en route from Durham where he's at University.

KNIGHTON 20

BARCELONA MARATHON

10 Mar: While our UK racers were complaining about the cold, rain and wind our international racers were whinging about the sun and the heat. Gary Richardson and Dave Haines returned for another crack at the Barcelona marathon. With temperatures into the 20's it was not what they had been used to! Gary went well until mile 20 but then the heat and exhaustion took its toll. Nevertheless, he imprived on last years time by around 3 minutes (a PB we think). Dave Haines hoped the heat resitant haircut might help but found the going tough from halfway. Both can be proud of their achievement. Meanwhile, a member of their support crew was able to enter and excel in the local 'eat the most junk food' marathon.

Pos	Name	Cat	Gun	Chip
747	GARY RICHARDSON	M45	03:04:13	03:03:43
3833	DAVID HAINES	M45	03:39:19	03:38:32

TRAFFORD 10K

10 Mar: As usual a field stacked with talent. Heavy driving rain and surface water did not seem to deter the field with 4 men going sub 30 and Steve Cram's protege, Laura Weightman, setting a new ladies course record in 31.59. A good race fro Chris Perry at the sharp end although he appeared to finish in some discomfort. Another good race from Liz Renondeau, 3rd L35 and a solid sub 40 minute result for Robert Roe.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
22	31:29:00	Chris	Perry	31:28:00	23	Male	22	Senior	19
141	36:18:00	Elizabeth	Renondeau	36:15:00	142	Female	13	Vet 35	3
226	39:25:00	Robert	Roe	39:13:00	226	Male	200	Vet 40	24
885	Finishers

TATTON 10K

10 Mar: Not a quick course at the best of times and even less so in the conditions served up for Katie Brough. Great to see Katie racing again and running well to secure first lady placing.

Pos	Name	Time	Chip	Cat	Pos	Gen	Pos
10	KATIE BROUGH	00:40:12	00:40:12	V35	1	Female	1

WELSH INTER-COUNTIES XC

9 Mar: Congratulations to Lucy Knight selected for N Wales inter-counties XC. Not an easy passage it seems but all the more credit for that. Here's here comments: "Horrendous windy conditions. Worst race preparation ever! But I found some sort of peace through all the wind rain and mud and remembered why i love running. The race didnt reflect the training I've done but the training is there for a great road season".

CHESTER 10K

10 Mar: A busy weekend for racing with some filthy weather on Sunday morning! Another very impressive race for February AOM Mark Crabtree. Likewise, Melanie Johnson backed up her recent form just a few seconds short of her PB set recently at High Legh.

Pos	Gun time	First name	Last name	Chip Time	Chip Pos	min/m	Gender	Pos	Category	Pos
18	34:28:00	Mark	Crabtree	34:28:00	18	05:32	Male	18	MV40	5
143	40:39:00	Craig	Sephton	40:30:00	143	06:31	Male	129	MV45	21
215	42:53:00	Melanie	Johnson	42:21:00	209	06:49	Female	29	FV35	6
274	44:14:00	Helen	Smith	44:07:00	297	07:06	Female	37	FV45	7
3365	Finishers

BERKHAMSTEAD HALF MARATHON

3 March: Mark Crabtree has put in some excellent cross country races this season which proved a solid base for an speedy 6 min/mile half marathon at rainy Berkhamstead through the Chilterns countryside.

"It's a half marathon my previous running club always attend in high numbers and a very good, well organised race. I was disappointed not to win the V40s though - the winner wasn't that far ahead.. too much training on the flat since the move up north I think!"

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
9	Mark Crabtree	M40	3	78.28

CLOUD 9 - CONGLETON

3 March: Chris Beard reports: A scenic and challenging mostly off road race from Congleton to Bosley Cloud (1125ft) and back via the ancient Bride-stones. This race is run by Congleton Harriers under FRA rules. It's a popular well organised race with plenty of marshals and support along the way.Sunday saw a cold, wet, windy start to the day with the threat of a storm coming in. Lots of competitors chose to gear up with under vests/tee-shirts and other forms of rain cover. I opted for the minimalist approach and I was glad I did as the weather cleared slightly just after the start, although it remained very wet and muddy under foot providing a challenging route across some of the fields and up and down the Cloud. Darren Cottier was the other Vale Royal attendee and he had a good race running really well and finishing with a very respectable time of 71.32 to put him 49th overall and 7/34 MV45. I was pleased to post a PB of just under 4 minutes finishing with a time of 75.02 and 68th Overall which put me 8/51 MV50. There were 259 finishers. I'd definitely recommend this race if you fancy something a bit more technical with the added bonus of a hill. Did I mention there is also cake...

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
49	Darren Cottier	M45	7/34	71.32
68	Chris Beard	M50	8/31	75.02
259	Finishers

CHEADLE 5 MILE

3 Mar: Tony Dutton reports: On Sunday I took on the Cheadle 5 Miler in North Staffordshire for my first road race of the year.This is one of two road races Cheadle running club hold each year with the start and finish being at the Cheadle Academy. The race takes us through Cheadle town center at the beginning before heading out to the countryside for a few inclines. Not the fastest of courses but a well organised and marshalled race finishing 63rd out of 150 runners.

CHESTER ULTRA 50+ MILES

2 Mar: Lee Carrington reports: Headed over to Waverton on Saturday for the 6am start of Chester ultra 50. It was a circular route around Chester/Helsby/frodsham and then taking in the sandstone trail for the last part of the race. I was going really well until woodhouse hill frodsham when cramp set in and struggled for the second half of the race but managed to keep going, with the help of wife Hollie and a few friends that were meeting me at points along the way with food water etc. Managed to finish in 10th place in 8hrs 11mins and a Gold Medal (top 100 finisher). John Clarke also took on his first ultra and finished just outside the Gold category to finish with a hugely creditable Silver (100 - 200 finisher) in a time of 11hrs 6mins.

John Clarke reports: I finished 114th, had a great day felt good then started to struggle from Frodsham onwards, the last 7 miles on the canal was tough, had some help from Bob Corinaldi (he did the race last year) who ran the canal stretch with me to the finish. Also some great support from Colin & Carol, and a quick massage of Colin at CP5.

Pos	Name	Time	Medal Type
10	Lee Carrrington	8 hr 11 min	Gold
114	John Clarke	11 hr 6 min	Silver

PODIUM 5K - BARROWFORD

2 Mar: Horrendous conditions caused some issues for the time keepers but did not stop Andrew Miles blasting out a 30 second PB in the A race and Liz Renondeau a 5 second PB in the B race.

	Pos	Name	Gender Pos	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
A Race	26	Andrew Miles	26	SM	24	15.40	PB
B Race	7	Liz Renondeau	1	F35	1	17.24	PB

HIGH LEGH 10K

2 Mar: Debbie Moreton reports: Just 5 runners from Vale ventured out to a wet High Legh. Fantastic, well-organised, friendly race and a great goody bag. A reasonably flat course with the challenge of a short, slippy, muddy section and a steady climb over the motorway bridge near the end. Great run by James Ainsworth, 2nd in age group; Mel Johnson, 2nd lady, 2nd in age group and a PB; Bob C 6th in age group; Eleanor Riches 6th in age group and Debbie Moreton 7th in age group in a field of a total of 519 runners (269 male/250 female). A great race which I thoroughly recommend.

POS	NAME	Gen	Pos	CAT	Pos	CHIP TIME	FINISH TIME
6th	James Ainsworth	M	6th	40-49	2nd	00:35:57	00:36:00
41st	Melanie Johnson	F	2nd	SL	2nd	00:42:11	00:42:19
42nd	Bob Corinaldi	M	40th	50-59	6th	00:42:22	00:42:30
104th	Eleanor Riches	F	15th	40-49	6th	00:46:44	00:46:54
126th	Debbie Moreton	F	24th	40-49	7th	00:48:31	00:48:42
519	Finishers

SAUCONY ENGLISH XC CHAMPIONSHIPS - HAREWOOD HOUSE, LEEDS

23 Feb: Colin Rathbone reports: To my mind, the best venue ever for the English Nationals (and I’ve been to quite a few). Set in the beautiful National Trust parkland of Harewood House, north of Leeds in perfect weather (18* in Feb), sunny, exceptionally dry underfoot, the course promised fast times and good performances. The mood in the Vale Royal camp was buoyant after seeing Holly Weedall dominate the under 15 girl’s race and Holly Smith 6th in the Under 17’s. Gutsy performances in the women’s race from Sarah (110%) Murphy, Amelia and Clara Pettit ably supported by Carole Williams (sadly Chloe Broad had to drop out) resulted in a 44th team position out of 114 complete teams. Brilliant effort girls. Sadly the senior Men could not raise a team but sterling performances by Pat Stradling (a rare outing for Pat), Mark Crabtree (doubtful in the week with a tender Achilles), Colin Rathbone ( does he not know when to retire?) and James Griffiths gave credit to the VR vests they were wearing. The Nationals are the culmination and pinnacle of the club xc season. I applaud the Vale Royalers who did turn out in such a fantastic event.

POS	NAME	GUN	POS	NAME	GUN
57	Sarah Murphy	00:31:51	452	Patrick Stradling	00:44:22
68	Amelia Pettitt	00:32:16	517	Mark Crabtree	00:45:05
316	Clara Pettitt	00:37:17	1912	Colin Rathbone	01:05:50
1008	Carole Williams	00:57:38	1962	James Griffiths	01:10:21
1034	Finishers		2006	Finishers

WELSH XC CHAMPIONSHIPS - PEMBREY PARK, LLANELLI

23 Feb:Gareth Williams reports: Gareth and Nathan Williams made the trip to Pembrey Park, Llanelli for the Welsh XC Champs on 23rd Feb. It was Nathan's debut and Gareth first outing since 2005 in the race.The course was mostly flat and the ground very firm but log jumps, tight bends and some sharp climbs on to the dunes kept it interesting. The race was won by Swansea's Dewi Griffiths, reclaiming his title in his preparation for this years London Marathon. Nathan benefited from a last minute footwear change (thanks to having the same size feet as his dad) and came home in a very strong 21st position (av 5.46 miling!) in 36.50.. Gareth had a tough battle with former Wrexham clubmate, Andy Edge, now running for Thames Hare and Hounds, and just prevailed on the last lap to finish in 43rd overall and 4th place in the M50's in 39.25. A great day was made even better while driving home, listening to the rugby commentary and hearing Wales roar to a famous victory over England.

VILLAGE BAKERIES HALF MARATHON - WREXHAM

17 Feb: A great turnout for this one and a good marathon building block for quite a few. Dry conditions but a challenging headwind in the closing 3 miles to test the resolve of runners. George Thompson led VRAC home with Chis Jones not far back just 12 seconds short of his PB. First home for the ladies was Carolyn Dooley, also just short of her PB but well satisfied with another sub 1.30 and progress towards the London Marathon. Great to see Gemma Barnett back after her stress fracture with a very worthy sub 1.30. Geoff Fawkes is claiming a 'vets PB' as his last half marathons were in the 1980's! Mark Pilliner has had a stellar XC season and is in marathon training but struggled home with a hip problem. Fingers crossed for his quick recovery. Perhaps the two performances of the day were Debbie Broad who was delighted with a 5 minute PB, and Colin Rathbone winning the M75 category in under 1.50. Mary Tavener, also marathon training took 2nd L55 and Carole WIlliams brought VRAC home taking an impressive 2nd in the L65 category.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
53	01:17:50	George	Thompson	01:17:47	54	Male	53	SM	34
66	01:18:38	Chris	Jones	01:18:33	67	Male	66	SM	45
116	01:22:13	Tom	Armstrong	01:22:12	119	Male	115	M40	25
135	01:23:08	Rick	Murray	01:23:03	136	Male	133	M50	5
244	01:28:24	Carolyn	Dooley	01:28:19	252	Female	12	L45	2
256	01:28:58	Gemma	Barnett	01:28:44	261	Female	15	L35	7
329	01:30:39	Craig	Sephton	01:30:03	326	Male	299	M45	49
414	01:34:21	Chris	Beard	01:33:55	419	Male	363	M50	32
504	01:37:22	Geoff	Fawkes	01:36:56	512	Male	436	M45	80
577	01:39:37	Mark	Pilliner	01:39:11	596	Male	489	M50	51
792	01:45:31	Debbie	Broad	01:44:44	805	Female	142	L50	7
833	01:46:57	Eleanor	Riches	01:45:57	845	Female	154	L45	26
891	01:48:08	Mary	Tavener	01:47:34	923	Female	174	L55	2
961	01:49:44	Colin	Rathbone	01:48:55	989	Male	768	M75	1
1400	02:00:38	Joanne	Edwards	01:59:11	1428	Female	379	M55	14
1999	02:21:22	Carole	Williams	02:14:40	1915	Female	723	L65	2
2373	Finishers

NORTHERN MASTERS AC CROSS COUNTRY - KNIGHTS GRANGE

9 Feb: Challenging weather conditions did not detract from VRAC paricipants! Sarah Murphy won the ladies race overall and W40 Gold, Debbie Moreton took W45 Gold, and Jayne Lomax W50 Silver. The three of them picking up W40 team Gold. Great to see Andy Gibbs again in VRAC colours and running strongly as ever with 5th overall and M55 Gold.

Ladies 5k	Pos	Name	Cat	Time	Age Group
	1	Sarah Murphy	L40	21.23	Gold
	5	Debbie Moreton	L45	27.58	Gold
	8	Jayne Lomax	L50	30.00	Silver
	16	Finishers

Men 8k	Pos	Name	Cat	Time	Age Group
	5	Andy Gibbs	M55	31.28	Gold
	34	Finishers

ARMAGH 5K

14 Feb: Two of our fastest runners made the trip for this renowned super quick 5K. Robert Brown reports: It's a great race, you have to be sub 16 min 5k to enter and last night a new record of 13:43 won it. 12 runners went under 14 and 113 under 15 overall out of 202 finishers. The course is set on roads surrounding a park called The Mall in Armagh. They race over almost 5 manic laps. Conditions were perfect, 10 degrees and no wind on closed roads surrounded by high Georgian buildings. Chris Perry ran 14:25, a 12 second pb, Jacob Brown ran 14:40 for a 19 second pb. Tthe atmosphere is second to none. They preceded the 5k with 10 short age graded kids races and the women's 3k so there is no shortage of support all around the course.

Pos	Name	Time
34	Chris PERRY	00:14:25	PB 12 Secs
67	Jacob BROWN	00:14:40	PB 19 Secs

MANCHESTER LEAGUE RACE 5 - KENTWORTHY WOODS

9 Feb: Colin Rathbone reports: Excellent turnout for Vale Royal in the final match of the season at Kenworthy Woods on Saturday 9 February. 14 senior Men and 8 senior women contested the good conditions underfoot. Despite the valiant efforts of the men it looks likely that both the senior men’s team and vets men’s team will be relegated from the 1st Division. The Vets ladies faired well to maintain their position in the 1st Division, the Senior Women’s team despite fabulous performances (including a rare appearance for Katie Brough) closed the gap on 3rd place East Cheshire in the 2nd Division. Still awaiting final ratified results but according to Colin's calculations it looks like we are still 1 point adrift of 3rd place.

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time	Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
25	Katie Brough	L35	4	29.08	41	Mark Crabtree	M40	10	35.14
45	Holly Carrington			30.16	88	Gareth Williams	M50	3	37.17
47	Claire Thompson	L40	5	30.22	127	Lee Carrington			38.34
51	Lucy Knight			30.37	160	Richard Murray	M50	16	39.21
56	Mel Johnson	L35	11	30.57	165	Tommy Armstrong	M40	37	39.30
159	Mary Tavener	L55	7	34.46	175	Robert Roe	M40	40	39.42
239	Debbie Richardson	L50	31	40.40	199	Matt Scott	M45	20	40.20
258	Carole Williams	L65	4	43.03	249	Stephen Thompson	M55	6	42.00
271	Finishers				252	Chris Beard	M50	32	42.09
					278	Mark Pilliner	M50	36	43.37
9/54	Team	4 count			355	John Clarke	M60	10	48.17
40/54	Team	4 count			397	Colin Rathbone	M70	3	54.22
3/54	Vets Team	3 count			398	Richard Pettitte	M55	28	54.43
46/54	Vets Team	3 count			400	Nick Mort	M55	30	55.00
					402	Finishers

					17/50	Team	6 Count
					42/50	Team	6 Count
					25/50	Vets Team	4 Count
					49/50	Vets Team	4 Count

NICK BEER 10K - LLANDUDNO

10 Feb: Just one from VRAC this year for this challenging 10K around The Great Orme. Tony Dutton's report: I travelled to Llandudno for the 2019 Nick Beer 10k. It's basically a 10k around the great orme anti clockwise. Tough conditions with a headwind going up, but a decent workout with a Chip Time of 52:15 Pos. 252 from 598 runners.

Name	Name	Gen Pos	Cat	Cat Pos	Gun	Pos	Chip	Pos
Anthony	Dutton	202	MV45	37	00:52:30	247	00:52:15	252

NORTHERN XC CHAMPIONSHIPS - PONTEFRACT

26 Jan: A number of VRACers at the Northern XC Champs at Pontefract racecourse. The course was extremely firm, predominantly flat and therefore very quick which suited some but not others. The senior men's scoring 6 finished a very creditable 20th team out of 53 complete teams. The individual highlight was Jacob Brown's superb debut in the senior championship. Jacob was ably supported by Stu Doyle, Nathan Williams, Mark Crabtree and Gareth Williams. Team completed by the perennial Colin Rathbone now 75 and still racing! There were 704 finishers. Unfortunately the ladies were unable to field a complete team due to Helen Smith suffering a recurrence of a calf injury. Nevertheless Sarah Murphy had another great run in conditions that did not suit her whilst it was also great to see Amelia Pettitt competing again and Carole Williams looking as strong and glamorous as ever! 376 finishers. Full results here.

Ladies			Men
Pos	Time	Name	Pos	Time	Name
28	30.40	Sarah Murphy	28	40.25	Jacob Brown
42	31.41	Amelia Pettitt	87	42.30	Stu Doyle
361	52.22	Carole Williams	114	43.34	Nathan Willaims
376	Finishers		172	45.16	Mark Crabtree
			246	47.00	Gareth Williams
			678	65.25	Colin Rathbone
			704	Finishers

			Team	20th of 53	6 count

FOUR VILLAGES HALF MARATHON - HELSBY

20 Jan: Relief for organisers and runners alike that the weather did not threaten this years race. Indeed cool, calm conditions were good for running. A typically solid performance from Stu Doyle at the sharp end. Performance of the day came from Gary Richardson who sliced nearly 2 minutes off his PB. Next, another good race for Liz Renondeau who decided to race at short notice. Malcolm Hughes (pictured), Mary Tavener and Jayne Lomax all acquitting themselves well to complete the VRAC field.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
14	01:14:19	Stuart	Doyle	01:14:19	14	Male	14	V45	2
75	01:21:47	Gary	Richardson	01:21:37	74	Male	71	V45	12	PB
80	01:22:18	Elizabeth	Renondeau	01:22:15	81	Female	5	V35	2
320	01:34:43	Malcolm	Hughes	01:34:30	329	Male	287	V50	30
651	01:45:26	Mary	Tavener	01:44:23	659	Female	107	V55	8
1059	01:57:39	Jayne	Lomax	01:57:01	1091	Female	223	V50	21
1632	Finishers

TWIN PIERS 10K - LLANDUDNO

19 Jan: Colin and Carole made their regular trip to Wales for this event. Here's their report: Good conditions for this scenic race from Llandudno Pier to what used to be Colwyn Bay Pier until they removed it. Just 3 Vale Royalers out. First home in his first 10k in an impressive time of 35.23 was Ed Pettit. Colin Rathbone just starting his London Marathon training was happy with his sub-50 mins and Carole picking up her training for the National xc.

Ed Pettit 35.23 3rd U20 12th overall
Colin Rathbone 49.56 4th V70 173rd overall
Carole Williams 60.51 2nd V65 321st overall

Total finishers 434

MANCHESTER LEAGUE RACE 4 - HEATON PARK

12 Jan: Good turn out from ladies and men, enough for multiple senior and vet teams. Some good racing at an unusually dry Heaton Park! Well done all. One more MACCL race to go at Kentworthy Woods 9th February. Let's round it off it style! Full results here.

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
41	Helen Smith	L45	4	39.15
48	Claire Thompson	L40	8	39.34
60	Holly Carrington	SL		40.26
80	Mel Johnson	L35	12	41.11
121	Jeanette Pope	L40	21	43.03
167	Mary Tavener	L55	10	45.59
279	Pauline Davies	L65	5	54.54
290	Debbie Richardson	L50	30	56.49
295	Carole Williams	L65	6	58.21
313	Finishers

Team	13th, 48th
Vets Team	7th, 37th

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
25	Nathan Williams	SM		35.50
42	Mark Crabtree	M40	11	36.56
104	Gareth Williams	M50	4	39.27
153	Lewis Brown	SM		40.39
171	Lee Carrington	SM		40.58
209	Richard Murray	M50	15	42.08
223	Robert Roe	M40	51	42.34
270	Bob Corinaldi	M50	28	43.41
284	Chris Beard	M50	31	44.08
286	Mark Pilliner	M50	33	44.13
305	Stephen Thompson	M55	13	45.09
403	John Clarke	M60	11	50.36
456	Richard Pettitt	M55	34	57.35
459	Colin Rathbone	M70	6	58.59
464	Nick Mort	M55	36	61.13
466	Finishers

Team	16th, 50th	6 count
Vets Team	13th, 31st, 54th	4 count

CHESHIRE XC CHAMPIONSHIPS - BIRCHWOOD

5 Jan: Terrific turnout and terrific results from ladies and men! Ladies taking 1st and 3rd in overall team and vets tea results. Brilliant effort, well done everyone.

Pos.	Name	Cat	MV Pos.	Cat pos	Time
4	Jacob Brown	M		4	35:12
15	Mark Crabtree	V40	4	3	38:45
47	James Griffiths	M		32	42:23
50	Tom Armstrong	V40	16	8	42:33
53	Gary Richardson	V45	18	5	42:43
59	Lee Carrington	M		38	43:03
64	Darren Cottier	V45	23	7	43:30
65	Matthew Scott	V45	24	8	43:33
69	Rick Murray	V50	27	5	44:01
75	Craig Todhunter	V45	33	11	44:38
76	Chris Weedall	V40	34	12	44:40
80	Robert Roe	V40	38	13	44:49
95	Chris Beard	V50	51	11	46:10
97	John Thompson	V50	53	13	46:18
100	David Haines	V45	56	17	46:49
106	Mark Pilliner	V50	61	16	47:21
114	Geoff Fawkes	V45	69	20	48:09
142	Anthony Dutton	V45	95	26	53:08
154	Richard Pettitt	V55	106	15	1:01:23
157	Finishers

Team	4th and 9th		6 Count
Vets Team	3rd, 6th, 11th, 19th		4 Count

Pos.	Name	Cat	LV Pos.	Cat pos	Time
2	Sarah Murphy	V40	1	1	32:31
3	Liz Renondeau	V35	2	1	32:41
10	Chloe Broad	L		6	34:40
14	Chloe Dooley	L		9	35:46
17	Clara Pettitt	L		12	36:39
19	Sophie Smith	L		13	37:09
20	Helen Smith	V45	7	2	37:11
27	Claire Thompson	V40	12	4	38:18
30	Holly Carrington	L		17	39:05
38	Melanie Johnson	V35	20	5	40:06
45	Jeanette Pope	V40	26	8	40:50
59	Liz Gale	V40	38	11	43:22
68	Jayne Lomax	V50	46	3	44:16
69	Jo Edwards	V55	47	5	44:26
84	Debbie Richardson	V50	61	9	51:53
90	Finishers

Team	1st, 3rd,7th, 14th	3 count
Vets Team	1st, 3rd, 11th	3 count

PARKRUN TOURISM

1 Jan: Belated report from Geoff Fawkes NYD double 'up north'. Two counties and two rivers double he did on New Years Day:

9am - Riverside in County Durham - 3 laps in a park right next to River Wear with Lumley Castle and Durham County Cricket Ground in the background, coming 73rd out of 500. Then a 22 mile drive to get to Prudhoe Riverside for a 10.30am start - this time in the County of Northumberland running alongside the River Tyne, 2 laps of a trail country park, coming 46th out of 400. Ran negative splits for both races, with the second one quicker (albeit a harder course) and overall 30 seconds quicker than 2018 New Year's Day double!

Vale Royal AC - Senior Section

Running and Athletics in the Heart of Cheshire.

NOTICES

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

ST. NICHOLAS RIVER RUN 10K - NORTHWICH

NORTHERN ROAD RELAYS

SUTTON 6 10K - GUILDEN SUTTON

VALE OF YORK HALF MARATHON

NORTH WEST ROAD RELAYS - EDGE HILL

GREAT NORTH RUN

SALFORD 10K

SANDBACH 10K

MONTANE DELAMERE HALF MARATHON TRAIL RACE

CHESHIRE HALF MARATHON - CAPESTHORNE HALL

MID CHESHIRE 5K - KINGSLEY

CILCAIN MOUNTAIN RACE

NATIONAL TRUST - CHIRK

PARK RUN TOURISM - ANGLESEY

BRAMHALL RUNNERS FOODBANK 5K

ELLESMERE PORT RC 5K

BIRCHWOOD 10K

EL PORT DE LA SILVA 10K - SPAIN

BRITISH MASTERS TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS - BIRMINGHAM

PRESTON 5 MILE

PIE AND PEAS 5 MILE - MOULTON

SALE SIZZLER 5K - RACE 4

NORTH WALES HALF MARATHON

TEGGS NOSE FELL RACE

BARRY ISLAND 10K

SEFTON PARK 5 MILE

HELENA TIPPING 10K - WREXHAM

CHIRK CASTLE NATIONAL TRUST 10K

PARKRUN TOURISM - CAFFARELLA, ROME

SALE SIZZLER 5K - RACE 3

ALDERLEY PARK TRAIL RACE

SALE SIZZLER 5K - RACE 2

NORTWICH FESTIVAL OF RUNNING 5K and 10K

ALDERLEY EDGE 10K

FOREST PARK LADIES 5K

TRIERER HALF MARATHON - GERMANY

BMC GRAND PRIX - WATFORD

SALE SIZZLER 5K SERIES RACE 1

NORTH CHESHIRE 5K SERIES RACE 5 - HOLLINS GREEN

PARKRUN TOURISM - ROME

COLSHAW 10K

U20/U23 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS - BEDFORD

TOUGH TEAM - TATTENHALL

MEERBROOK 15K

BMAF 5k ROAD CHAMPIONSHIPS - HORWICH

STONE 10K

MARPLE 10K TRAIL RACE

PARK RUN TOURISM - HERMANUS, S AFRICA

NORTH CHESHIRE 5K SERIES RACE 4 - DUNHAM MASSEY

COMRADES MARATHON 'UP RUN' - DURBAN

PARK RUN TOURISM - DURBAN

NADEN VALLEY - ROCHDALE

RACE THE HORSE - WALES

NORTH CHESHIRE 5K SERIES RACE 3 - BOWDEN

NORTH CHESHIRE 5K SERIES RACE 2 - BIRCHWOOD 5K

BLACKPOOL 10 MILE

MANCHESTER 10K

NORTH CHESHIRE 5K SERIES RACE 1 - DUNHAM MASSEY 5K

CHESTER HALF MARATHON

ANDERTON MULTI -TERRAIN 10K

BIRMINGHAM 10K

CHRISTLETON 5K

MIDDLEWICH 5K

SANDSTONE TRAIL RACE

ROUND THE RUNWAY - MOBBERLEY

KESWICK HALF MARATHON

CARDIFF 5K

MID CHESHIRE 5K (SPRING) - KINGSLEY

VIRGIN MONEY LONDON MARATHON

PORT OF BLYTHE 10K AND HALE 5 MILE

CREWE 10K

THREE SHIRES WALK

GREATER MANCHESTER MARATHON

NATIONAL 12 & 6 STAGE RELAYS - SUTTON PARK BIRMINGHAM

WILMSLOW RUNNING FESTIVAL

NORTHERN 12 STAGE ROAD RELAYS - BIRKENHEAD