Vale Royal AC - Senior Section

NOTICES

6/12 STAGE RELAYS: Take place SUNDAY 24 March, Birkenhead Park. Please advise Stu Doyle or Helen Harrington if you want to participate or email here.

RUNNING PAST 40: As this will apply to quite a few of us here's an interesting read from WeaverPysio Sports and Injury Clinic on doing just that. Click here.

WELSH CASTLES 2019: Please see here and respond if you are interested.

CROSS COUNTRY ENTRIES: Pre entry is required for the Nationals (23 Feb). If you want to run please advise Stu Doyle or Helen Harrington or email here.

UPDATE:2019 LONDON MARATHON: Congrats to Liz Gale who wins the place. Dave Haines reserve.

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.

Anon

ATHLETE OF THE MONTH

2019 got off to a good start. Jacob Brown once again excelled placing 4th at Birchwood 10k and 28th at the Northern XC Championships. Gary Richardson posted a superb 2 min PB at Helsby half marathon. Nathan Williams had another good month cross country in Manchester League and Northerns. This month we recognise a lady who has delivered many excellent performances for VRAC which she continued in January leading the ladies to senior and vets team wins at Birchwood 10k and an excellent 28th at the Northern XC Championships. January AOM is SARAH MURPHY.


In 3 Words 6/12 STAGE 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? See Colin Rathbone for a massage, 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.

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!

RIBBLE VALLEY 10K

30 Dec: Liz Renondeau reports: Liz Renondeau was one of many athletes who saw 2018 out with a bang at the Ribble Valley 10K on Sunday, which also incorporated the North of England 10K Champs. A stacked field saw both the men and women’s course records broken and nine men break the 30min barrier. Liz was made up with her race, setting a new PB of 35.37, finishing 10th lady overall and fifth lady in the north of England champs, an agonising 6 secs off a bronze medal. Race was brilliantly organised and the course undulating but scenic and very runnable. Highly recommend for those looking for a quick race at the end of next year.

Pos	Name	Time	Net Time	Category	Cat Pos	NOE Pos	Gen Pos
127	ELIZABETH RENONDEAU	00:35:39	00:35:37	Female	9	5	10

ROUND THE WALLS - CHESTER

24 Dec: Perfect conditions for this years traditional Boxing Day blow out. Nice run from John Moulds who is returning to some good form. Tony Dutton enjoyed the race and the finish line photo opportunity. Lisa Meadows picked up 2nd L45 with mercurial racer Barry Chambers bringing VRAC home.

Pos	Gun time	First name	Last name	Chip Time	Chip Pos	Gender	Pos	Category	Pos
77	32:19:00	John	Moulds	32:13:00	78	Male	67	Male Vet 50	10
93	33:13:00	Anthony	Dutton	32:56:00	91	Male	81	Male Vet 45	17
108	34:05:00	Lisa	Meadows	34:00:00	110	Female	14	Female Vet 45	2
216	38:45:00	Barry	Chambers	38:10:00	213	Male	167	Male Vet 65	7
472	Finishers

LANCASTER CHRISTMAS CRACKER 10K

22 Dec: Debbie Broad reports: Mixed year for Chloe Broad as in and out of training due to injury. But felt the need to race before the end of the year. Undulating windy course no Pb but First Lady and the prize was almost as big as her!

NORTH STAFFS XC RACE 4 - RODBASTON

15 Dec: Colin Rathbone reports on the final North Staffs xc at Rodbaston. Due to atrocious weather a depleted Vale Royal presence at Rodbaston Campus, Penkridge on Saturday. Only 2 senior women (Helen Smith & Carole Williams) flew the flag and 4 men (Chris Jones, Matt Scott, Mark Pilliner & John Clarke). Brave performances but insufficient runners to field teams.

Carole Williams. 2nd V65 and Mark Pilliner 3rd V50 over the 4 matches.

(Good news for Vale Royal the Under 11 girls won team Gold.) What admirable efforts all round.

TATTON YULE YOMP

9 Dec: James Ainsworth rep[orts. Vale Royal runners returned for one of the most festive races of the year, some fantastic fancy dresses from snowmen to xmas trees and the odd fella in a pink tutu! Sarah Murphy returned to claim 1st Lady which she has won every year since 2014! James Ainsworth was happy with his run considering the drag effect of the pink tutu and leg warmers, Duo Stephen and Claire Thompson came in with exactly the same gun time of 47:10 one of them making up the 3rd team member to defend the 1st club prize which again has been retained for a number of years. In true festive fancy dress Debbie Moreton, Joanne Edwards, Chris Griffiths, Caroline Buckley and Helen Betteley loved every minute of it!! Well done all.

Pos	Name	Name	Gender	Gen Pos	Cat	Cat Pos	Gun	Chip	Chip Position
11	James	Ainsworth	Male	11	MV40	2	00:39:24	00:39:23	11
14	Sarah	Murphy	Female	1	FV40	1	00:40:31	00:40:31	14
62	Stephen	Thompson	Male	54	MV55	3	00:47:10	00:47:02	65
63	Claire	Thompson	Female	9	FV40	2	00:47:10	00:47:08	67
208	Debbie	Moreton	Female	56	FV45	6	00:53:51	00:53:20	222
249	Joanne	Edwards	Female	70	FV55	4	00:55:29	00:54:57	283
308	Christopher	Griffiths	Male	214	MV60	9	00:56:57	00:53:31	228
433	Caroline	Buckley	Female	143	FV50	9	01:01:09	00:59:56	458
434	Helen	Betteley	Female	144	FV50	10	01:01:09	00:59:56	460
1494	Finishers

STOCKPORT 10 MILE

9 Dec: Just two from VRAC at the 2018 Stockport 10. Excellent run from Ian Simpson and solid result for Tony Dutton.

Pos	Name	Gun	Chip	Cat	Cat Pos
103	Ian Simpson	1.07.53	1.07.04	M50	11
523	Tony Dutton	1.24.15	1.23.56	M45	78
988	Finishers

TELFORD 10K

9 Dec: Debbie Broad reports: A trio from Vale Royal head to Telford 10k Chris Perry, Liz Renondeau and Debbie Broad this Sunday while others were at the Yule tide yomp. Wet and windy conditions didn’t quite get us PB’s. However great running from Liz winning her V35 category Chris 40th SEN Men and Debbie 8th V50. As usual a high quality field with 17 runners going sub 30 minutes.

Pos	Race No	Name	Time	Net Time	Category	Cat Pos	Gender	Gen Pos
46	66	Chris Perry	00:30:56	00:30:53	M Sen	40	Male	46
285	277	Elizabeth Renondeau	00:36:24	00:36:21	FV35	1	Female	24
642	1691	Debbie Broad	00:46:07	00:46:00	FV50	8	Female	120
1242	Finishers

MANCHESTER XC RACE 3 - WOODBANK PARK, STOCKPORT

1 Dec: Colin Rathbone reports. Fantastic senior turnout for the 3rd Manchester xc on Saturday, with no less than 14 senior men and 7 senior women, despite a number of usual stalwarts being absent. Conditions were good underfoot and the weather was kind. In the men’s race, our leader Stu Doyle, even with the lack of mud, performed brilliantly finishing in 12th overall, 1st o45 in a very competitive field. Next home was Mark Crabtree in 59th place, a really sound run by Mark in 40.44. In 153rd was Gary (never again) Richardson, a recent convert and now an avid cross country. Gary had a tussle with Lee Carrington who had, eventually, to concede by a mere 12 seconds. One to watch next time me thinks! In 199th place saw saw a strong run from Matt Scott in 46.06 hotly pursued in 207th by new member Craig Todhunter in 46.23 (another good asset for the club). Seventh VR in 209th was Rob Roe, a sound and perfectly executed pace Rob in 46.38. Mark Pilliner, Bob Corinaldi and Chris finished in quick succession in 238, 246, 259 positions. John Thompson, a veteran of the Mcr xc’s, despite a lack of training had a spirited run in 267th. John Clark, another evergreen, soon to fall into the o65 cat hit a very respectable time of 53.30 in 354th. Barry Chambers, despite hurting his back on the first lap, bravely carried on to the finish. A fine example of not accepting a DNF (wise or otherwise). VR men were brought home by another fairly new recruit, Nick Mort. Nick, at the age of 56 has just started xc running. Another example of grit and determination. Well done Nick and the other 13 men.
Senior teams. 19th and 39th out of 58

Vets teams. 12th,25th and 42nd out of 53.
Distance. 10k
434 finishers

Vale Royal women saw more good performances with Helen Smith leading the way in 45th place (7th o45) in 39.12. Helen worked hard the whole race, sharing with me, after the race, her disappointment with her performance. This approach usually provokes an even better performance in subsequent races. Keep pushing Helen. Claire Thompson, another avid Mcr xc, ran gutsily to finish in 55th place in 39.35. Next home was Holly Carrington, who recently has lost a lot of training, initially unsure about starting had a remarkable run to finish in 75th in 40.58, a super example of talent and ‘can do’ attitude. Next home was Mel, inspired by her son Ollie’s super performance in the u13 boys race. Mel clocked 41.29 to finish in 87th. Julie Ann Roberts, sporting her maiden name, was 151st, 4th o55 in 44.55. A sound run Julie. Carole, next in, in 287th in 58.50 ran a solid race. Debbie Richardson, again a recent recruit to running under the tutelage of husband Gary experienced shoelace problems but still managed a creditable 291st place. Triple knot in future Debbie!

Teams
Senior women. 15th out of 59
Vets women. 9th and 49th out of 57
298 finishers

Great effort Vale Royal. Pics courtesy John Davies in Gallery here.

MYERSCOUGH 10 (FORMERLY 'GUYS 10')

2 Dec: Tony Wardle made a rare outing in a VRAC shirt at the rarely run 10 mile distance. He was the loan club member to make the journey to Garstang in Lancashire and was rewarded with a 1.07.52. Full Results.

WILMSLOW 10K

25 Nov: A belated report of the Wilmslow Festive 10k. 19 VRACers tested their end of year fitness at one of the final fast local 10k's.F irst home a little outside of his sub 33 target was Andrew Miles finishing just in the top ten (Men). New PB's were set by Chris Jones, Liz Renondeau, Rick Murray, Matthew Hough, Mark Pilliner, Geoff Fawkes and Debbie Broad. Geoff Fawkes time was particular impressive given there is over 2 minutes difference between his gun and chip time! There were category win's for both Stu Doyle and Chloe Dooley however Brian Dooley and Tommy Armstrong were both unlucky with illness and injury and crossed the line together having both had to abandon their own races. Full results Free Pictures

Position	Finish time	Number	First name	Last name	Net time	Net position	Club	Gender	Gender position	Category	Category position
11	00:33:17	1246	Andrew	Miles	00:33:16	11	Vale Royal AC	Male	10	Senior	8
25	00:34:22	3580	Stuart	Doyle	00:34:21	25	Vale Royal AC	Male	23	Vet 45	1
31	00:34:44	2600	Chris	Jones	00:34:41	32	Vale Royal AC	Male	29	Vet 35	4
41	00:35:09	3819	James	Ainsworth	00:35:07	44	Vale Royal AC	Male	39	Vet 40	10
63	00:36:06	3650	Elizabeth	Renondeau	00:36:03	63	Vale Royal AC	Female	5	Vet 35	2
131	00:38:14	1566	Richard	Murray	00:38:04	132	Vale Royal AC	Male	122	Vet 50	5
142	00:38:32	903	Robert	Roe	00:38:24	143	Vale Royal AC	Male	131	Vet 40	27
162	00:39:11	3702	Matthew	Scott	00:39:03	167	Vale Royal AC	Male	149	Vet 45	15
168	00:39:18	2222	Chloe	Dooley	00:39:09	174	Vale Royal AC	Female	15	Under 20	1
207	00:40:03	1121	Helen	Harrington	00:40:00	221	Vale Royal AC	Female	19	Vet 35	4
215	00:40:19	722	Carolyn	Dooley	00:40:11	228	Vale Royal AC	Female	22	Vet 45	3
222	00:40:31	2418	Matthew	Hough	00:39:15	177	Vale Royal AC	Male	200	Vet 45	21
285	00:41:51	2419	Mark	Pilliner	00:41:37	308	Vale Royal AC	Male	257	Vet 50	14
338	00:42:56	2164	Tom	Armstrong	00:42:42	390	Vale Royal AC	Male	305	Vet 40	57
340	00:42:57	721	Brian	Dooley	00:42:47	396	Vale Royal AC	Male	307	Vet 45	33
443	00:44:23	744	Melanie	Johnson	00:44:03	494	Vale Royal AC	Female	45	Vet 35	13
482	00:44:48	810	Geoff	Fawkes	00:42:35	377	Vale Royal AC	Male	433	Vet 45	52
645	00:46:49	991	Debbie	Broad	00:45:59	671	Vale Royal AC	Female	83	Vet 50	4
1297	00:53:28	2971	Jayne	Lomax	00:51:44	1359	Vale Royal AC	Female	277	Vet 50	28

MASTERS INTERNATIONAL XC - SINGLETON PARK, SWANSEA

18 Nov: Thanks to Liz Renondeau for report: Vale Royal was again well represented at the British Masters International XC Championships with Sarah Murphy and Liz Renondeau running for the England v40 and v35 Ladies teams and Gareth Williams running for Wales in the v50 category. By all accounts, the course was a pretty tough one - not too soft underfoot but multiple laps of a very undulating course. Sarah Murphy as usual left absolutely nothing on the course, narrowly missing out on an individual medal in fourth but scoring for the winning England team. Liz Renondeau was a little disappointed in her run; although running very even splits, was cross at herself for not getting herself in the mix on the fast downhill start which left her too much to do on the final lap. She still counted for the England w35 team which also won gold. The third of the Vale contingent, Gareth Williams placed a very respectable 28th for Wales in the competitive v50 category, a position he is looking to build on next year if work allows for a little more consistency in his day-to-day training schedule. A big well done to all three of them and great to see them flying the Vale flag on this very competitive Masters stage. Full results here.

PARK RUN TOURISM

The VRAC vest has been seen around the world over the past few weeks. Tony Archer visiting Australia for son Nathan's wedding managed 3 separate park runs in 3 weeks including one (8 am) the morning after the wedding celebrations! The highlight was a beach park run on Bar Beach. 100% (soft) sand with some stages running through the surf. Gareth Williams took the VRAC vest with him to Washington DC and claimed a park run win at Roosvelt Island as a reward.

Name	Date	Park Run	Venue	Time	Pos
Gareth Williams	12-Dec	Roosvelt Island	Washington, USA	18.53	1st
Tony Archer	10-Nov	Stockton	NSW, Australia	21.43	14th
Tony Archer	17-Nov	Nulkaba	NSW, Australia	22.35	13th
Tony Archer	24-Nov	Bar Beach	NSW, Australia	27.20	5th

PODIUM 5K - BARROWFORD

1 Dec: Some super quick runs at the night time Podium 5k. In his first ever 5k Jacob Brown placed 8th in a high quality field, just dipping under 15 mionutes. Liz Renondeau continued her excellent season posting a PB.

Pos	Time	Name		Cat	Gen	SB	PB
8	14:59	Jacob Brown	PB	U23	M	14:59	14:59
38	15:55	Ryan Moore		SEN	M	15:36	15:36
70	17:29	Elizabeth Renondeau	PB	V35	W	17:29	17:29
71	17:53	Michael Harrington		V45	M	16:59	16:53

MANCHESTER XC RACE 2 - UNIVERSITY FIELDS, WYTHENSHAWE

10 Nov: Another decent turnout from VRAC and some good performances. Stu Dolyle just outside the top 20 and 1st M45. A close battle battle between Messsrs Haines, Scott and Beard! Excellent run from Lucy Knight whose training is paying dividends.

Men	Ladies
21. Stu Doyle 33:23 (1st V45)	56. Lucy knight 29:40
97. Mark Crabtree 36:18	61. Helen Smith 29:50
226. Lee Carrington 39:57	88. Claire Thompson 30:52
281. Dave Haines 41:27	125. Jeanette Pope 32:00
282 Matthew Scott 41:28	162. Melanie Johnson 33:24
293. Chris Beard 41:45	182. Mary Tavener 34:04
319. Mark Pilliner 42:48	183. Joanne Edwards 34:08
339. Bob Corinaldi 43:03	276. Jill Haines 37:20
372. Stephen Thompson 43:58	341: Carole Williams 43:25
453. John Clark 47:39
513. Colin Rathbone 53:19

CHESHIRE 10K - ARLEY HALL

10 Nov: 6 VRAC runners made the short trip to Arley Hall for what is regarded as one of the fastest 10ks in the area. Andrew Miles was first home not to far outside of his PB on 33.26. Next home was Tom Armstrong in 38.05, he was disappointed to be slower than his recent result at the Farndon 10k. Next home was Rick Murray with a 20 second PB followed closely by Robert Roe with a 39.08. Craig Sephton was next home and was just outside the 40 minnute mark with a solid 40.03. Rounding it up for VRAC was John Moulds taking part in his first 10k in almost 18 months. The results are not particularly clear so apologies if anyone has been missed off. Full Results.

SUNFLOWERS HALEWOOD 5K

3 Nov: Mike Harrington was again the lone VRAC runner at this monthly 5k. A stronger than usual field saw Mike post a 17.39 for 18th place. Full Results.

'NOT' LANGLEY 7

3 Nov: Gary Richardson reports: 4 VRAC runners travelled to Langley. For those familiar with it in the past, it used to be the Langley 7, but as it is now 8 miles and doesn't go through Langley at all, not sure what it is called now. The race was very scenic, but extremely hilly, effectively a fell race but on tarmac. The beginning of the race was a somber moment as we held a minutes silence for one of Macclesfield own runners that tragically died in a car crash only 10 days prior. His widow ran the race with their 4 month old son in the pushchair in his memory. It was great to see the running community coming together in this way. Very enjoyable race and one for next years calendar.

Pos.	Name	Category	L Pos.	MV Pos.	LV Pos.	Cat pos	Time
24	Gary Richardson	MV40		10		4	56:17:00
42	David Haines	MV45		21		4	01:00:18
53	Lee Carrington	M				19	01:01:48
208	Jill Haines	LV45	74		63	18	01:27:14

NATIONAL XC RELAYS - MANSFIELD

3 Nov: Great to see VRAC represented at Senior level in Ladies and Mens races. Here's reports from Debbie Moreton and Stu Doyle:

Ladies - A dry but windy short course awaited the senior men and senior women teams at the national cross country relays senior women scraped an A team and incomplete B team. Chloe Broad although initially was running for Cheshire at the abegele 5 on Sunday withdrew due to university commitments made the short journey to Mansfield to kick of the A team. Emma Pratt took over for the B leg and Helen Smith brought them home in a respectful 50 out of 139 teams.

Debbie Broad and Liz Gale enjoyed their quick run out in the incomplete B team.

Men - We had 2 strong senior men's teams out with the A team of Ryan Moore, Chris Perry, Sam Whitehead and Jacob Brown achieving a highest ever finishing position of 27th against the best teams and runners in the country. The B team of Nathan Williams, Matt Rowlinson, Stu Doyle and Gareth Williams also acquitted themselves extremely well, finishing in 59th place - well inside the top half of the 153 complete teams.

ABERGELE 5 MILE

Nov 4: Great to see 3 VRAC members donning county vests and extra special that two of them were mother and daughter. Here's their comments:

Carolyn Dooley: Honoured to run alongside Chloe in her first senior Cheshire vest. Age category wins for both of us too and Cheshire won the ladies Inter-county match! James Ainsworth: Great running with the Cheshire team again today at Abergele 5m intercounty match against north wales. Hopefully the start of a comeback after a couple of months being injury ridden! 12th o/a 3rd v40 and course pb 28:20. Full results here.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gender	Pos	Cat	Pos
12	28:22:00	James	Ainsworth	28:20:00	12	Male	12	Vet 40	3
40	32:15:00	Chloe	Dooley	32:13:00	40	Female	8	Under 20	1
44	32:54:00	Carolyn	Dooley	32:52:00	44	Female	9	Vet 45	1

LAKE WASHINGTON HALF MARATHON - SEATTLE

3 Nov: Brian Dooley will travel a long way to secure 1st VRAC indeed 1st GB athlete! Sounds like a very creditable performance. Here's his summary:

Lake Washington half 5th overall and 2nd 40-49 - Very Hilly so happy with the time 1.26.55. And before the comedians start there was more than 5 people in it.

BRITISH MASTERS CROSS COUNTRY RELAYS - LONG EATON (DERBYSHIRE)

27 Oct: Fantastic result and a national title for the V35 ladies. "With two of the three V35 ladies selected to run for England later this year in the Masters International XC a strong team of Liz Renondeau, Sarah Murphy and Andrea Hilldrup showed just how good they are coming away from the British Masters XC relays not only with Gold but a new course record after storming to victory with over 2 minutes to spare. Sarah set the team up leading from the gun and finishing fastest on leg 1 and second fastest of all the runners for the day. Andrea extended the lead clocking a time only 9s slower than Sarah on the previous leg. With a good but not insurmountable lead Liz ran strong to bring the ladies home for the Gold medal and new course record! Well Done Ladies a fantastic achievement". Full results

HALLOWEEN HELLRAISER - ALSAGER

28 Oct: This race has been a happy hunting ground for VRAC in the past and this year was no exception. Thanks to Debbie Moretion and Jayne Lomax for report and results:

Awesome running by VRAC with some fun with the gates and Tony Dutton now known as Alison! Claire Thompson claimed 4th senior women and first V40; Debbie Morton first V45; Debbie Broad first V50; Gary Richardson first V50. Great turn out from VRAC.

6th M Gary Richardson 1:11:59. 1st V40
9th M David Shepherd 1:14:28. 2nd V50
10th M Matt Scott 1:14:43 3rd V45
19th M Chris Beard. 1:19:22 3rd V50
32nd M/F Tony ( Alison ) Dutton 1:30:18 6th V50
45th M Richard Pettitt 1:41:30 7th V55
5th F Claire Thompson 1:20:47 1st V40
10th F Debbie Broad 1:31:16 1st V50
12th F Debbie Moreton 1:32:06 1st V45
15th F Jayne Lomax 1:35:27 3rd V50

LEICESTER MARATHON

14 Oct: An excellent run from Gary Richardson. In what he calls a 'biitter sweet' PB Gary was averaging 6.48/mile (on target for sub 3 hours) until severe cramp hit him with just 2 miles to go which put paid to that! Next time Gary.

Pos.	Gun	Chip	Name	Cat	Pace
21	03:03:42	03:03:26	Gary Richardsn	(M) V40	7:00 min/mile	PB

NORTHERN XC RELAYS - GRAVES PARK, SHEFFIELD

20 Oct: Three good team performances from the senior men at a warm and sunny Graves Park in Sheffield on Saturday. The A team of Ben Lee, Cam Weaver, Arun Dight and Jacob Brown finished a very creditable 7th behind some of the North's top club. The B team of John Humphries (on his 18th birthday), Matt Rowlinson, Josh Betteley and Stu Doyle finished a strong 18th whilst the C team of Gareth Williams, Lee Carrington. Dave Roberts and Rick Murray were also well placed in 38th thanks to some consistent running across the team. Legs were 2 miles each. On the ladies side two complete teams and one incomplete team acquitted themseves with great credit. The two complete teams placed 15th and 26th out of 40 teams with Emily Lowery running the fastest leg for VRAC. Well done all.

7 Vale Royal Ac 'A' 42:51		15 Vale Royal Ac 'A' 40:21
Benjamin Lee (17) 10:47		Clara Pettitt (24) 13:37
Cameron Weaver (10) 10:36		Emily Lowery (16) 12:52
Arun Dight (10) 11:08		Katelyn Mooney (15) 13:52
Jacob Brown (7) 10:20

18 Vale Royal Ac 'B' 45:23		26 Vale Royal Ac 'B' 45:21
John Humphries (23) 11:11		Lucy Burch (37) 15:30
Matt Rowlinson (26) 11:40		Siobhan Tarbuck (33) 14:57
Josh Betteley (22) 11:28		Melanie Johnson (26) 14:54
Stuart Doyle (18) 11:04

38 Vale Royal Ac 'C' 52:18		Vale Royal Ac 'C'
Gareth Williams (38) 12:21		Jeanette Pope (40) 15:50
Lee Carrington (40) 13:01		Jo Edwards (37) 16:36
David Roberts (40) 13:55
Richard Murray (38) 13:01

49 Complete Teams		40 Complete Teams

FARNDON 10K

14 Oct: The final race of the year in the Mike Harrington stable of races saw 8 VRAC runners take part in this countryside race on the Cheshire/North Wales border. 1st home and 2nd overall was Chris Perry who was unable to retain the title he won last year. Tom Armstrong came in next with a steady sub 38. New recruit to the club Ian Simpson was next home and sneaked under 40 mins. Gemma Barnett was our first lady home and 6th female overall closely followed by dad John Todd. Next in was Lisa Meadows with a fantastic PB given the wet and windy conditions. Vet 70 legend Colin Rathbone took his age group prize with a sub 50 finish and completing the VRAC contingent was Jayne Lomax just outside her SB with 51.06. Mike would like to thank VRAC runners for supporting the races in 2018 and hope to see you back in 2019.

Pos	Gun time	First name	Last name	Chip Time	Chip Pos	Category	Pos
2	33:19:00	Chris	Perry	33:19:00	2	Senior Male	2
17	37:56:00	Tom	Armstrong	37:54:00	17	Vet 40	6
32	39:53:00	Ian	Simpson	39:48:00	33	Vet 50	4
39	40:36:00	Gemma	Barnett	40:34:00	39	Vet 35	3
64	43:36:00	John	Todd	43:30:00	65	Vet 55	3
87	45:46:00	Lisa	Meadows	45:39:00	88	Vet 45	3
157	50:03:00	Colin	rathbone	49:55:00	165	Vet 70	1
179	51:20:00	Jayne	Lomax	51:06:00	187	Vet 50	5

HELVELLYN CHALLENGE 15K TRAIL RACE

13 Oct: James Ainsworth reports: A bunch of mates traveled up to the lakes to take part in the Lakeland Trails 15km Helvellyn race, this it becoming a regular thing then staying over and enjoying a few beers this year we stayed over in Penrith which was an interesting night out avoiding many a pub brawl ! Due to current Achilles injury and being 2 weeks into rehab i decided to downgrade to the 15km Helvellyn Trail Challenge which started an hour earlier then the race to try to enjoy it and run steady. Conditions were horrific floods and strong winds more so than the previous year which was bad as well!! I seemed to be the only one wearing a vest everyone else was in full waterproof kit! I did enjoy it and ran 6mins slower than the previous year and ran in at 3rd place. Main thing was Achilles held up ok which was a worry on the hills.

MANCHESTER HALF MARATHON

14 Oct: Four very quick athletes at Manchester and 3 big PBs. Chris williams taking around 2 minutes off his for a top 20 place. Robert Roe around 3 minutes to go sub 1.25 and an overdue sub 90 minutes for Scott Bamber who's last attempt a Wilmslow a few years ago ended at 12 miles and then the medical tent. He finally smashed it, David Humphreys (right) has lacked miles in training so was more than satisfied with his 1.34 effort. Good work fellas

Pos	Name	Chip	Cat	Cat Pos	Gen Pos
19	Chris WILLIAMS	01:11:06	SM	12	19
256	Robert ROE	01:24:41	V40	36	234
304	Scott BAMBER	01:26:04	V50	12	279
882	David HUMPHREYS	01:34:15	V45	79	798

YORKSHIRE MARATHON

14 Oct: Having completed the S African Comrades ultra marathon on it's 'downhill' year Bob is intending to repeat his effort next year to complete the 'uphill' event. As part of his continuous mileage training he tackled the Yorkshire marathon with a hope might break 3,30 having narrowly missed out at Chester last year. In hos words it was 'The most eventful marathon' he has ever run. But most importantly he overcame events to crack 3.30. Well done Bob. Here's his comments: "3:30 pacer was on a mission and disappeared Got cold and kept dropping stuff and had to stop to pick it up. Had a wee at mile 12. Hung on in there and Forrest Gumped the last mile..3:29:10!!!!

MANCHESTER XC RACE 1 - WYTHENSHAWE

13 Oct: Unseasonably warm albeit windy conditions and unusually an absence of mud at Wythenshawe. The ladies fielded 11 runners to fulfill 2 senior and 2 vets teams. An excellent run from young Chloe Broad just outside the top 10 in a high quality field. Some close battles between Helen Smith and Claire Thompson and also Julie Annable, Mary Tavener and Debbie Moreton. The men fielded 8 runners to ensure a full senior and vets team. A strong race for Rick Murray and great to see a 2nd V70 for the mercurial Colin Rathbone. Also great to see long standing VRAC member Barry Chambers bring us home. Available photos appear to suggest the ladies were more photogenic. Strange. Before and after shots suggest they gave it their all.

Ladies					Men
Pos	Name	Cat	Pos	Time	Pos	Name	Cat	Pos	Time
11	Chloe Broad	SL		32.20	152	Richard Murray	V50	10	39.42
44	Helen Smith	L45	5	34.49	219	David Haines	V45	35	41.49
47	Claire Thompson	L40	6	34.56	258	Chris Beard	V50	25	43.22
69	Mel Johnson	L35	9	35.52	270	Mark Pilliner	V50	28	43.53
76	Lucy Knight	SL		36.08	329	John Clarke	V60	4	46.26
124	Jeanette Pope	L40	18	38.31	331	Tony Archer	V60	5	46.30
152	Julie Annable	L55	6	40.02	404	Colin Rathbone	V70	2	51.44
155	Mary Tavener	L55	7	40.09	407	Barry Chambers	V65	11	52.02
158	Debbie Moreton	L45	26	40.14	437	Finishers
230	Jill Haines	L45	39	44.02
289	Carole Williams	L65	5	51.15
307	Finishers

9th/63	A Team	4 Count			42nd/57	Team	6 Count
29th/63	B Team	4 Count			25th/52	Vets Team	4 Count
4th/59	A Vets Team	3 Count
25th/59	B Vets Team	3 Count

CONGLETON HALF MARATHON

7 Oct: Darren Cottier flew the VRAC flag at Congleton and delivered an excellent performance over a testing course.

Pos	Name	Name	Cat	Cat/Pos	Chip	Pos	Gun
48	Darren	Cottier	M45	(008/046)	01:28:49	48	01:28:51

CHESTER MARATHON

7 Oct: Tony Dutton and Matthew Wooley took on the Chester Marathon. Whilst Tony felt his time was not what he hoped for a sub 4 hour debut was a great start to his marathon career. Yes, the pain has clearly faded quickly as he is planning his next one! Well done both.

Pos	Gun	Name	Name	Chip	Pos	Gen	Pos	Cat	Pos
1448	03:59:41	Anthony	Dutton	03:57:47	1445	Male	1180	MV40	249
1614	04:06:53	Matthew	Woolley	04:04:53	1613	Male	1301	MV45	215
2786	Finishers

NATIONAL ROAD RELAYS - SUTTON PARK

6 Oct: A great day for VRAC highlighted by the U15G team of Faye Conboy, Grace Roberts and Holly Weedall who won the national road relay champs, with Holly also setting the fastest leg time. Creditable performances from our senior ladies and men who both fielded two teams. Great to see Siobhan Tarbuck (192) back with her first outing in the famous VRAC vest for 15 years!

36 Vale Royal AC                  'A' 1:54:12

        Cameron Weaver   (64) 19:16
        Chris Perry      (46) 18:28
        Harry Dexter     (46) 18:58
        Jacob Brown      (35) 18:34
        Arun Dight       (34) 19:12
        Stuart Doyle     (36) 19:44

62 Vale Royal AC                  'B' 2:01:04

        Benjamin Lee     (47) 18:43
        Josh Betteley    (63) 20:36
        Alexander Doyle (65) 20:18
        Matt Rowlinson   (63) 20:18
        John Humphries   (61) 20:34

George Thompson (62) 20:35

76 Complete Teams

20   Vale Royal AC                 'A' 1:04:43

        E Renondeau      (27) 15:48
        Chloe Broad      (30) 16:36
        Andrea Hilldrup (23) 16:20
        Sarah Murphy     (20) 15:59

47   Vale Royal AC                 'B' 1:10:48

        Sophie Smith     (59) 17:22
        K Brough         (53) 17:12
        Katelyn Mooney   (48) 17:23
        Emmalouise Pyatt (47) 18:51

61   Vale Royal AC                 'C' 1:15:54

        Siobhan Tarbuck (71) 18:36
        Helen Smith      (66) 18:38
        Lisa Meadows     (64) 19:04

Debbie Broad (61) 19:36

68 Complete Teams

CARDIFF HALF MARATHON

7 Oct: Two great times from Mr and Mrs Dooley. Carolyn ran her best time in 2 years and was rewarded with a free massage from daughter Chloe! Brian was delighted with a 'shiny new PB'. Well done both. Great family day.