Vale Royal AC - Senior Section

ROUND THE WALLS - CHESTER

26 Dec: The traditional Boxing Day blow out around Chester City Walls. Thanks to Helen Whitby for the report.

A slight marshalling hicciup sent the runners an extra .5km making the race exactly 4m this year. Fantastic morning despite the wind and a great run by Kate Titlow for third lady overall. Lovely event, friendly marshals and fantastic to see Barry Chambers running. He is now one of only a handful of runners to have completed all the RTW races. Hot chocolate a welcome treat for all finishers.

Pos	Gun	Name		Chip	Chip Pos	Gen Pos	Cat	Cat Pos
30	25:20:00	Kate	Titlow	25:21:00	31	3	SF	3
46	26:31:00	Chris	Swift	26:29:00	46	40	SM	18
55	27:02:00	Helen	Whitby	27:03:00	56	8	F35	2
111	30:07:00	Anthony	Atkinson	30:01:00	115	95	M45	18
158	31:46:00	Joanne	Edwards	31:40:00	166	28	F50	4
203	33:12:00	Barry	Chambers	32:43:00	201	164	M60	6
247	34:21:00	Valerie	Kinvig	34:04:00	251	53	F50	10
491	Finishers

NORTH STAFFS XC - RACE 3 STAFFORD COMMON

18 Dec: Saturday saw the 3rd and final league race of the year at Stafford Common. The course was unusually firm with only small patches of mud in the far field.
The ladies were spearheaded by Helen Smith’s fine 20th place and also featured a number of close intra-club races across the 6 who competed. Julie Annable an excellent 2nd in her category and great to see Pauline Davies winning hers. A strong turnout of 11 senior men saw some good battles including 3 in the first 7 led home by a strong run from Ollie Williams in 4th. Excellent category wins for Stu Doyle (M45), Jacob Brown (JM) and John Clarke (M60). Colin Rathbone just 5 seconds behind the M70 victor. Mike Harrington and Gareth Williams also had a close battle with both featuring in the top 50 whilst Richard Pettitt would have been higher if he hadn’t still been in the car park when the gun went! The team finished 2nd overall which should be enough to see us clear of the Division 1 relegation spots although overall series results are still awaited. Lots of pics courtesy Robert Brown here.

Ladies					Men
Pos	Name	Cat	Time	Cat Pos	Pos	Name	Cat	Time	Cat Pos
20	Helen Smith	W45	23.11	2	4	Oliver Williams	SM	27.04
60	Nikki Cavanagh	W40	26.05	12	6	Stu Doyle	M45	27.19	1
72	Julie Annable	W55	26.46	2	7	Jacob Brown	JM	27.41	1
73	Liz Gale	W40	26.48	16	42	Gareth Williams	M45	30.47	6
168	Carole Williams	W60	34.28	5	49	Mike Harrington	M40	30.58	6
171	Pauline Davies	W65	34.58	1	66	Darren Cottier	M45	32.07	12
190	Finishers				119	Joe Cavanagh	M40	34.01	20
5th/16	Team Div 2 4 to count				152	Mark Pilliner	M45	35.29	34
					194	John Clarke	M60	38.09	1
					244	Colin Rathbone	M70	42.21	2
					249	Richard Pettitt	M55	43.25	17
					265	Finishers
					2nd/9	Team Div 1 6 to count

WELCOME BACK EUAN DUNBAR

WELSH INTER-REGIONAL XC CHAMPIONSHIPS - BRECON

10 Dec: It's been great to see Gareth Williams competing again especially in his favourite discipline, cross country. His form this season resulted in a deserved call up to represent North Wales in the M45 category. A typically wet Welsh day with plenty of mud and Gareth was in his element, running strongly to finish 8th M45 and 3rd M45 counter for North Wales helping the M45 category to a narrow win by a single point.

TATTON YULE YOMP

11 Dec: Success at the fantastic Yule Yomp event at Tatton park. Dave Shepherd won the best club fancy dress award for running in a full Santa suit! Sarah Murphy was superb first lady with Julie Annable an excellent 12th and winning her age category to boot. Debbie Moreton was 2nd in her age category and ran exceptionally well despite having to stop briefly when feeling unwell. James Ainsworth was 3rd MV40 and looking strong after a few months of with injury - just pipping Michael Carroll for 7th place. Everyone returned smiling after a highly enjoyable day....one to bookmark for next year everyone.

Pos			M/F Pos	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
5	Sarah Murphy	Female	1	FOPEN	1	00:38:58
7	James Ainsworth	Male	6	MV40	3	00:39:37
8	Michael Carroll	Male	7	MOPEN	3	00:39:38
67	David Shepherd	Male	62	MV50	8	00:46:29
121	Julie Annable	Female	12	FV55	1	00:49:56
152	Debbie Moreton	Female	21	FV45	2	00:51:07
384	Valerie Kinvig	Female	94	FV50	11	00:57:25
402	Jan Snow	Female	105	FV55	8	00:57:56

TELFORD 10K

11 Dec: Just one VRAC at Telford this year. Another good race from Kate Spilsbury. Only 18 seconds short of her PB set at Leeds Abbey Dash 2014.

Pos	Name	Gun	Chip	Gen Pos
215	Kate Spilsbury	37.06	36.57	20

CHESHIRE GRAND PRIX 2016

Quick summary now that the series is complete. Basis for teams is best 5 races from 7 (men 6 to count, ladies 4 to count). 3rd place for the men and 4th place for the ladies. Good effort.

Pos	Club	Helsby	Whitley	Kingsley	Hollins Green	Colshaw	Birchwood	Macclesfield	Overall
1	South Cheshire H	514	523	470	536	510	552	551	2676
2	Wilmslow RC	314	483	494	516	546	466	551	2590
3	Vale Royal	483	462	553	460	514	539	0	2551
4	Macclesfield H	419	497	398	490	390	320	503	2307
5	Lymm Runners	432	301	396	365	436	395	68	2024
6	Spectrum Striders	332	446	376	491	190	0	0	1835
7	Warrington Road Runners	231	458	306	217	167	475	0	1687
8	Helsby RC	379	286	455	51	0	91	252	1463
9	Warrington Running Club	96	293	175	0	234	401	0	1199
10	Congleton H	147	0	43	0	347	274	324	1135

Pos	Club	Helsby	Whitley	Kingsley	Hollins Green	Colshaw	Birchwood	Macclesfield	Overall
1	Wilmslow RC	203	218	196	214	217	205	211	1065
2	Macclesfield H	196	199	204	191	197	111	180	987
3	South Cheshire H	152	182	153	171	172	169	227	921
4	Vale Royal	142	161	234	60	195	155	49	887
5	Lymm Runners	115	143	145	179	138	154	47	759
6	Helsby RC	183	116	186	37	50	0	46	581
7	Congleton H	109	0	39	0	175	87	108	518
8	Spectrum Striders	26	178	82	218	0	0	0	504
9	Warrington Running Club	34	92	45	53	87	190	0	467
10	Warrington Road Runners	50	118	59	77	24	128	0	432

MANCHESTER LEAGUE XC - RACE 3 HEATON PARK

3 Dec: Another decent turnout with complete senior and vets teams for ladies and men. Good conditions and less mud than the previous race at Boggart Hole! More strong performances throughout the field. Two more races to come in the series after the festive celebrations.

Ladies					Men
Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time	Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
29	Helen Smith	L45	1	37.45	24	Ryan Moore	SM		36.04
104	Julie Annable	L55	3	43.42	62	Zack Bamber	SM		38.35
118	Sarah Gibbs	L35	17	45.14	79	Gareth Williams	M45	5	39.25
121	Nikki Cavanagh	L35	18	45.25	222	Mark Pilliner	M45	25	45.53
208	Carole Williams	L60	8	61.15	228	Dave Haines	M45	27	46.07
214	Finishers				240	Chris Beard	M45	30	46.27
					261	John Clarke	M60	7	47.28
21st/41	Team 4 counters				322	Ray Tran	M45	46	54.29
10th/38	Vets Team 3 counters				331	Colin Rathbone	M70	2	56.27
					341	Finishers

					20th/41	Team 6 counters
					17th/34	Vets team 4 counters

HALEWOOD 5K

3 Dec: Helen Whitby and her Mum fancied a change from the Parkrun and headed to Halewood. H reports "Halewood 5k on a whim! Mum and I went out for a change of scenery from the parkrun. Fantastic little event and Knowsley harriers put on a great free 5k. 2nd lady 19:53, 12th overall." Not bad H even if you did forget your VRAC vest!

STOCKPORT 10 MILE

4 Dec: Just two from VRAC at Stockport. Craig Sephton is a regular and clocked a very respectable time. Excellent run from Malcolm Hughes agonisingly just 5 seconds short of the PB he set here last year.

Pos	Name	Chip	Cat	Cat pos
60	Craig Sephton	1.05.14	M45	5
111	Malcolm Hughes	1.07.46	M45	17
962	Finishers

WILMSLOW 10K

Pos	Gun	Name		Chip	Gender	Gen Pos	Cat	Cat Pos
37	35:56:00	Michael	Harrington	35:52:00	Male	34	Vet 40	4	PB
63	37:53:00	Brian	Dooley	37:45:00	Male	56	Vet 40	8	PB
82	38:58:00	Richard	Murray	38:50:00	Male	74	Vet 50	4	PB
267	45:44:00	Mike	Devine	45:01:00	Male	234	Vet 40	42
366	48:36:00	Debbie	Moreton	47:54:00	Female	52	Vet 45	8
448	50:45:00	Jayne	Lomax	50:03:00	Female	71	Vet 45	11
1239	Finishers

4 Dec: Some very quick times on a nice crisp winters day at Wilmslow. Lots of PB's with Mike Harrington going sub 36, Brial Dooley sub 38 and Rick Murray sub 39! Strong performances too from Mike Devine, Debbie Moreton and Jayne Lomax.

WESHAM 10K

26 Nov: Rick Murray spurned the freezing temperatures to chase a final goal for the year. Did he make it? Here's his report (plus an insight into his radio tastes!) "Running on ice.... I decided to make the journey to the Wesham 10k to try and crack the sub 40 mins, as the only goal that I have set myself this year that I had yet failed to do. It was a lovely road race on open country roads, with a beautifully sunny but cold day and about 3k of the race the roads were very icy and at one point I nearly ran into a hawthorn hedge as I could not stop. Well pleased with 39:30."

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Pace	Time
47	Rick Murray	M50	6/48	3.57/6.21	39.30

BRITISH ATHLETICS CROSS CHALLENGE INC EURO TRIALS - SEFTON PARK

26 Nov:The Liverpool cross challenge is used as the selection event for the Great Britain team for the European Cross Country Champs and always attracts top quality fields. However yesterday's senior races were particularly stellar - for example the men's race featured 5 runners who ran in either the 2012 or 2016 Olympics. It's definitely the highest standard in-depth race I've ever competed in and very likely the best in this country for a number of years!!

Amelia Pettitt overcame recent injury problems with a superb run to finish in 32nd place overall and 9th U23 which gives her a chance of being a reserve for the GB team. Amelia was followed home by Kate Spilsbury, Sarah Murphy and Kate Titlow who all had excellent runs to place inside the top 100. Emma Pyatt running under her Liverpool University tab came 133rd.

In the men's race Matt Sheen continued his recent excellent form and took some notable scalps with his first appearance in a senior men's XC championship. Stu Doyle and Ryan Moore had a close battle throughout the race with experience just getting the better of youth on the gruelling last lap whilst. Stu took a fantastic 1st M45 placing. Richard Pettitt also ran well and looked strong throughout.

	Pos	Time	Name		Cat	Cat Pos
Ladies	32	00:28:31	Amelia	Pettitt	U23	9
	78	00:30:00	Kate	Spilsbury
	80	00:30:04	Sarah	Murphy	W35	7
	94	00:31:08	Kate	Titlow
	133	00:35:49	Emma	Pyatt
	275	Finishers

Men	84	00:31:30	Matthew	Sheen	U23	35
	148	00:33:14	Stuart	Doyle	M45	1
	168	00:34:01	Ryan	Moore
	603	00:51:41	Richard	Pettitt
	632	Finishers

SOPHIE'S CHALLENGE NO. 7 OF 13 HM's- MARBURY PARK

20 Nov: Running in the mud, wind and rain at Marbury Park. The weather didn't deter any dog owners though... meaning lots of lovely hyper dogs, plus mud, and I still didn't fall over! Still as slow as ever but still, I'm getting the job done. 1:48:28.

CONWY HALF MARATHON

20 Nov: Having stood in at short notice the previous day to make up the W35 team at the Master relays Sarah Gibbs headed to Conwy the following day. Her second time at this 'favourite' and scenic race. Here's her report:

My time was 1.47.39 but I was was never going to break any records with that belting hill in the middle! Really one of my favourite half marathons it's the 2nd time I've done it, last time I came in just over 2 hrs. Absolutely stunning views from the top & a great sea view as you travel up the Orme, also really nice finish running up towards Conway Castle. Highly recommend we were very lucky with the weather & there was great support from the locals. Finished off with chips by the harbour! Perfect.

TATTON PARK 10K

20 Nov: A few VRACers braved the traffic to make it the Tatton Park 10k. There was also a half marathon but apparently no runners from VRAC. Some were known to abandon it due to traffic chaos. Thought to be Ryan Moore's 10k debut so very impressive performance. The in form Dooley duo delivered another great race both posting PB's and going sub 40 minutes for the first time. Solid runs from the Griffiths duo to complete the VRAC set.

Pos	Chip Pos	Name	Time	Chip Time	Category	Categ Pos	Gender	Gender Pos
5	5	RYAN MOORE	00:33:57	00:33:56	Male	4	Male	5	PB
18	18	BRIAN DOOLEY	00:38:47	00:38:45	V40	4	Male	15	PB
29	31	CAROLYN DOOLEY	00:39:50	00:39:48	V40	2	Female	5	PB
179	197	CHRIS GRIFFITHS	00:49:36	00:49:25	V55	6	Male	139
988	1031	EILEEN GRIFFITHS	01:10:42	01:08:32	V55	16	Female	573

BRITISH MASTERS XC RELAYS - LONG EATON

19 Nov: One and 2/3 ladies teams went to the BMAF XC Relay championships in Derby with the VRAC flag. The course was flat and rather boring round rugby pitches with one muddy puddle in the 1.9km course. It was sunny but with freezing wind chill. The incomplete W45 of Debbie Moreton and Julie Annable finished 10th after 2 legs. Another brilliant performance from Julie, returning from injury. W35 team came 13th overall. Lovely camaraderie and team spirit. Special thanks to Sarah Gibbs for replacing a late withdrawal despite running Conway half the next day.

	Name	Pos	Time
W35	Helen Smith	6	12.13
	Sarah Gibbs	12	14.17
	Debbie Broad	13	14.31
	13th of 18 Teams

W45	Debbie Moreton	10	14.42
	Julie Annable	10	13.59
	Incomplete Team

SOPHIE'S CHALLENGE

As we know Sophie Rees has set herself the target of running 13 half marathons in 13 weeks to raise funds for Parkinson's from which her mother is suffering. She's almost half way through so here's her update on progress so far. More on her story here and pics in Gallery.

1, Sun 16/10/16, Oldham Half, a rather wet (massive understatement) and lumpy affair but still loved it. Lots of street furniture but managed to stay upright. Yey. 1:51:00

2, Fri 21/10/16, Congleton to Middlewich, running home from work. Was tired on this one, not sure why. Good to get it done before the weekend rain though…that actually never came! 1:50:10

3, Sun 30/10/16, Halloween Hell raiser, Nantwich. 10 miles (+3.1) of grass, ploughed fields, slippy slab-stones, stiles and the occasional bit of tarmac. Relieved to finish this one as I really wasn’t very well. Good fun for a run though. 2:01:03

4, Sun 06/11/16, Flying Fox 10 (+3.1), Standon, Staffordshire. A lovely rural, scenic run. Some good undulation kept it interesting. I recommend this for anyone wanting a scenic, inexpensive, low key 10 miler. You even get a biting wind thrown in for free. 1:49:32

5, Sat 12/11/16, A local half marathon run, through Bostock, Moulton, along the River Weaver, and the canal to Middlewich. Started off dry, but soon got soggy, and then soggier and then… yep, you get the picture. A nice relaxed run, with lots of doglets to say hello to. 1:49:29

6, Sun 13/11/16, The 22k Holly Hustle in Meanwood, Leeds. Described as “a forest trail run with some challenging uphills”, and they weren’t wrong. Tough, very muddy, v uneven underfoot and v lumpy (1100ft of ascent) – up, down, up, down….my Strava elevation chart looks like someone’s heart in ventricular fibrillation. Done on tired legs from yesterday’s half, I really relied on the reason for why I’m doing all of this to get me round. 2:17:23

SNOWDONIA MARATHON

28 Oct: One that slipped through the net. David (Spud) Murphy has a fine track record at this uncompromising race. He delivered again in style this year with another excellent race. Going through the halfway point in 1 hr 40 min he finished in 3.36.43 in 237th place out of 2069 finishers. PS: Partner in crime Paul Clutterbuck clocked off another impressive race finishing in 4.09.34.

BRITISH AND IRISH XC MASTERS INTERNATIONAL - GLASGOW

12 Nov: Fantastic to have VRAC Masters getting International recognition. Not the first time of course for 'Big Stu' Doyle. Stu was 8th v45 and 3rd of the 6 English runners - 4 to count. There were 30 v45's - 6 from each of the 5 British and Irish countries. Stu was 3rd English and 5th overall with 200m to go but got overtaken in a frantic mass sprint finish!! "I'm reasonably OK with that as I've missed quite a bit of training recently due to a hamstring injury also the race was only 4.4 miles so bit short for my liking!!". First time call ups (as reserves) for the indomitable two Helens ie. Smith and Whitby. Helen Smith continued her excellent form with a great race placing 2nd in the reserves race. Helen Whitby, the world greatest self critic, felt she didn't quite deliver her potential. neverthless, placing a very creditable 5th in the reserves race. Well deserved proud moment for all.

MANCHESTER XC LEAGUE - RACE 2 BOGGART HOLE

12 Nov: Boggart Hole has a reputation for MUD! This year was no exception. Sensational run from Tess McCormick finishing 4th overall in the ladies race. Looks like Nikki Cavanagh and Julie Annabe had a close (ie friendly) race. Great to see Julie Annable racing so well after her comeback from injury finishing 3rd in her category. Matt Sheen continued his outstanding form with a superb 3rd place in the mens race. Some good performances throughout with the ever present Colin Rathbone bringing VRAC home and claiming 2nd in his category.

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
4	Tess McCormick			32.13
116	Nikki Cavanagh	L35	19	43.26
117	Julie Annable	L55	3	43.27
140	Sarah Gibbs	L35	24	45.32
240	Carole Williams	L60	7	1.02.26
245	Finishers
20th/50	Team 4 to count

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
3	Matt Sheen	U20	1	33.47
122	Gareth Williams	M45	14	41.48
176	Joe Cavanagh	M40	30	44.06
239	Mark Pilliner	M45	36	46.59
249	Dave Haines	M45	37	47.29
297	Chris Beard	M45	45	50.00
305	John Clarke	M60	5	50.25
394	Colin Rathbone	M70	2	58.43
406	Finishers
27th/52	Team 6 to count
18th/39	Vets Team 4 to count

CHESHIRE 10K - ARLEY

12 Nov: A wet one this. Tommy Armstrong led the VRAC contingent home and claimed it took him longer to get his car off the field than it took to run the race! Good races from Ian Barker and David Humphreys.. Followed by a trio of VRAC ladies SueYoung, JayneLomax and Jane Pillinerall all acquitting themselves well.

Pos	Net Pos	Name	Time	Chip	Cat	Cat Pos	Gen	Gen Pos
68	66	TOM ARMSTRONG	00:37:44	00:37:30	V35	17	Male	65
145	134	IAN BARKER	00:40:34	00:39:58	V50	16	Male	136
218	204	DAVID HUMPHREYS	00:43:20	00:42:23	V40	30	Male	198
475	473	SUE YOUNG	00:50:27	00:48:41	V45	9	Female	71
543	611	JAYNE LOMAX	00:51:53	00:51:23	V45	11	Female	92
1170	1139	JANE PILLINER	01:06:14	01:01:48	V45	61	Female	446

NORTH STAFFS XC - RACE 2 PARK HALL

29 October: The second in this years NSCC series. Not a big turnout in the seniors but we did manage to field ladies and men's teams. Don't forget the next event on 19 Nov at Keele University is CANCELLED. The 3rd and final event is on 17 Dec at Stafford Common. Individual and team placings will be based on all 3 races. Full results here.

Ladies					Men
Pos	Name	Cat	Time	Cat Pos	Pos	Name	Cat	Time	Cat Pos
35	Helen Smith	W45	25.09	4	39	Mike Harrington	M40	27.06	4
63	Nikki Cavanagh	W40	27.50	15	54	Darren Cottier	M45	27.48	5
78	Sarah Gibbs	W35	28.17	15	61	Gareth Williams	M45	28.10	7
99	Lisa Meadows	W45	29.34	21	132	Scott Bamber	M45	31.10	25
217	Carole Williams	W60	39.05	7	200	John Clarke	M60	34.30	2
					278	Colin Rathbone	M70	41.34	4
245	Finishers
9th	Team Div 2 (4 count)				293	Finishers
					10th	Team Div 1 (6 count)

HALLOWEEN HELLRAISER

30 Oct: A testing multi terrain course about 10 miles in length, A good turnout with 12 VRAC hell raisers. Some good battles too. Nick Haywood first back but not without a Halloween scare from Gemma Barnett just 23 seconds behind and winning a close battle for the ladies title. Stephen 'JT' Thompson and David Shepherd also close. Great to see David Back racing again after his problems. Dave Haines just in front of John Todd who won his age category and likewise an age category win for Debbie Moreton. Sophie Rees use the race as part of her 13 half marathons in 13 weeks. This was number 3. Well done all 12 of you.

Pos	Name	Time
14	Nick Haywood	1.12.00
16	Gemma Barnett	1.12.23	1st Lady
21	Stephen Thompson	1.15.20
24	David Shepherd	1.15.41
36	Dave Haines	1.18.34
37	John Todd	1.18.54	1st M55
42	Claire Thompson	1.19.34
47	Chris Beard	1.21.38
48	Nikki Cavanagh	1.22.08
80	Debbie Moreton	1.29.30	1st F45
93	Sophie Rees	1.33.13
95	Cara Gibbons	1.33.20

147	Finishers

ABERGELE 5

30 Oct: Teams from Cheshire, Staffordshire and North Wales. Well deserved Cheshire vests for Chris Jones and Tommy Armstrong. Here's Tommy's report:

"Chris Jones & Tommy Armstrong went to the Abergele 5 (where Cheshire runners desperate for a county vest go) and that's the only good thing I can say about it. It has 2 very big hills. The first goes on forever. Chris ran well 3rd counter in 29.30 ish. I ran as well as expected I suppose after being bedridden for 2 days this week 31.20 ish and last Cheshire (got to keep the vest though)."

Pos	Name	Time
21	Chris Jones	29.30
35	Tommy Armstrong	31.20

204	Finishers

NORTHERN XC CHAMPIONSHIPS - SHEFFIELD

22 Oct: Josh Betteley, Ollie Williams, Cam Weaver and Matt Sheen claimed a brilliant bronze medal in the senior men?s race. With an average age of just 19, they secured third position in the last 400 metres of a thrilling race. Well attended by VRAC in all categories with some excellent performances. Pictures courtesy of Robert Brown here.

BILBAO (HALF) MARATHON

23 Oct: Paul Hudson continued his quest to clock off races/competitions in various places. Here's his latest report:

"The swag bag after the race had a refreshing bottle of water, the usual healthy nutritional stuff but best of all, a can San Miguel. Now that's what I would call a goody bag - but no! Shock - it was alcohol free.The bilbao night marathon (or 1/2 in my case) - a reasonably flat route (for those who like racing flats) and a winding course around the streets of the town which saved a fortune on taking the tourist bus. The whole thing started with an explosion and fireworks (a bit concerning in the basque region) but by being 3800 at the start it took 15 minster to go over the line and missed the exitement. A trot round for 18k (mostly passing tapas bars) before ramping up the speed for the last 3k to finish in 2hr 15."

OLDHAM/MILLTOWN HALF MARATHON

16 Oct: The first of Sohpie Rees' 13 half marathons in 13 weeks in aid of Parkinson's which her mother is suffering from. Here's her report.

"I've always been curious about the bleakness of Saddleworth, so this half marathon caught my eye. 1200+feet of ascent sounded like fun, and it was. I wasn't after a PB, just enjoying being with others, it being my first one of 13. It was a very wet experience, conditions more suited for swimming than running, but lovely all the same, and some great views across the bleakness that is Saddleworth, and well supported by cheery local folk."

MANCHESTER HALF MARATHON

16 Oct: FANTASTIC performances in Manchester! Carolyn Dooley said she was "so happy she could burst". Looks like hubby Brian was equally ecstatic!! Thanks to Brian for the following report.

Four seniors competed in the Manchester Half, a very large race with over 8,500 finishers. The race was extremely well organised and crowd support on route was superb only thing the organisers couldn?t arrange was the weather, heavy rain started right on the gun and persisted for most of the race along with blustery winds. That said 4 excellent performances with Chris Jones going sub 80 for the first time, Brian Dooley smashing his PB by over 6 mins and not to be out done Carolyn Dooley taking over 3 mins off hers and securing a championship entry for London at the same time ? Brian is keeping his fingers crossed for a club place for London so the family battle can continue. Half marathon debutant Chris Griffiths had an excellent run with consistent pacing to come in a very credible 1hour 48 and comfortably in the top quarter of the field.

POS	Name	Chip	Cat	Cat Pos	Gender	Gen Pos	Gun
121	Chris JONES	01:19:56	SEN	61	Male	113	01:20:01	PB
273	Brian DOOLEY	01:26:19	V40	39	Male	260	01:26:42	PB
354	Carolyn DOOLEY	01:28:06	V40	3	Female	18	01:28:29	PB
2572	Chris GRIFFITHS	01:48:48	V55	57	Male	2123	01:53:15	PB

MANCHESTER LEAGUE RACE 1 - WYTHENSHAWE PARK

15 Oct: Huge fields for men and ladies and unusually no mud at Wythenshawe made this a great start to the series. A good VRAC turnout with complete senior and vets teams for Ladies and A and B teams for the men. Excellent race from Helen Smith leading the ladies home and winning her category. Helen Whitby suffered from her decision to wear spikes and wisely decided to make a stop to change into trail shoes before working her way back through the field. Great to see Julie Annable racing strongly after her injury woes and claiming 2nd L55.

For the men a superb race from Matt Sheen in high quality company winning U20 and 6th overall. A typically strong yet understated run from Darren Cottier making the top 100. Tom Annable started conservatively but then worked his way up. Strong runs throughout the VRAC contingent with John Clarke continuing his recent form. Tony Archer impeded by ongoing knee and achilles problems will be hoping to bounce back as the season progresses.

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
31	Helen Smith	L45	1	36.14
71	Helen Whitby	L35	10	39.08
122	Debbie Broad	L45	12	42.24
132	Julie Annable	L55	2	43.37
224	Carole Williams	L60	7	54.54

237	Finishers

19th/48	Team (4 count)
9th/39	Vets Team (3 count)

Pos	Name	Cat	Cat Pos	Time
6	Matt Sheen	U20	1	33.41
96	Darren Cottier	M45	9	39.48
115	Tom Annable	M50	7	40.27
162	Craig Sephton	M45	17	41.48
197	Scott Bamber	M45	26	43.25
212	Dave Haines	M45	30	44.17
271	John Clarke	M60	5	46.58
278	Chris Beard	M45	43	47.21
322	Tony Archer	M60	7	50.00
363	Richard Pettitt	M55	23	54.27
374	Colin Rathbone	M70	5	57.23
378	Paul Hudson	M60	16	60.29

381	Finishers

18th/43	A Team (6 Count)
43rd/43	B Team (6 Count)
14th/41	A Vets Team (4 Count)
31st/41	B Vets Team (4 Count)

FARNDON 10K

16 Oct: Good turnout from VRAC to this one. Good runs throughout with notable PB for Kate Titlow just under the 40 min milestone (chip) and 2nd lady. Also big PB for Lisa Meadows. We think Natasha Smith also PB'd. Well done all.

Pos	Gun	Name		Chip	Min/km	Gender	Gen Pos	Cat	Cat Pos
7	36:27:00	Andrew	Miles	36:26:00	03:38	Male	7	SM	5
16	38:49:00	Tom	Armstrong	38:47:00	03:52	Male	16	SM	11
24	40:01:00	Kate	Titlow	39:58:00	03:59	Female	2	SF	1	PB
30	40:21:00	Richard	Murray	40:19:00	04:01	Male	27	Vet 50	4
35	40:37:00	Chris	Swift	40:34:00	04:03	Male	30	SM	15
44	41:21:00	Natasha	Smith	41:09:00	04:06	Female	6	Vet 45	2
119	46:49:00	Ray	Tran	46:41:00	04:40	Male	103	Vet 45	16	PB?
123	46:58:00	Lisa	Meadows	46:45:00	04:40	Female	17	Vet 45	6	PB

BANGOR HALF MARATHON

9 Oct: Congratulations to new member Matt Woolley. Matt joined in August and attended a few training session before commitments got in the way. However, he has the bit between his teeth and delivered an excellent PB at Bangor. Here's his report. We should see Matt joining us again at training as his commitments allow.

"I had a good run, coming in at 1:48:27 to beat by previous best by 3.5 mins. I felt I ran a good steady pace, averaging about 8:20 per mile, with a steady start and keeping up a good pace for me and then I had a bit left in the tank for a good effort over the last mile. There were 169 finishers, I was 46th overall and 5th in my category (45-49). It was a good, varied course with several hills and a run up and down Bangor Pier and a loop around Penrhyn Castle estate. RunWales organised it well, with plenty of marshalls and at least 4 drinks stations and a good start/finish in the main shopping street. This was my 3rd half marathon after Wilmslow in April (1:53:07) and Rhyl in June (1:52:07)."

WINSFORD 10K

9 Oct: 9 VRACRer's took on the local WInsford 10k race. Joe Cavanagh claimed 4th overall and Gemma Barnett won the overall Ladies race to pick up some nice prizes! Stephen 'JT' Thompson won the M50 category with Lisa Meadows, Claire Thompson and Paul Spare claiming 2nd in their categories. Well done all.

Pos	Time	Name	Gen	Gen Pos	Cat	Cat Pos	Pace	Chip
4	38:31.3	Joe Cavanagh	M	4	M40	2	3:51/K	38:29.3
5	38:58.1	Gemma Barnett	F	1	FSen	1	3:54/K	38:56.7
16	41:05.5	Stephen Thompson	M	14	M50	1	4:06/K	41:03.9
18	41:30.7	Chris Weedall	M	16	MSen	10	4:09/K	41:27.7
30	43:18.2	Lisa Meadows	F	3	F40	2	4:19/K	43:13.2
33	43:39.7	Claire Thompson	F	4	FSen	2	4:22/K	43:38.1
50	44:55.9	Paul Spare	M	44	M60	2	4:29/K	44:50.1
57	46:14.3	Ray Tran	M	50	M40	20	4:37/K	46:11.1
77	48:21.4	Debbie Moreton	F	10	F40	5	4:50/K	48:15.7

275	Finishers

NATIONAL ROAD RELAYS - SUTTON PARK

8 Oct: Another good day for the club at Sutton Park with excellent conditions leading to fast times - including Andy Butchart following up his 5th place finish in The Olympic 5000m final with a stunning 16.29 for the 5.88km course to leapfrog Mo Farah and go to 2nd on the all time list!! The VRAC Senior men couldn't match that time but did produce a very consistent set of performances with everyone of the 6 runners within a minute of each other. Matt Sheen was the quickest runner of the day for the club with an 18.29 leg but was strongly supported by Jacob Brown, Josh Betteley, Ollie Williams, Cam Weaver and Ryan Moore. The team finished a very creditable 40th place.

Special mention to Carole Williams who having come for a day put to watch stepped in to complete the final womens team after a late withdrawal from Kate Moulds who was unwell (credit to Col who as they were leaving the house suggested she grabbed her vest-on the off chance!!) The ladies fielded 3 complete teams , only one of 4 clubs in the country to do this.
The A team finished a credible 11th with Katie Gerrard running so close to the 15min barrier on first leg to come home 13th overall. Solid performances by Sarah Murphy's and Kate Spilsbury gave Amelia a good shot at a top 10 finish unfortunately having struggled all week with a shin complaint they just missed out by a few seconds nonetheless a fighting performance from the whole team.The 'real' race of the day was back down the field a little with Chloe Dooley finally getting the better of Mum Carolyn. Both were bumped and bashed in a brutal first 100m and ran strong first legs to come home within 20s of one another. Clara Pettitt had a fantastic run gaining 10 places to extend the Lead of the C team which was only overturned by Helen Whitby on the final bend after Lucy Burch held her off for almost the entire 3rd leg. Kate Titlow and Carole Williams rounded off a fabulous day for the ladies finishing in 41st and 55st place.

Full results here: Senior Ladies; Senior Men. Great photos from Robert Brown here.

SANDSTONE TRAIL RACE

2 Oct: This popular local race attracted a decent club turn-out on what was supposed to be the 40th and last running of the event. However, the good news is Mike H has stepped in to run the race in future years. Thank-you Mike! The conditions were perfect. Cool sunny weather and no wind and some mud meant that the race was an enjoyable if tough challenge. In the A-race Tom had an early battle with Alex Mason tho took a wrong turn (despite getting told by Alex he was going the wrong way!) then faded late on though still holding on for the MV50 prize. Alex finished very strongly to finish 4th. Nikki was our only A race lady and ran strongly and this year stayed upright! Nikki finished 4th lady in a strong field this year. Nick ran well and still had his characteristic long bouncy stride coming into the finish. Sensible pre-marathon pacing we hope Nick! Gary sadly hobbled in with injury and looks like he has a setback in his marathon training. Good luck in your recovery Gary. Dave was happy with his finish having put his injury behind him (we hope) and Bob showed his developing endurance bu running strongly over the closing miles. Sophie was pleased to finish again after her many struggles with injury. Joe led the B race contingent in with a quick and high finish. Chris was very happy with a big improvement despite the slower conditions than last year (mud!). Debbie and Lisa got caught in the bottlenecks earlier on and were together on the Yeld only for Debbie to power on (making light of the hen party the night before). Lisa was heard to say "never again" after skating across the slippy corn fields in road shoes (someone advised her that was a sensible option - care to own up anyone?). I think she means she wants to do the A-race next year.

A Race (17.5)
7th	Tom Annable	MV50	02:10:11
25th	Nick Haywood	M	02:23:43
46th	Gary Richardson	MV40	02:32:45
51st	Nikki Cavanagh	LV40	02:34:24
52nd	David Haines	MV40	02:35:19
53rd	Bob Corinaldi	MV40	02:35:25
123rd	Sophia Rees	L	03:03:26
B Race (10.5)
14th	Joe Cavanagh	MV40	01:22:58
60th	Chris Griffiths	MV50	01:38:54
109th	Debbie Moreton	LV40	01:51:39
115th	Lisa Meadows	LV40	01:53:00

CONGLETON HALF MARATHON

2 Oct: Stu Doyle saved himself for this one so had to miss the first N Staffs XC at Knights Grange. Seems it was worth it. He only went and won the race overall!! Here's his report:

"Having missed the N staffs XC for it I was keen for a decent run at the Congleton 1/2 this morning and it all went to plan with good conditions and undulating scenic course. I managed to catch the early leader after 3 miles and we then ran together for the next 7 before I pushed on over the last 3 to win by c. 2 1/2 mins in 74.39".

NORTH STAFFS XC RACE 1 - KNIGHTS GRANGE

1 Oct: The cross country season kicked off in fine conditions at Knights Grange hosted by VRAC. Another well organised event. Thanks to all the helpers before, during and after the event. Numbers of senior VRACers seemed to be down a bit with several potential runners were saving themselves for the Sandstone Trail race or Congleton half marathon.

Pos	Name	Cat	Time	Cat Pos	Pos	Name	Cat	Time	Cat Pos
9	Kate Titlow	SW	21.08		30	Mike Harrington	M40	29.38	4
36	Helen Smith	W45	22.45	6	44	Gareth Williams	M45	30.14	4
108	Sarah Gibbs	W35	26.44	18	59	Darren Cottier	M45	31.03	9
114	Julie Annable	W55	26.59	6	73	Tommy Armstrong	SM	31.41
195	Carole Williams	W60	33.21	5	125	James Edwards	M55	33.46	6
					139	Chris Weedall	SM	34.27
221	Finishers				152	Mark Pilliner	M45	34.55	29
8th Team	Div 2 (4 counters)				165	John Clarke	M60	35.37	2
					181	Tony Archer	M60	36.06	4

					275	Finishers
					9th Team	Div 1 (6 counters)