Langley always strains the ‘summer’ in ‘series’ but, in my view, it is the best race and well worth hanging on for. If it were not part of the Series, I doubt we’d get more than ten Wilmslow runners there and everything achieved on Saturday would be lost.
It was a sunny morning but by 2:30 the cloud had moved in, it was a cool 10o and the rain quickly followed. Running was alright but a brave day for spectators yet we got strong vocal support from Paul, Clare, Nina, Angie, Simon, Anne and others.
Damian had come second three years in succession but this time there was never any doubt, he romped it with two and a half minutes to spare. A fitting end to a Series which he has dominated from start to finish with the same seemingly easy, unassuming, smooth running. Jim was third, Malcolm was fourth and 1st. M45, Tom 6th. and 1st.M50, although the organisers prematurely aged him. It might be Macclesfield Harriers’ race but no doubt where the team prize was going. Mick was 1st. M60 but that somehow got lost.
Our Ladies don’t have the strength of earlier in the year and Clare, sadly, is moving to Loughborough but Kate, Katy, Nicky and Penny won us the Ladies. Nicky, inevitably, was 1st F50 but Kate just lost out on the F45.
Rob D took silver in the main table and Jim’s 49 took him one point above Tom and Malcolm who tie for 4th. it then goes Tony, Rob G, James, Mike, with Mick and Ian S sharing 10th. place.
Don, who was next, completed all 19 races in the Series; I understand this has only been achieved twice before in the past; by Tony and Sally Maddock.
Five runners completed their seventh race and add their names to the 2010 t-shirt and mug; Amanda Bradbury, Sarah Waite, Katy Green, James Eyre and Malcolm Fowler. 49 finishers, Tony’s going to have to find a smaller font; a decade ago it was 12 or 13.
Kate emphasized her dominance in the Ladies with her third straight win. Katy was second and Nicky third. Katy finishes joint second with Sally G, Nicky is fourth, Angela fifth and Penny sixth. For the second successive year Sarah W dragged herself round Langley, seems like she’ll do anything for a free T-shirt. Then it is Catriona and Christine with Amanda and Sally P’s points at Langley squeezing Steffi out of the top ten.
Mick, Ian S and Steve S were Group 3/4 1:2:3 here.
Mick was simply cementing a victory that was already secured. Tony is 2nd. for the Series and Ian S 3rd. Don comes next. 47 points for James saw him move up to joint 5th. with Andy. Steve is 7th., Gareth 8th., Kate 9th. and Geoff 10th.
Penny picked me up at the 1-mile marker and we ran the hill together which was a big help to me. Hopefully it didn’t do her any harm either for she took the 5/6 50 points followed by Amanda, Sally P, and Cat.
Congratulation to Angela who wins the Group. Her hamstring injury kept her out of Langley and could have cost her the Series but in the end the points she secured in the early races saw her home. Penny’s win took her equal second with John.
Next are Christine, Catriona and Amanda – five points covered the first six runners, all were potential winners in this most competitive of Groups. Then come Sally and Steffi with Carla and Roy co-joined at 9th.. Key in a strong run by Roy was a burst on the hill that took him away from Rod. Burst on the hill?
Kasey had a good run that took her above Simon in the table. Trevor always does well here and he gained two places in the table at expense of Soraya and Sarah. Gail suggests that perhaps her surname is a misnomer. Tough race for Charlotte but she got her second highest score of the Series. Just as fitting as Damian winning the final race was Martin’s laterne rouge, despite making this position his own he’s one of the most improved runners in the club.
Tom was first in the Age/Sex Adjusted league with Mick second, Damian third and Malcolm fourth.
Tom takes the Series, Rob D has silver and Tony bronze. Then follow Mick, Damian, Malcolm, Andy, Jim, Nicky and Kate.
I felt that the changed start/finish improved what was already an excellent race. My own experience was that the longer ‘run-in’ set me up better for the hill which I ran faster than last year. That I lost some of that advantage overall is probably because the third of a mile downhill added at the beginning I ran steadily, whilst, when it was at the end, I was flat-out. The car park was less convenient with the changed start/finish and leaving warm clothes in the church hall would probably have been sensible. The start was congested by traffic and a hold by the police between the new to the old start for five minutes would be beneficial. The finish is much improved.
I also think with the race expanding so could the prizes; perhaps to 65 for men, 55 for ladies and maybe second prizes in the bigger categories. The tea and cakes as always were wonderful.
I plan, as last year, to pull together all the Summer Series results, reports and comments into one document. John Porteus did a good piece in the last newsletter on his perspective on Summer 2009. Anyone else willing to do that or anything else on any aspect of the Series I would be pleased to include (and Charlotte would probably be grateful to also have it for the newsletter). ian@ianashcroft.com, charlottegodfrey1@hotmail.com . No rush, I won’t get it done until the end of the month.
I will also, as in previous years, email to invite you to pick out which races you liked best, and least, and make any other comments on the competition.
Finally thanks to Tony; juggling different distances and different terrains into a comprehensive programme aimed at improving our fitness over an eight month period is not easy. Also to Don who seems to have sometimes had the tables on the website before the official results are posted.
Ian
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