Malcolm’s second Great Warford 10 was not only Summer Series but also the Cheshire Grand Prix and the Cheshire 10-mile championship. It was also, I’m reliably informed, 10 miles.
Damian was 2nd., Rob 4th., Jim 5th. and Trevor 8th. this gave Wilmslow the team prize and probably guarantees the Cheshire Grand Prix for 2009. Jim jumps into second place in the table pushing Tony down into third. However Rob took 49 points and Jim will immediately have to watch his back.
Rob was 1st.M45 with Trevor 2nd.M45. Tom was 1st. M50 and Ray 1st. M55.
Tony missed a race for the first time leaving Don as the only one to have run all 14.
Sally was 9th. lady, Kate 11th. Sarah 18th. and Amanda 19th. The Ladies team was second to Grand Prix rivals Vale Royal.
Sally was 2nd. L45 and Kate 3rd. L45.
A second successive 50 points for Sally, she and Sue are still potential champions but race by race Kate, another 49 points here, is squeezing the opposition. Sarah narrowly beat Amanda for 48 points and could make the podium. Overall Nicky is second to Kate with Angela third.
Mick, 1st. M60, took the 3/4 50 points, Peter 49 and Ian, much too flat for him, 48.
This is Mick’s sixth win of the Summer, he goes ahead of Tony who has five wins, Don is third.
Jamie was 3rd.M60.
Chris, who looked to be tiring between 5 and 8, finished with a flourish in the last half-mile first shaking-off Ian, then taking Amanda and then Sarah.
John always wins one 5/6 race and last year he won Warford with Huma second. This year he was up against Amanda on one of her days and, even though she tired over the last couple of miles, so did he. Penny was back to form just beating Catriona for third. Cat did not produce one of her storming finishes, perhaps becoming embarrassed by the drama as she collapses over the line. Penny and Cat, who are second and third in the table, finished ahead of Angela which opens things up a bit, Angie had started to dominate in recent races. There are two big unknowns in 5/6. Was Sally’s Meerbrook a one-off? Might Amanda find consistency? Christine might also play a role in the final outcome but today was handing-out drinks and encouragement.
I’ll do the age/sex adjusted times and put them on the web – Rob, Tom, Ray and Mick were all first in their categories. Don will post the updated table.
Julie Lucas and Jim Pendrill make it 29 names on the 2009 T-shirt and mug. Mike, Laclan and Stephen, maybe he can find his vest for his race, Gawsworth, made their 2009 Summer debuts. With five races left; Nick, Stuart, Clare, Huma, Vicky, Bill and Graham have to run them all to complete the Series.
There tends to be a negativity about races which have laps rather than a single course. This is a pleasant setting and the laps give the spectators more opportunity to get involved, though whether you want to be ‘encouraged’ by Roy on three different occasions is questionable. The proof is in the pudding and entries were twice last year’s level and I’m willing to bet most will be back next year and bring their colleagues. The David Lewis Centre finances will have had a boost.
Undulating courses tend to produce better races. In the 4/5 ‘cluster’ I was never short for company and changed places more than once with all of Angela, Penny, Catriona, Matt, John and Chris and at the end, harboured unfulfilled ambitions to steal places off Amanda and Sarah.
The numbers had swelled beyond Malcolm’s purchase of mementos and I was ready to sacrifice mine to someone more appreciative. However I got a clock, similar to those they once had for the Wilmslow Half. I thought they were good and once asked Maurice why they weren’t repeated. I got a very Maurice reply; the problem seemed to be the supply chain; Bulgarian smugglers and Somali pirates as I recall. When I opened the clock it was so like the previous ones it had ‘Wilmslow Half 2000’ printed on it. For others who have the same memento they keep good time but the tick is very loud, not however a problem with this one, I don’t suppose the Bulgarians do long-life batteries.
Bit of a rest now before Gawsworth on September 13th. and Sutton a week later.
Ian