Sale Sizzler 5k
Thursday July 15
Some proper summer weather; no problem for once with the heat, a bit of rain and a coolish breeze. The conditions had little impact, Wilmslow times were, overall, very much as last year, perhaps down just three or four seconds.
This race attracts some quality athletes, as is demonstrated by Damian finishing 'only' 5th. His was, nevertheless, a good performance, my stats make Sale 22 seconds (at Damian's level) slower than Bowdon, which he won, and his time here was 19 seconds slower. At Group 3 level, Sale is 29 seconds slower and, at Group 5 level, 33 seconds slower so beating your Bowdon time was not easy.
Given the quality of the field, this was a remarkable Wilmslow performance; Louise was 1st.L35, Sally 1st.L40, Clare 1st.L45, Jane 1st.L55, John 1st.M55 and Mick 1st.L60.
It says something for the youthful vigour of the club that seven of the first nine over 60s came from Wilmslow and that was without Andy, first over 60 on Sunday, who had left for the Pyrenees and his stage of the Tour de France.
Jim was 16th., Rob Downs 22nd., Tom 35th., James Wheeler 45th., Ray 48th. and Rob Gilbert 66th. The Wilmslow Men were 3th, behind Salford and East Cheshire.
Damian took the 60 points for the ninth time but is not yet mathematically certain to retain his championship. Gareth Trimble, Louise Rudd, Mathew Atkinson, Sharon Jones, Nina Birch, Simon Fenton, Trevor Faulkner and Gail Hill take their place on the 2010 T-shirt and mug. It was a less fruitful day for the 17 who had already completed their seven races, only Ian added to his overall total. Tony and Richard hold-on to 2nd. and 3rd but thereafter the main table is, therefore, much changed. Gareth, Louise and Matt are now 4th., 5th., and 6th. Don, Clare, Kate, Sarah, Christine, Ian, Owen, Penny, Chris, Roy, Rod Julie and Monique drop down to accommodate them. Sharon, Nina and Simon move up to 20th., 21st., and 22nd. displacing Martin then Gail and Trevor complete the qualifiers.
Louise was 4th. lady in the race. Jane who beat all the L40s, L45s and L50s was second Wilmslow lady with Sally Johnston third. Fourth counter was Clare as Wilmslow Ladies finished second to Sale Harriers. Diane had her first outing in a Wilmslow vest.
Louise leapfrogs into a commanding lead in the Ladies table. Clare, Kate, Sarah, Christine, and Penny all lose a place. Sharon moves into the pacemakers at 7th., ahead of Julie with Nina moving up to 9th., Monique and then Gail up to 11th. Katy is poised with four wins and two seconds.
Steve Smith took his fourth Group 3/4 win in five races. Matt was second (his best run of the Series, but I think I've said that before), Louise was third, then Tony, Paul, Gareth, Chris (who's winter 'ski-ing' activities seem to have taken less of a toll on him this year), Steve Russell (quietly accumulating the points), Jane and Jamie 10th.
Louise jumps to second but Tony remains strongly placed at the top of the table. Only Ian, of those who had already completed their seven, added to his total so the changes came from Gareth and Matt jumping up to 4th and 5th. Katy on six races and Steve on five threaten to give the table a different look as we move through the summer.
James won his second successive 5/6 race. As a new runner he is subject to category review and, if he keeps on improving at this rate, he is in danger of promotion to Group 4. John was second, he's getting closer to his early season form even though 5k is not his favourite distance. Owen, third, was followed by Andy and then debutant Alan. Sharon was experimenting with trying to take the early part more slowly and run the whole race at an even pace. Gail's sojourn in Turkey has done more for her suntan than her running but she has a T-shirt to go with it, as does Trevor.
Owen retains a tenuous hold on the top of the table, but needs to add to only one win in twelve races. Penny looked certain to displace him but injury will be followed by holiday and she may be frustrated. Chris was going to take a rest after his eye operation but "it's only 5k". Rod, testing himself out after his minor stroke, came through with a clean bill of health . Sharon, qualifying for her first T-shirt, jumps up to 5th. Simon has also completed seven races and moves up to 7th., he's behind his big rival, but the programme for the second half of the season may be more in his favour. 5k is Roy's premier event and this was a disappointment, he's struggling, surprisingly, probably more for confidence than fitness, maybe he needs a barbeque and a few drinks. Huma, who is suffering more from lack of fitness than confidence, is slowly finding it. Nina's computer controlled fitness regime is definitely paying dividends, she picks-up the T-shirt and moves into the top ten.
I ran the Forest 5 (Wednesday 28th.) a few years ago. Stuart warned me that the first ten minutes was uphill. I kept one eye on my watch as we climbed but hadn't thought it through, ten minutes for Stuart, a lot longer for me. Thereafter, as I remember, it was pleasant, undulating tracks through woodland, I kept changing places with Mike, the Halle violinist sadly killed mountaineering. Don't be fooled by the'5' tag, unless they've changed the course it was over 6 miles.
Ian