A warm Tuesday eve saw 27 LRC members making the journey to Leicestershire to take part in the Worthington 6 miler, part of the BDSL series. This was an excellent event organised by Ivanhoe Runners; the excitement was palpable on this warm and sunny evening. Not the best running conditions but great for sitting with a drink.

A great effort by the whole team, notably James Kay coming in at 34.56 (4th place) and Andy Evans not far behind in 35.04 (5th place overall and 1st in age category). The ladies did equally well with first home Sarah Hayman in 45.10 and Gail Fortes Mayer in 46.40 not far behind. Although there was no medal at the finish line an impromptu burger or pint was available for those who fancied it, especially in the slightly cooling evening air.

22 club runners were in action at the Gate Gallop 10k on a hot and sunny Sunday.

This BDSL race is organised by Peel Road Runners and raises money for St Giles Hospice.

Our first runner home was Andy Evans (37:13) in 5th place overall and 1st in his age group. Close behind him was James Kay (37:21) in 6th place, with Will Packham (38:37), and Matt Allan (39:06) also finishing in under 40 minutes. They were followed by Ed Coppinger (40:41), James Coombes (41:55), Adam King (45:31), Stephen Howard (54:52), David Gould (01:00:51, 2nd in age category), Viktor Karaiosifidis (01:08:31) and Ryan Robinson (01:09:10)

First LRC lady home was Carly O’Neill (46:58), 6th lady and 2nd in her age group with Gail Fortes-Mayer (54:04) the 2nd LRC lady to finish. Following were Joy Edge (57:19), Janna Heathershaw (59:31), Rachel Dobson (01:00:12), Carina Allan (01:04:10), Clare Tanter (01:05:06), Sophie Thompson (01:07:21), Maria Andritsou (01:12:30), Marcelle Hollins (01:17:25) and Charlotte Wesley (01:22:49).

A fantastic effort from all our runners in challenging conditions!

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Wednesday 10th June saw runners from LRC take part in not one but two sets of relays.

22 yellow vests headed over to Burton to the Washland Relays, part of the Burton and District Summer League. The event was impeccably organised by Washlands Women running club, with runners from various club taking part. Each runner ran a two mile lap around the riverside course.Our Men’s Senior team came 3rd overall and the Men’s v40 came 4th overall and won their age category. Our Women’s v35 teams came in 7th and 27th and our mixed team came in 40th with our mixed vets team came in 54th position. Everyone enjoyed cheering on their team mates and the rain held off.

The same evening, a large contingent of LRCers went to Staffordshire Showground to compete in the Showground Relays, organised by Stafford Harriers. Our 10 teams joined over 300 teams of four; each runner completed a two mile lap around the showground. The competition was fierce and of a high standard, with the fastest team completing the four legs in 39:17. Our fastest men’s team finished in 43:58 and the fastest women’s team in 01:06:26. Fantastic running by over 30 of our members. Our runners received enthusiastic support from their team mates as the course went past the LRC marquee. The event was well organised and everyone enjoyed an evening of running, cheering and friendship.

With the Spring marathon season over, let’s give a special mention to all our members who undertook the months of training and dedication to complete the 26.2 mile challenge.

Manchester Marathon

Duncan Cooper
Ed Foster
Ed Coppinger
Anna Sanders
Dave Sanders
Andy Clay
Owen Mitchell
Gemma Lunn
Neal McCathie
Carina Allan
Joy Edge
Pippa Pinches
Tom Senter

London Marathon

James Kay
Ryan Simms
Matt Allan
Wayne Asprey
Mitchell Smallman
Ben Stanaway
Katie Elton
John Hutchison
Paul Thomson
Matt Hall
Jane Bradbury
Claire Wheat

Brighton Marathon/Providence Marathon, Rhode Island, USA

Phill Brindle

Boston Marathon, UK

Andy Evans

Lake Garda, Italy

Federica Cantatore
Ludovica Mazzucco

Exeter Marathon

Jo Turrell

It’s fantastic to see such a large number of our members, across all age groups and paces, competing in marathons all over the country and even abroad. You should all be incredibly proud of your achievements and serve as an inspiration to others to take on the challenge.

Some of them are pictured below.

A small team of LRC runners took part in the Uttoxeter Festival of Running Half Marathon, the second event in the Burton and District Summer League, taking on the beautiful, but hilly countryside route.

For Paul Mortimer, it was his first event over the distance; for Adam King, Clare Tanter and Charlotte Wesley, it was their second half marathon in a few weeks, having previously competed in Stafford.

First man over the line was James Coombes (19th: 1:27:56), followed by Ben Richards (91st: 1:44:26), Adam King (98th: 1:45:28) and Paul Mortimer (145th: 1:58:35). First lady home was Melanie Baker-Hunt (26thF: 1:53:32). Despite suffering a fall in the latter part of the race, Gail Fortes-Mayer finished in 2:00:47(32nd F), followed by Clare Tanter (58th F: 2:26:13) and Charlotte Wesley (67th F: 2:57:11).

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An enjoyable morning for the team, with post-race ice-cream going down well!

The Burton and District Summer League kicked off in April, with the first event, Run in the Forest, held by South Derbyshire Road Runners.

The varied terrain (mostly trail, with some tarmac, steep inclines and a canalside section) made for an interesting five mile course, starting in the Conkers Discovery Centre car park and finishing close by, in the woodland. The rain held off and after a chilly start, the sun even came out for us!

There was an excellent turnout, with 32 runners representing LRC, including newest club member, Lisa Gilbert, as well as several others taking part in their first BDSL season: Steph and Jon Jervis, Adam King, Mitchell Smallman, Liam Chawner, Viktor Karaiosifidis, Rachel Dobson and Ryan Robinson.

James Kay was first to cross the line, in 9th place, in 29.19, followed shortly afterwards by Morgan Bradley (20th/30:31), James Coombes (26th/31:14) and Liam Chawner (30th/31:33).First female was Lorraine Amos (31st F/44:55) with Janna Heathershaw next home in 45:40 (49th F).

Massive congratulations to everyone who took part: James Kay, Morgan Bradley, James Coombes, Liam Chawner, Mitchell Smallman, Will Packham, Stephen Howard, Adam King, Phill Hammersley, Nick Parkes, Keith Lowther, Paul Fowler, Phil Pinney, Jon Jervis, David Gould, Viktor Karaoisifidis, Paul Gilbert, Ryan Robinson, Lorraine Amos, Janna Heathershaw, Rachel Dobson, Clare Tanter, Beth Clarke, Marian Lowther, Abbi Storer, Maria Andritsou, Steph Jervis, Daniella Gonzalez, Sophie Thompson, Lisa Gilbert, Charlotte Wesley and Marcelle Hollins.

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Congratulations to the new runners who graduated from our eight week beginners’ course a few weeks ago, successfully completing their final 5k run. They showed real dedication throughout the course, braving some of the worst weather we’ve ever had! What a great achievement; you are all amazing!

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Lichfield Running Club’s men’s team were out in force at Sutton Park for the Midland Road Relays, putting in a strong performance across all legs in a very competitive field.

The team of James Pickering, Chris Benson, Ben Stanaway, Matt Allan, Ed Coppinger, Mitchell Smallman, Liam Chawner, Wayne Asprey, Stephen Rivers, Morgan Bradley, Phil Radnor and Ryan Simms all ran well and kept us in the mix throughout. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way we briefly invented our own course… and the result didn’t count. Let’s call it creative navigation. Plenty of positives to take though — strong runs, great team spirit, and a reminder that we’ve got real depth in the squad. On to the next one!

What a brilliant way to close the cross country season! After the final (rescheduled) event at Sinai Park, Lichfield Running Club brought home the trophies for the men’s and mixed team events once again, retaining the men’s title for the second time, and the mixed team title for the third consecutive year!

The two lap course was the usual challenging mix of steep elevation, both up and downhill, including a wooded section (which, on another occasion would have made a pleasant walk!), slippery walkways, several stiles, sheep and, of course, plenty of mud.

Nonetheless, everyone made it round relatively unscathed and retired to the Albion Pub for the results and presentation; after a tense wait, we were announced overall winners of the men’s and mixed team competitions.

Furthermore, numerous LRC members were awarded category prizes: Chris Benson (2nd SM); James Kay (3rd SM); Matt Allan (3rd MV40); Andy Evans (1st MV45); Phil Pinney (1st MV70); Carina Allan (2nd VL55); Clare Tanter (3rd VL55); Marian Lowther (3rd VL60). Congratulations to everyone who represented the club in the competition, whether at one or all of the events; it was a real team effort, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Huge thanks, too, to those who supported by bringing the kit, cakes, cheering us on, and so on. Thanks, especially to new team captain, Charlotte, who stepped into the role early in the season, and guided us through another successful campaign. We’ll be back next year!

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Another sunny Sunday morning saw 19 of our runners go to Stafford to take part in the half marathon. Starting and finishing in Victoria Park, the route follows roads and paths around the town to produce an undulating course. There was lots of support from local people around the course which was much appreciated.

Our first runner home was James Kay in 01:17:56, a new PB and taking 18th place overall. Following him were Andy Clay – new PB (01:25:43), James Coombes (01:26:12), John Corpe (01:26:55), Phil Radnor and Jimmy Pickering both in 01:27:08, Liam Chawner (01:29:10), Adam King – first half marathon (01:43:57), Keith Lowther (01:48:29), Tom Senter – new PB (01:50:06), Neil Anderson (02:10:28) and Phil Pinney (02:12:12). Phil was also 4th in his age group.

Joy Edge was the first woman to finish in 02:08:00. Joy used the half marathon as part of a 22 mile marathon training run, which shows real dedication. She was followed by Janna Heathershaw (02:09:34), Louise Anderson (02:10:28), Clare Tanter – first half marathon (02:12:59), Ann Schwarzenbach (02:18:27), Marian Lowther (02:27:47) and Charlotte Wesley (02:46:41)

Well done to all our runners, some great performance over a testing distance.