What a fabulous evening’s running Lichfield Running Club had at the Washlands Relays! Eleven teams were entered into the competition and runners of all speeds took part. Each runner completed a 1.91 mile leg along the riverside in Burton-upon-Trent and teams consisted of three or four runners.

The official results showed that our men won the senior and veterans team competitions. Well done to Ben Stanaway, Ryan Simms, Dan Floyd and Matt Orford who won the senior competition and Andy Evans, Matt Allan, Richard Bravington and John Doyle who won the veterans.

There were some great individual performances too. Our first lady home was Esther Hunt in 12th place overall in a time of 12:22. She was closely followed by Judy Hammersley and Joanna Alsop. Matt Orford was the fastest man around the course for the whole competition in 09:23. Not far behind him were Ryan Simms, Dan Floyd, Jimmy Pickering, Andy Evans, John Doyle and Dan Turner.

Well done to each and every runner who took part, and thanks to Washlands Women Running Club, who staged the event despite some challenges with the route!

A wet start to the third race in the club grand prix competition (and second event of the Burton and District Summer League) – if there had been more grass and mud, it would have been confused for one of the cross country races!

12 LRC runners were ready to hit the undulating 10k and half marathon routes. Parts of the course hit 386 feet (according to Strava) – it makes our LRC10km seem like a jaunt in the park! (Don’t forget to block the date out in your diary: 8th September 2024!)

Before the race there was an energetic warm up, which was a challenge for one of our members with zero coordination! Both the 10k and Half Marathon started at Uttoxeter Racecourse with a steady long uphill, following the undulating roads through beautiful surrounding towns and villages, ending on a fantastic downhill into the Uttoxeter Race course.

The team won awards in the following categories:

First M45 finisher: Andy Evans (Chip time 1:19:37)
Male team award: LRC Males! (Andy, John, Phil, Tom, Dave and Owen).
First F45 finisher: Esther Hunt (Chip time 1:36:53)

Well done to the rest of the team too: Adrian, Ann, Charlotte, Gillian and Jess. A big ‘thank you’ to Uttoxeter Road Runners for a brilliant, well organised event and everyone who supported the race.

Celebrating LRC successes in recent spring events! Manchester, London, Brighton, Paris, Stratford Marathons and more, and there are still other big ones to come!

A big group of members took part in Run in the Forest, the first event of the Burton and District Summer League, hosted by South Derbyshire Road Runners. Starting at Conkers Visitor Centre. Apart from a short road section, the route took us around the forest trail, and involved a few undulations and muddy sections. Fortunately, the trees provided welcome shelter from the wind!

Five LRC runners finished in the top 20: John Doyle (6th), Morgan Bradley (11th), Matt Allan (14th), Steve Rivers (19th) and Dave Sanders (20th).

Ali Evans led the women home, followed by Joy Atkins and Jess Webb. Well done to them and the rest of the team: Adrian Jelley, Ed Coppinger, Ashley Sarangi, Stephen Howard, Gillian Peck, Alan Miles, Carina Allan, Ann Schwarzenbach, Marian Lowther and Aby Jones.

Great news: club members Matt Orford, Jimmy Pickering and Ryan Simms have been awarded the male team prize at the recent Ashby 20 event!

Here they are in action, along with fellow members, Morgan Bradley and Richard Bravington. Sadly, they didn’t stop for long enough to pose for a team picture!

The club was out in force at Fradley 10k with 27 members taking part in the race, part of our Grand Prix series.

Andy Evans continued his great form and was our first runner home in 34:56, 5th place in the race. He was closely followed by John Doyle (36:37) with Matt Allan (PB of 38:03), Phil Radnor (38:54) and Dave Sanders (39:35) all finishing in under 40 minutes.

Esther Hunt was first woman home in 43:34 and the 5th woman overall. She had many club members on her tail including Phil Sutcliffe, Matt Steel and Adrian Jelley. A special mention must go to Martin Thompson and Aby Jones who both took part in our beginners’ course last year and successfully completed the race yesterday. Well done to both of you, it’s great to see how far you’ve progressed since you joined us.

The full results for LRC were:

Men – 5th – Andy Evans, 9th – John Doyle, 22nd – Matt Allan (PB), 32nd Phil Radnor (PB), 37th – Dave Sanders, 86th – Phil Sutcliffe, 94th – Matt Steel (PB), 97th Adrian Jelley, 147th Paul Thomson (PB), 280th- Harry Brown, 298th – Matt Wilson, 303rd – Rob Jones, 339th – Des Adey, 384th – Alan Miles, 465th – Martin Thompson

Women – 82nd – Esther Hunt, 253rd – Joy Atkin, 207th – Gillian Peck, 273rd – Julia Smith, 277th – Jess Webb, 307th – Sophie Webster, 308th – Ali Evans, 436th – Carina Allen, 447th – Ann Schwarzenbach, 599th – Mandy Georgiou, 600th – Aby Jones, 601st – Charlotte Wesley

Lichfield Running Club certainly finished this year’s cross country season on a high! After a tightly-fought final race at Sinai Park, the combined team were crowned winners of the Derby Runner Cross Country League for 2023/24, with both the combined and men’s teams finishing first on the day too!

The preceding week’s weather had turned the already tough course into a quagmire, which made the hills even more challenging than usual, but our runners gave their all, recording some fantastic times and placings.

No fewer than seven men finished in the top twenty positions (out of a field of 106 finishers). It was another first place for Matt Orford, who flew round the course in 37:19, followed by Andy Evans (3rd – 39:18), John Doyle (6th – 40:56) and Matt Allan (9th- 41:57). Esther Hunt was first woman home for the club, crossing the line in 4th place (47:47); furthermore she finished 3rd in the competition overall and 1st in her age category. What a great achievement! Congratulations also go to Adrian Jelley, who picked up 1st place in his age category after a consistent first season for the club. After a nail biting wait, the results were in and LRC were announced as competition winners – a brilliant end to a great season!

Full results on the day as follows:

Men: 1st: Matt Orford; 3rd: Andy Evans; 6th: John Doyle; 9th: Matt Allan; 13th: Tom Bissett; 17th: Wayne Asprey; 18th: Owen Davis; 25th: Dave Sanders; 30th: Adrian Jelley; 51st: Nick Parkes; 60th: David Gould; 86th: James Taylor.

Women: 4th: Esther Hunt; 32nd: Ruth Kennedy-Green; 38th: Gillian Peck; 43rd: Jess Webb; 55th: Abbi Storer; 59th: Georgina Orford; 60th; Carina Allan; 68th: Marian Lowther; 69th: Charlotte Wesley.

We’d like to send a huge ‘thank you’ to our captain, Owen, for his dedication in getting a team together for each and every event and to all our runners and supporters who turned out, whatever the weather, baked cakes, collected entry fees, carried the kit…….we could go on. Cross country really is a team effort, and what a great team you are! Here’s to continued success next season!

On February 3rd, the club held its annual awards presentation evening at Darnford Moors Golf Club. There was a brilliant turnout to celebrate the many successes of Lichfield Running Club and our members over the past year. Congratulations to the winners of the various awards: John Doyle (Men’s Grand Prix and Dave Nason Trophy for Contribution to the Club), Sonia Short (Women’s Grand Prix), Claire Wheat (Bob Connor Trophy), James Coombes (Time Trial Series), Hannah Stokes (Cross Country) and Marian Lowther (Mike Green Running Achievement Trophy). And, of course, a massive well done to each and every one of our members, all of whom have achieved so much over the past year. Here’s to another fantastic year!

Our 8 week beginners’ course has reached a successful conclusion, with participants completing their 5k run, supported by our team of club run leaders and volunteers.  

A massive ‘well done’ to each and every one of them!

Some are now continuing with ‘improver’ sessions, with the aim of becoming club members in January; we look forward to welcoming them soon!  

The club has enjoyed great success in the Burton and District Summer League competition this year. After all eight events, our men’s and women’s teams both finished in 4th place overall.

We are also delighted to share that, following consistently high event attendances, LRC received the Roland Gibbard Team Trophy, awarded to the club with the greatest increase in participation compared with the previous year. Furthermore, club member Sonia Short was one of the recipients of the special ‘All Eight’ award, in recognition of competing in the seven qualifying races – Run in the Forest, Washlands Relays, Uttoxeter Half Marathon, Gate Gallop 10k, Worthington Six Mile, Burton 10k, Tamworth Five Mile – as well as marshalling at our own event, Lichfield 10k.

Club representatives John, Ed, Owen and Sonia attended the league presentation eventing on Friday, October 13th to celebrate the season’s success and to receive the team trophy. Thanks to everyone who helped us win the trophy by representing LRC at this year’s events. And a special ‘well done’ to Sonia, keep up the good work!

You can see them celebrating below. We’re looking forward to the next season already!