This year’s Staffs Knot was as fantastic as usual; Stafford Harriers always put on a fabulous race! Although the LRC squad was smaller than at the previous event, our 4 men and 8 women put in great performances, with the men’s team (Andy Evans, Tom Hodgson, Wayne Asbury and Owen Davies) finishing in 3rd and the women’s (Esther Hunt, Jess Webb and Ali Evans) in 7th place out of 20 teams. Andy finished in 8th overall (1st in category) in 29:14; Esther was 10th female (3rd in category) in 36.37, course PB! Well done, everyone; it was a tough one in the heat!

We had a Friday night out with a difference, at the Tara Kinder Memorial 10 – a new event for the BDSL, held in Elvaston Country Park! There was another great turnout, with runners from the BDSL clubs, plus others from the Derby area, and competition for the top spots was fierce. The course was a flat and fast three lapper; fortunately the rain held off, resulting in near perfect conditions for the race, and there were some fantastic performances from the team. Ryan Simms was the first of our runners over the line, finishing in 34:15, another distance PB and 6th place overall. Jess Webb continued her excellent season, bringing the women’s team home in a PB time of 46:30.

Full results: Ryan Simms: 6th (34:15 – PB); Andy Parkinson: 9th (34:32); Andy Evans: 11th (35.01); Dan Turner: 16th (35:54 – PB); James Kay: 17th (35:56 – PB); John Doyle: 21st (36:52); Ben Stanaway: 22nd (36:59); Matt Allan: 28th (37:19 – PB); Owen Davis: 48th (39:43); Adrian Jelley: 85th (42:09)Jess Webb: 21st F (46:30 – PB); Gillian Peck: 59th F (53:29); Sonia Short: 77th F (55:56); Ruth Kennedy-Green: 78th F (55:59); Marian Lowther: 151st F (1:04:09); Charlotte Wesley: 166th F (1:08:44); Aby Jones: 185th F (1:13:37 – PB).

A group of our runners have taken part in the rescheduled Rugeley 10 mile race . This forms part of our club Grand Prix competition. Usually held in February, bad weather led to the race being postponed until July. The course is best described as brutal and beautiful, going through some lovely Staffordshire countryside with 270m of elevation gain. Matt Orford was the first to finish for LRC, coming 2nd overall in 56:01. He was followed by Adrian Jelley and then Esther Hunt, who was our first woman home and 6th woman overall in 01:15:18. Next back was Gillian Peck, followed by Ann Schwarzenbach and Charlotte Wesley. Many thanks to Rugeley Runners for putting on a great event and for all their encouragement round the course.

The yellow tops were out in force at June’s Burton and District Summer League race, the Worthington Six Miler. Thanks to Ivanhoe Runners for putting on a great event which is mainly along forest trails. There were some great performances from our 25 runners, with the men taking the top three places. Matt Orford led the field finishing in 32:39; he was followed by Andy Evans (34:12) and Ryan Simms (34:15). First lady home for LRC was Joanna Alsop in 45:32, the 7th lady home overall. The rain held off and a refreshing pint was enjoyed by some at the end of the race.

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