Wallasey A.C. visited St. Helens last Saturday for Sutton A.C.'s fourth annual road race.
It was a beautiful afternoon, and in the first event 55 boys started on a 2-mile course with enough initial speed to shame many a short sprinter. It became apparent that such a start would take its toll and nearly a dozen retired before the halfway mark was reached.
Wallasey's Dave Lockley went into the lead with one mile to go and led until the threequarter mark. Then he was passed by P. Shaw of Manchester, who went on to break the course record by 7 seconds in recording 9 minutes 41 secs., with Lockley equalling it, 7 secs, behind Shaw in 9:48.
Sale Harriers packed well, as usual, in 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th places to take the team award. Wallasey took second place, with Lockley 2nd, Johnny Jones 9th, in 9:51, Paul Barrie 12th in 10:39, and Melvin Schless 15th in 10:42.
Philip Wealthy was unfortunate not to finish in the medals, as he finished just one place behind Schless in 10.47 as first counter for the 'B' team,
Les Watcham was 20th (10:55), with Dave Adair 22nd (10:57) and Peter Lewis 40th (11:47), as the remaining members.
Team positions were; 1st, Sale, 22 pts.; 2nd, Wallasey, 38 pts.; 3rd, Manchester, 43 pts.; with Wallasey 'B' finishing in 5th place with 98 pts.
With nearly 200 runners on the starting line for the 7-mile road race, another fast start was almost, inevitable, and this was the case, with the top names having to sprint nearly 400 yards in an effort to get clear of the main body of the field.
At the 2-mile mark a group of five had broken away and of these Wallasey's Ron Barlow was in strong contention for the lead.
With 3 miles gone, international John Jackson of North Staffs. put in a strong burst and pulled himself out in front with only Rushnor of Tipton holding on.
At this point it was seen that Barlow's recurring leg injury was once again troubling him and only strong determination kept him from dropping out, as was the fate of dozens of athletes, who had underestimated the early pace of the race.
Club captain Brian Woolford had a steady run after a slow start, worked his way through the field to finish in 25th place, with Barrie Smith about halfway down this good field in 88th place.
With nearly 400 boys taking part in the English Schools' Intermediate rac, over 3 miles, Wallasey's Steve Walker did well to be placed in 154th position in a race which was as much a test of balance as anything else.
Today there is a club run from Leasowe Road at 2:30 p.m., and on Tuesday next at 7 p.m., a start is being made by the club sprinters, most of whom have been dormant throughout the winter.
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 26/03/1966 by DISCOBOLUS
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