Bright sunshine, a cold day and excellent ground conditions greeted all the clubs entering Blackburn Harriers cross-country relays on Sunday.
The relays were of the type i.e. (a different group racing each leg) allow clubs to enter teams Wallasey Athletic had one team in the medley and three teams in the boys' medley, as well as a senior team.
First leg for the girls' race was run by Joanne Macdonald who came 35th. Lynn Jenkinson ran well on the second leg and gradually brought the team back into 27th. She handed over to McGee for the third lap. She dropped one the team ended in
?? Place.
Next to race over the 1½ mile grassland lap were Phil D'Arcy, Stuart Moran and Colin Murphy. Phil finished in 33rd position and handed over to Kevin McGee for the under 15 age group. Colin handed over to Dave Southern in 37th position and Stuart, after suffering with a knee injury, handed over to Paul Delap. By the end of this lap the winning team was Warrington A.C., having set up clear lead.
Chris Wright was waiting to race the next lap and was pleased to see that Kevin had pulled back to 26th place after a well-timed run. Dave picked up two places to 35th and handed over his team's last leg to Tommy Bond.
Paul, hoping to make amends for the previous day's race, unfortunately lost a place even though he ran much better. Phil Ashley tried to improve the 40th position.
Chris ran well as he always does to bring Wallasey's first team home in 22nd position. Tommy finished 39th and Phil finished 43rd.
The senior team's running order was Bob Brimage, Rod Dixon, Noel Williams and Doug Hanna. They raced over a relay lap of two miles, finishing in respective leg positions of 21st, 18th, 20th and 19th. Rod ran a particularly good leg, emphasising again the substantial improvement that he has made during the last few months.
The event was entered for 'something to do' between seasons. It also provided an opportunity for the male and female runners from the club to compete in one event, practically all other fixtures being at separate venues.
The Wirral Festival of Sport will still be held this year, despite cutbacks, but for two weeks only, June 12th to 20th and Wallasey A.C. hope that their promenade races, seen by so many last year, will again attract a large entry. They should be held on Sunday, June 20th, and run between Egremont and Dalmorton Road.
Any readers wanting more Information about the club should either telephone 638 0296 or visit us at St. George's Middle School, Leasowe Road, before 7.20 p.m. on Mondays.
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 06/03/1976 by D.H.
Ref 1901