At Sefton Park last Saturday Merseyside athletes again contested the annual road relay for the Neville White Trophy, when each of a team's six runners cover a lap by 3¼ miles.
At full strength, Liverpool Pembroke A.C. were favourites to de-throne the holders, Wallasey, and so it turned out with Pembroke a minute ahead of Wallasey at the finish after leading throughout.
However, with three runners not quite as fit as a race of this type demands, and not quite at full strength, the Wallasey team gave a heartening display of determined running against the odds.
With Pembroke sending off their fastest man in Eddie Williams to establish an early lead Wallasey found themselves well in arrears after the first lap despite a plucky lap of 17 minutes 38 seconds by Brian Chalton, but the other Brian, Woolford, confirmed his great form this season by setting up the fastest time of the race in 16 minutes 5 seconds.
Woolford literally sliced through the field to finish in second place after a run which was surprisingly fast for a genuine long distance runner, particularly considering the presence of many track runners who like to use this race as an early season preparation for the track.
After Kevin Mather had further reduced Pembroke's lead with a time of 16 minutes 27 seconds, Wallasey then sent in John Young who, despite a game run of 17 minutes 30 seconds, lost further ground to that experienced road runner Jackie Keighton.
Although John Wright and Ron Barlow both did a time of 16 minutes 32 seconds to pull back Pembroke's lead considerably the Liverpool club finished worthy winners on the day.
Today a Wallasey team travels to St. Helens for Sutton Harriers' 6½ miles road race while miler Kevin Mather travels to Wembley to compete in the 1,060 yards and 2 mile events at the International Indoor meeting against West Germany.
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 07/04/1962 by R.M.C.
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