The Port Sunlight A.C. can regard their first effort at long distance road ace promotion as a distinct success, for last Saturday's turnout of 44 runners for the 15 miles' race compares favourably eith other longer established events.
A number of local runners tried the distance for the first time and all finished in quite good order, although the course is by no means an easy one, and the very strong wind did not help.
The Wallasey team of R. W. Barlow, B. Chalton, K. Mather, B. Woolford and J. Wright, who in recent years have done so much to keep their club's name before the public were soon in a winning position, and although Chalton and Wright retired at five miles they left Woolford, Barlow and Mather well established.
This point in the race was reached by the leading group of S. Sykes (Longwood), C. E. Haslam (Bolton), J. Frost (Sale), a newcomer to this kind of racing in J. McAllister (Wirral A.C.), Woolford and Barlow, in 26 minutes 54 seconds, a time quite up to the standard attained in top class road racing.
At ten miles the group was stringing out, with Woolford leading by two seconds from Sykes, and going very well indeed.
This lead he increased to 57 seconds over the next five miles lap, and he climbed the final slope to the finishing point in very good shape to finish in 1 hour 20 mins. 40 secS. Sykes held on to second position, and Haslam, who in the two previous weeks had competed in the Ben Nevis race and the Red Rose "20." was a tired man in third place.
One of the best performances was by J. McAllister, whose time of 1 hour 23. mins, 37 secs. in fourth place should encourage him to continue for there are lots of vacancies at the top in long. distance road racing to-day.
Ends
Source - Liverpool Echo - Saturday, 23/09/1961 by J. C. Rice
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