Club Race Reports Season 2017-2018
Borders League
Race 1 - Capenhurst - 01/10/2017 - Seniors
The 2017-2018 Borders League season opening fixture took place on an amended 5 mile route around Capenhurst. The 2 lap course finished in the sports ground instead of alongside the car park. The men's team were unable to overcome Buckley and finished in second place. The ladies finished fifth team on the day. Counters for the men were Joe Boden (5th), Rob Pearse (14th), Xavier Desse (24th), John Thelwell (36th), Ross Moore (38th), Jack Poland (42nd), Mike Green (43rd), Bryan Stevenson (48th), Neil Bullock (49th) and John Armstrong (60th)., Ladies counters were Helen Anne Stansfield (13th), Vicky Kehoe (28th), Becky Blacklock (35th) and Kate Ryan (41st). 385 runners took part of which 51 were from Wallasey A.C.
Race 2 - Birkenhead Park - 03/12/2017 - Seniors
The men finished second and the ladies third in the second Borders League race of the season organized by the club at Birkenhead Park. The ladies showed good packing with Helen Anne Stansfield (13th), Jo Irvin (14th), Zoe Pearse (16th) and Becky Blacklock (22nd) all counting. The men had 2 finishers in the top ten with Joe Boden (3rd) and Rob Pearse (10th). Other counters were Jay Walker (21st), Xavier Desse (24th), Matt Goodwin (38th), Neil Bullock (42nd), Bryan Stevenson (43rd), Ross Moore (45th), Tony Barbat (48th) and Jack Poland (49th). Bob and his team of marshalls put on a great race, the race also doubled as the club's annual road race championship with the winner picking up the Les Pullin Memorial Trophy.
Race 3 - Pensarn - 14/01/2018 - Seniors
48 Wallasey AC runners made the trip to Pensarn for the third Borders League fixture. The ladies showed the way with a victory by five points over Buckley. The counters for the ladies were Jo Irvin (8th), Becky Blacklock (10th), Helen Anne Stansfield (13th) and Vicky Kehoe (32nd). Joe Boden (5th) and Rob Pearse (12th) led the men home with great runs, other counters were Jay Walker (21st), Xavier Desse (22nd), Jack Poland (33rd), Matt Goodwin (35th), John Armstrong (44th), Alex Norton (46th), Mike Green (48th) and Tony Barbat (51st).
Race 4 - Caernarvon - 18/02/2018 - Seniors
Wallasey AC men's team finished runners up to Buckley RC at the rearranged Borders race at Caernarvon. The ladies finished in 4th place but still have the lead at the top of division one. 298 finished the race that was run anticlockwise and is an accurate 10K. Counters for the men were Joe Boden (4th), Rob Pearse (15th), Jay Walker (17th), Xavier Desse (23rd), Connor McArdle (24th), Jack Poland (26th), Mike Green (38th), Alex Norton (53rd), Neil Bullock (56th) and Pete Clarke (72nd), and for the ladies Becky Blacklock (9th), Helen-Anne Stansfield (11th), Zoe Pearse (30th) and Katherine Holley (31st).
Race 6 - Mold - 08/04/2018 - Seniors
The ladies showed the way at the penultimate Borders League race in Mold with a 10 point victory on the day. The first 3 Wallasey ladies finished within 7 seconds of each other, Becky Blacklock (8th), Jo Irvin (9th) and Helen Anne Stansfield (11th). The fourth counting position was fought out by Elaine Opara and Vicky Kehoe with Elaine edging it in 18th by 5 seconds. The ladies team occupy first position overall with a 67 point lead. The men finished second on the day with their lowest score of the season of 308 points. Counters being Joe Boden (6th), Jay Walker (13th), Rob Pearse (14th), Connor McArdle (25th), Xavier Desse (26th), debutant Tom Bibby (27th), Mike Green (38th), Neil Bullock (49th), Alex Norton (52nd) and Tony Barbat (58th).
Race 7 - Deeside - 25/04/2018 - Seniors
The final Borders League race took place on a sunny evening by the River Dee, the 4.6 mile course took in paths along the river and local cycle paths. Wallasey A.C. ladies were thrilled to win the Borders League team title for the first time in the club's history. Helen Anne Stansfield led the team home with 5th place and was supported by Jo Irvin (6th), Elaine Opara (11th) and Katherine Holley (14th). The team scored 46 points giving them a 30 point win over Buckley Runners and 97 point winning margin over the season. The men finished runners up to Buckley on the night and overall. Men's counters were Joe Boden (8th), Rob Pearse (17th), Jay Walker (18th), John Thelwell (25th), Tom Bibby (26th), Matt Goodwin (46th), Karl Pickstock (54th), Jack Poland (56th), Nick Holt (86th) and Tony Barbat (90th). Individual trophies were picked up by Joe Boden 4th senior male, Becky Blacklock 2nd senior woman, Helen Anne Stansfield 3rd V35, Rob Pearse 3rd V40, Kate Ryan 3rd V40, Tony Barbat 1st V55, Rachel Saunders 3rd V55 and Mary Rees 1st V60.
Liverpool & District XC Union
Race 1 - Arrowe Park - 28/10/2017 - Seniors
The cross country season got underway at Arrowe Park with the first league fixture in the Liverpool & District Cross Country Union series of races. The course had pockets of mud but conditions underfoot were generally good. The team, consisting of 20 men and 11 women, finished in third place on the day. The six counters were Joe Boden, (12th), Rob Pearse (16th), debutant Jay Walker (21st), Jack Poland (30th), Matt Gillbanks (31st) and Pete Clarke (33rd).
Race 2 - Sefton Park - 25/11/2017 - Seniors
Wallasey finished ninth in the second race in the Liverpool and District Cross Country Union calendar. The race was incorporated into British Athletics Cross Challenge series at Sefton Park and the conditions were challenging with hail, wind and numerous muddy patches. Counters for the men were Rob Pearse (20th), Jay Walker (59th), Phil Cuthbert (64th), Tony Barbat (80th), Colin Palmer (86th) and Matt Gillbanks (89th). The team lie in third place overall. The ladies took part in the Senior Women's Cross challenge with Helen Anne Stansfield (15th) and Becky Blacklock (17th) achieving the best finishing positions amongst the L&D runners in the race.
Race 3 - Beacon Park - 09/12/2017 - Seniors
Becky Blacklock was the first lady home at the final Liverpool & District Cross Country Union league race at Beacon Park, this fine run helped Becky to finish as fifth counter (37th senior) for the senior team. Other counters were Tony Barbat (18th), Phil Cuthbert (19th), Pete Clarke (26th), Steve Norton (35th) and Dave McAlister (39th). The race was tough with the usual hills and lots of mud, the cross country runners also had to endure sleet and snow during the race. The team finished fourth on the day and slipped to fourth place overall. Only 77 runners completed the course, 21 representing the club. Wallasey A.C. also assisted with marshalling a successful race.
Championships - Clarkes Garden - 11/02/2018 - Seniors
The annual championships of the Liverpool & District Cross Country Union were held at Clarkes Garden on a muddy 3 lap course. The runners had to battle strong winds and hail. A women's team championship was introduced and was won by Wallasey AC. The team of Becky Blacklock (4th), Helen Anne Stansfield (8th) and Elaine Opara (11th) ran superbly to pick up the cup. The men's team finished in sixth place with the counters being Rob Pearse (8th), Connor McArdle (17th), Jay Walker (19th), Pete Clarke (48th), John Hogg (59th) and Mike Kelly (60th). The race also doubled as the Wallasey AC cross country championships with the winners being Rob Pearse and Becky Blacklock.
Cross Country Championships
Merseyside - Arrowe Park - 06/01/2018 - Ladies
The Merseyside Cross Country championships took place at Arrowe Park, although the weather was fine on the day of the event the rainfall over the preceding days made the course boggy. The club has a successful day picking up 10 medals and a county selection. Alex Norton earned the right to represent Merseyside at the inter counties in Loughborough by finishing in an excellent fourth place in the under 17 boys race and picked up an individual bronze for first funner in an unplaced team. The ladies had a great day picking up the team bronze with Becky Blacklock (16th), Helen Anne Stansfield (19th), Elaine Opara (25th) and Vicky Kehoe (33rd) counting. The club had a clean sweep of the ladies V55 category with Rachel Saunders picking up gold, Mary Rees silver and Julie Barbat bronze. Vicky Kehoe also picked up a bronze in the V45. The men finished in fourth place with Rob Pearse (20th), Tony Barbat (31st), Jay Walker (32nd), Mike Green (38th), John Thelwell (43rd) and Phil Cuthbert (49th) being the counters. Tony Barbat picked up a gold medal for first V55. Luke Hampshire was ninth in the under 15 boys.
Northern - Harewood House Estate - 27/01/2018 - Seniors
The Northern Cross Country Championships were held at a new venue, the Harewood House Estate near Leeds. The weather was mild with occasional gusts of wind. The men's course consisted of two 6k laps and the ladies two 4k laps and had some muddy patches, rough pastureland and some long gentle hills. First up were the ladies, Helen Anne Stansfield having a strong run showed the way with 130th place and 39:16 for the 5 mile course. Also counting for the ladies were Michelle Alty (298th), Mary Rees (335th) and Katie Bellew (359th), the ladies team finished in 43rd place, 435 finished the ladies race. 711 completed the men's race, Jay Walker was first back for Wallasey in an impressive 235th place covering the 7.25 mile course in 49:25. Other counters were Tony Barbat (340th), Ross Moore (361st), Steve Norton (578th), Matt B. Wilson (599th) and John Bassett (604th), this left the team in 51st place.
National - Parliament Hill - 24/02/2018 - Senior Women
The National Cross Country Championships took place at Parliament Hill Fields in London. 5 runners from the club took part, the ladies were represented by Michelle Alty (745th) and Mary Rees (1075th) and the men by Derek McArdle (2103rd), Paul Thelwell (2112nd) and Mike Griffiths (2295th).
Wirral Multi Terrain Series
Race 1 - Royden Park - 05/09/2017 - Seniors
The Wirral Multi Terrain series for 2017 started at the usual venue for the opener namely Royden Park, 223 men and 135 ladies completed the 2 lap course over Thurstaston Hill. Sallie Holt (6th) led the ladies team to a third place finish with Elaine Opara (9th) and Becky Blacklock (20th) also counting. The men finished in second place with Rob Pearse continuing his good form with a fifth place finish. Other counters were Jack Poland (17th), Bryan Stevenson (18th), Tony Barbat (20th) and Pete Clarke (33rd). Wallasey men also finished second B team.
Race 2 - Wirral Country Park - 12/09/2017 - Seniors
The second race of Wirral Multi Terrain series was staged at Wirral Country Park. Rain earlier in the day made the rocks and the beach slippy and the runners had to navigate a fishing boat that was left across the course. The ladies showed good packing with Helen Anne Stansfield (12th), Elaine Opara (13th) and Becky Vlacklock (15th) helping the team to a third place finish. The ladies were also first B team. Rob Pearse led the men home with a wonderful run finishing in second place, only the second Wallasey senior male to perform this feat. Other counters were Jack Poland (16th), Alex Norton (17th), Tony Barbat (18th) and Pete Clark (22nd) with the team winning the men's race. The B team also finished first B team.
Race 3 - Harrison Drive - 19/09/2017 - Seniors
Rob Pearse completed another second place finish as the Wirral Multi Terrain races moved to Harrison Drive for the third race of the series. On a beautifully sunny evening 286 runners took part with 52 of them being from Wallasey AC, the race was also successfully organised by the club. The men finished in third place which was enough to lift them to first overall with a slender lead of one point over Wirral AC. Other counters for the men were Alex Norton (22nd), Tony Barbat (25th), Bryan Stevenson (27th) and Pete Clark (28th). The ladies finished in second place and lie second in the overall standings. Sallie Holt ran well for a fourth place finish and she was ably assisted by Becky Blacklock (10th) and Elaine Opara (12th). The ladies B team are also leading B team. Rob Pearse, Becky Blacklock and Tony Barbat lead their age categories and Rob Pearse also leads the overall men.
Race 4 - Arrowe Park - 26/09/2017 - Seniors
The last race of the Wirral Multi Terrain series was held at a muddy Arrowe Park. The men narrowly missed out on the title losing to Wirral A.C. by 10 points. Despite a gallant effort by Joe Boden (3rd), Rob Pearse (7th), Ross Moore (13th), Tony Barbat (29th) and Pete Clarke (31st) the team came up short, finishing second on the day and overall. The ladies also finished second on the day and overall. Counters for the ladies were Sallie Holt (5th), Elaine Opara (11th) and Jess Smith (17th). The ladies were the first B team. Age category awards went to Flynn Jones (Second - Boys Under 15), Luke Hampshire (Third - Boys Under 15), Alex Norton (Third - Men Under 20), Rob Pearse (Second - Men Over 40 and Third Male Overall), Steve Norton (Third - Men Over 50), Tony Barbat (First - Men Over 55), Becky Blacklock (Second - Ladies Under 30), Sallie Holt (Third - Ladies Over 40), Helen Symonds (Third - Ladies Over 50), Mary Rees (Second - Ladies Over 60) and Nicci Davies (Third - Ladies Over 60).
Christmas Handicap
Christmas Handicap - Wallasey Shore - 17/12/2017 - Seniors
There was a record number of finishers (69) at the Christmas Handicap. Oscar Wilson was first home and junior winner. Men's handicap winner was Alex Norton and first lady home was Nicci Davies. Fastest runners on the day with 14:24 was Jay Walker and for the ladies Elaine Opara 17:13.
