Mike Burke finished third in the under 13 event and hopes to compete in future matches. It was a superb run and encouraging for the winter season to come. Dave Forrester was in the top twenty in the same race, although full results are not to hand. Dave Twigg was tenth in the under 15 race. The club will be entering teams in the County, Northern and National Championships to give everyone the opportunity to test themselves against the best.
Results.

Liverpool & District League, Sefton Park, 19 October Chris Geraghty led the senior men into sixth place, just nine points adrift of Southport. Andy O'Connor, Barry Cunliffe, Barry Graney, Ian White and Ray Vose completed the count. Andy Boyack and newcomer, Ian Pass, alo competed. It is anticipated that the turnout will increase at Huyton in two weeks time. It will need to be if we are to maintain our division one status this year.
Results.

The opening race of the season took place in sunshine on an undulating course at Heaton Park.. Jessica Cretu found it as easy as falling off a log and Cecilia Fitzsimons, looking stronger than of late, took a mud bath on the deceptively difficult terrain. First year intermediate Jodie Nelson immediately vowed to step up her stamina work with the senior ladies following suit. Louise Casey led the club home, Pam Appleton ran despite feeling unwell and Julia Eccleston produced another excellent performance which surprised herself but not us. Pauline Picton and Janet Holmes both ensured we had a complete veterans team. This time last year we had four runners and three finishers. This year we had six runners and six finishers. Even that will increase before the end of the season.
Results.

Louise Casey, Elaine McNamara, Dorothy Fairhurst and Janet Holmes took fourteen place in this event, Louise improving on her Rufford time to finish 20th lady. Elaine completed the course for charity and Dorothy was recorded as a Female 30. Janet Holmes hung back to help John Irwin through the finish. Cecilia Fitzsimons, meanwhile, had an encouraging run in the Liverpool 10k at Garston.
Results.

The club's under 13 teams took part in the Northern Championships with the Boys finishing 14th and the girls 22nd. Stephen Clague ran under difficult circumstances to finish 21st, ten seconds behind Lincoln Wellington on lap one. Ben Clough improved one position on lap two while John Dunbell produced a stormer on lap three, the tenth fastest of the lap, to finish one second behind Morpeth. Mike Ehlen took over on the final circuit passing Morpeth and taking the lads into 14th spot. In the girls' race the well balanced trio of Kim Bridge, Lucy Cannon and Sara McLoughlin moved swift through the field two places per lap to start in 26th place and finish 22nd in 34 mins 13 secs, eight seconds ahead of the powerful Derby team. Many thanks to Danny McLoughlin and Joe Ehlen who arranged transport and acted as team managers and to all those who took part.
Results.

A trio of runners added to their road race championship points total by competing at Southport. Louise Casey was ninth, Dorothy Fairhurst was the second over 60 to finish and Elaine McNamara was on the way to a top 20 finish when she was forced to retire with a pulled muscle.
Results.

The final two club track championships were decided on a brisk Thursday evening at Sutton Sports Centre. The Tom Fillingham Trophy for the 5000 metres for men and the Ken Crouch 3000 metres for ladies, each of which is a time handicap were fiercely contested. The ladies were first on the track, Gill Bacon catching Tom Griffiths, one of two interlopers given permission to test the girls stamina, on the final circuit to win in 10 minutes 20 secs from scratch. The rest of the field took advantage of their unknown handicaps to run strongly to the finish with Dorothy Fairhurst taking the award by 11 seconds from Chris Dempsey with Jackie Lewis third.
Mark Laithwaite took the field apart in the men's race in which interest centred on the battle between Ray Vose, Ian White and Greg Williams which the youngster won over the final lap. There was no catching Laithwaite who was in magnificent form barely breathing heavily until the final 800 metres. Barry Grainey and Ian White took second and third places respectively.
The Tom Fillingham Trophy is named after a former Treasurer of the Club who won a Junior International vest in 1940 and who ran in the great Sutton team which dominated cross country after the Second World War. Along with former Secretary Norman Ashcroft he was one of only two runners to win medals in both the East Lancs and West Lancs Championships.
The Ken Crouch Trophy was named after a runner who competed as a Youth in the 1950's and made a re-appearance twenty years later along with his sons Ged and Lawrence, the former a middle distance runner, the latter a hammer thrower.
Late last month Bas Cunliffe won the John Orrell Handicap Mile which was named after a member of Sutton's Youth team who died in a climbing accident in Snowdonia in 1950. Many thanks to handicappers Ray Vose, Ian White and Phil Thomas, to Frank Vose who provided the timekeeping skills and to all those who took part.
Results.

Our attention has just be drawn to the performances of Dorothy Fairhurst and Leanne Woods who competed in the Wirral Seaside Run at the end of August. Both feature in the printed results and on the seaside run website at www.seasideruns.com The final run in the Seaside series takes place on Sunday 27 October.