Last Saturday, Wallasey A.C. travelled by coach to Graves Park, Sheffield, to take part in the Northern Cross-Country Championships, when club teams competed in the boys, youths, and junior races which were held over a lap course of fast grassland.
The boys again proved Wallasey's most successful runners by finishing seventh of thirty-four teams in their event over two miles, which is a very creditable achievement in a championship such as the Northern. They were in fact very unfortunate in not occupy a much higher placing as Bill Farrell, one of the team's regular counters during the season, lost a shoe during the jostling at the start and was badly spiked in the process.
Although he pluckily ran on to complete the course, he lost so much ground that he could only finish 103rd instead of up in the thirties where one could reasonably expect him to be. The full significance of this an be judged by the fact that only 23 points spanned the gap between Leeds A.C. in second place with 130 points and Wallasey in seventh place with 153 points.
However, a race of this sort in which over 250 runners faced the starter, will prove invaluable experience for the Wallasey boys, who seem to be the most promising bunch of young runners Wallasey A.C. have had for some time.
All the team except for Ken Tunstall, will next year move up into the Youth section (16-18) where despite the stronger opposition they should have quite a say in the Cheshire, Liverpool & District, and West Lancashire championships as well as having a real chance to shine in the national race as next year, at long last, these championships will be held locally at Arrowe Park, Birkenhead.
Wally Hogarth was again Wallasey's first man up in 10th Place, which on top of his triumphs in the Cheshire and West Lancashire championships and second in the Liverpool & District, shows the high level of consistency attained only by top class athletes.
Roy Shaw put in his best running of the season to finish second for Wallasey in 35th place with consistent John Sefton being next in 46th position. Wallasey's counting four were completed by Alan Anderson 62nd, with Ken Tunstall 63rd, B. Woolford 81st and Bill Farrell 103rd.
In the youth's race Roy Parry was again in form and ran another grand race to finish 13th in a really 'hot' field. Parry confirmed all the good things said of him in these notes by always being up with the leaders and running a very confident race throughout to finish fighting it out with the leading group who were all quite close up to the winner at the finish.
Wallasey's other runners in this race were John Warden, who ran much below normal form to finish 80th, Hugh Pritchard 94th, Michael Greenhalgh 111th, and Colin Harris 134th. Don Anderson was a non-starter owing to continuing cartilage trouble.
Dave Standfast in 42nd place was again first junior home in their 6 mile event and he has now clearly established himself as the club's best junior in this season's championships. He seems blessed with plenty of stamina and a good tactical sense and if he can improve his pace in the early stages of a race will be well up next season.
Next man in was Ken Ledward 67th with John Winrow and Ray Scammell following in 94th and 106th places respectively.
It should be mentioned that Ledward had a hard race on the previous Wednesday, when he finished 8th in a field of over 200 runners in the Western Command Army Championships.
In the senior race Bob Johnston retired at about half distance while Alan Clarke ran very well in the early stages only to find the pace too hot and eventually finish 154th. The team event in this race was convincingly won by Bolton United Harriers who must stand a very good chance of winning the National title for the North at Reading next Saturday. The individual race was brilliantly won by Bolton's Fred Norris who should give quite a lot of trouble to the brilliant Gordon Pirie. It is interesting to note that with the possible exception of Manchester's Walter Hesketh, the race for the National individual race looks like being between Pirie, Sando and Norris, who were Great Britain's three representatives in the Olympic 10,000 metre at Helsinki.
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 28/02/1953
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