Following their recent victory at the Sefton Park road relay, Wallasey A.C. last Saturday chalked up another win in the annual Port Sunlight Athletic Club road race held over a course of almost six miles round Leverhulme housing estate.
Unlike the Sefton Park race, when Wallasey were up against all the senior Merseyside clubs, this event resulted in a very easy win for the strong Wallasey team, as there was a deplorable lack of support by certain clubs for this well organised local event.
However, this in no way detracts from the individual performance of the Wallasey runners, the quality of whose performance can be judged by their defeat of Bratt of Winnington Park, who was in this year's Cheshire County cross-country team and is the current Cheshire County six-mile champion.
Straight from the start Wallasey runners Ron Barlow, Brian Woolford and Kevin Mather bunched up together in the lead with Bratt setting a hot pace. The Wallasey team were obviously in top form nnd showed no signs of weakening as the race progressed to the half-way stage, when Bratt started to show signs of the pressure and gradually fell back.
At about 4½ miles Barlow also found the pace a little hot. And Mather and Woolford continued to the finish, where Mather made full use of his track speed to be first man home after looking full of running throughout the race. Mather's time was 31 minutes 43 seconds, against Woolford's 31:53 with Barlow giving Wallasey all the place positions by finishing third in 32 minutes 11 seconds.
Wallasey's other runner was John Wright (Captain), who, with only three runners to count, was clearly content to leave the team race to his colleagues and have an easy race for a change, finishing sixth. With a minimum possible total of six points Wallasey were easy victors of the team race, in which ten teams took part. Wirral A.C. were second with 21 points and Macclesfield Harriers third with 35 points.
Today, there will be training and competition is great fun and those interested should contact track captain Carl Gee 78 King St. (Wallasey 1529).
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 22/04/1961
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