They came from all over the country to Bolton for the Women's National Championships over a 2½ miles course, on Saturday.
The course could have tested the best of male runners and included stretches of flat grassland as well as two streams and two steep, muddy hills.
Although Barbara Banks had beaten the more fancied Phyllis Lowis (Bury) the previous week at Rochdale, it was the Bury girl who started as favourite because the Bolton course, which had a
fast ½-mile start and finish, was more suited to her style of running. The Wallasey girl increased this advantage by starting badly and was 100 yards behind the leaders after the first ¼-mile.
However, Barbara went after Lowis in earnest and was seen to narrow the gap to about 25 yards by the time the summit of the first hill lead been reached and was now in 2nd place.
Down the hill full pelt they raced and across a field to the stream where, for a brief moment, Barbara took the lead, then the slippery climb to the top of a 1-in-3 slope where it was apparent that the 2-mile chase to catch the Bury girl (who was the National Intermediate Champion last year) was beginning to tell.
With a flat ½-mile run in to the finish it was still open to doubt whether or not Lowis would hold off the stronger Banks, but in all fairness she timed her race well and finished 30 yards ahead in 13 minutes 44 seconds to Barbara's 13:50; 3rd place went to T. Bateman of Coventry.
Miss Banks will have another chance to tip the the scales in her favour next week when, she travels to Cleckheaton, in Yorkshire, for the Northern 3½-mile Championship and a place in the first six here will mean automatic selection for the Northern team to meet the Midlands and the South later in the season.
Wallasey A.C. have teams in the senior, youths' and boys' races for today's West Lancs. Championships at Sherdley Park, St. Helens. The best chance of a team win will come in the youths' race, where the team which took the county title and narrowly lost the district event will be all out to reassert themselves.
This time they will have Blackpool as well as the Liverpool team to contend with and only front running of the kind shown at Sale in the Cheshire Championships will bring victory.
The boys will do well to finish in the first three teams and only R. Barlow and B. Smith appear to have any chance in the senior event over 9 miles, with an unfit J. Wright on the sidelines today.
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 27/01/1968 by DISCOBOLUS
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