Last Saturday saw the opening of the Cosford indoor league. Wallasey Athletic Club were well represented and well to the fore.
The club's field event specialist, Chris Preston, improved his personal best shot putt performance to 12.73 metres and finished in overall 5th place.
The other three club competitors performed on the 200-metre track. Running on this track demands faster thinking for there is just not the room or length of straight as on the 400-metre outdoor areas to correct a mistake. The benefits of indoor running are, therefore, twofold: quicker tactical thinking and closed season track races from which fitness and training can be gauged. Pete Jones ran in the three-lap 600-metre race, he finished 2nd in 1 min. 25.7 secs, and in the 1½ lap 300-metre race in which he finished 3rd in 38.4 seconds. Rob Heap proved that his 1500-metre time of last summer was a farce. He slashed nine seconds off his previous best time, finishing 3rd in a highly creditable time of 4 min 10.4 seconds. This was his first time racing indoors and he appears to have adapted well.
Kevin McGee was our third track athlete. He ran in the same race as Rob and, except for one lap, led from start to finish. His time of 4 mins. 41.5 secs. was only two seconds slower than his summertime best.
All these performances show that the winter training is progressing well and that next summer will see many new personal best performances.
Outdoors, on the cross-country courses, Wallasey is also making progress, although there is much room for improvement. The problem here is one of numbers for the competition is essentially team rather than individual.
We are always anxious to see new members and renew old acquaintances. If you pre interested then come down to St. George's Middle School any Monday evening, by 7 pm. We are inside the school itself now since the local vandals demolished our headquarters. We are in desperate need of a new headquarters and would be pleased to hear from anyone who can offer premises at reasonable rates in the Wallasey area.
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 25/11/1978
Ref 1867