Winter has certainly arrived and those few members of the Wallasey Athletic Club who ran in the third Liverpool & District League at Arrowe Park last Saturday will bear witness.
Kevin McGee ran exceedingly well, surpassing even his own wildest dreams to finish 6th, just 66 seconds behind the winner in 39 minutes and 38 seconds. This performance confirms the fitness of Kevin and shows that his indoor performance the previous week was no fluke. Incidentally, his time indoors was 4 min 04.5 seconds, not 4 min 41.5 seconds as printed.
Rob Heap also ran beyond his expectations, finishing 17th in 41 min 06 seconds, confirming his present fitness. Both of these members are undergoing stamina training for next season's track championships and if present form is anything to go by, next track season is going to be a really good one.
Only two other runners competed for Wallasey in the senior races. They were Paul Heaney and Dave Penton, who finished 110 and 114 respectively. For both of them, it was their first time over this distance and, to finish in these conditions, must have re-newed their enthusiasm for the sport and confidence in themselves.
One runner turned out for Wallasey in the other age groups, M. Henry in the boys' race. It was his first time ever competing for Wallasey and he ran extremely well to finish 15th in 17 min 11 secs. During his run there was a violent hailstorm, a severe christening indeed.
Sunday was the turn of the girls. They were racing in the Merseyside Cross-Country Championships. The weather was much kinder to them, no rain and plenty of sunshine, although the ground was still very heavy and there was a chill wind.
Janet McGee ran in the junior girls' race and finished a strong 8th, whilst Shibohn Power and Barbara Jones ran in the inter girls' race, finishing 5th and 3rd respectively. These three will almost certainly be running for Merseyside in the coming inter-county match.
Anne Brimage, the hardworking ladies captain, continued to show some strength and managed to finish well up 13th. Other girls ran in the races but at the time of writing their results are unknown.
Next weekend, December 2nd, is the Wirral Schools Championships at Pensby. Many of the clubs younger members are expected to take part, the first race being at 10 a.m.
The club is always willing to receive new members and welcome back past members. If you are at least 11 years old, why not come down on any Monday evening before 7.10 pm, inside St. George's Middle School or telephone 638 0296 for details.
Ends
Source - Wallasey News - Saturday, 02/12/1978
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