Report of 5th Event – 4 March 2017
Recent heavy rains had resulted in large standing pools of water in the field we use to start the races which meant that we had to use a modified course located entirely within the 1 km loop of roadway in the centre of the park. One lap of the course was approximately 700m long and to keep close to the usual race lengths the children in years 3 and 4 had to run 2 laps and those in years 5 and 6 had to run 3 laps. We were pleased to see that the new course presented no problems for the runners and we had another day of excellent racing.
Our congratulations go to the 115 runners who have done each of the five races held so and have therefore met the requirement for the award of an Endeavour medal in recognition of their achievement. With one event to go, the 105 runners who have now done 4 races have the opportunity to add the necessary 5th race to be awarded an Endeavour medal .
Again, we have allocated times of 50:00 minutes to runners who had to drop out races for one reason or another. This is to allow us to account for them more easily when determining which runners have done 5 or more races and are eligible for an Endeavour medal.
As usual, please advise me of any questions that you have about the results.
Please note the information about the prize presentation event on 25 March at the the foot of this report.
Girls Years 3-4:
The two team mates, Aisling Brooks and Niamh Mackintosh of Ladybrook continued their tussle with Niamh finishing first in a time of 6:33, one second ahead of Aisling. Rosie Philbin of St Mary’s Marple came 3rd in 6:39 and 7 seconds further back, Ellena Walker of Tithe Barn and Ella Buckley of Pownall Green had a very close race with Ellena gaining the edge on the line.
The close competition we have seen in this League means that the final podium positions depend on the last race of the season. Currently, Niamh and Aisling share first place on 8 points apiece and Rosie and Ella share 3rd place on 10 points each. The competitors below them cannot now affect the first 4 places but they do have the opportunity to improve their individual positions.
In the team competition, Ladybrook continued their team’s very good performances with another win and confirmed themselves as the winners of the League. Lady Barn returned to their usual form after a poorer performance in the 4th event and came 2nd with 30 points and so closed the gap on High Lane’s team which came 3rd in the race with 36 points. However, even if High Lane cannot improve their league score in the next race, their position in 2nd place in the League, 28 points ahead of Lady Barn is now secure, as is Lady Barn’s position in 3rd place, 46 points ahead of St Mary’s Marple. Well done to all.
Boys Years 3-4:
This season’s League winner, Josh Garrone of Vernon Park, achieved his 5th successive race win of the season in a time of 5:52 , while his shadow, Will Bailey of Buxworth chased him home in a time of 5:58 to gain his fifth 2nd place. Will’s fellow pupil, Oliver Ecob, came 3rd in 6:03 and Josh’s brother, Matteo finished 4th in 6:21.
This race was Matteo’s 4th of the season and his result pushed him sharply up the League table to 4th place, one point behind Oliver in 3rd place. Their final positions are dependent on the outcome of the last race of the season on 18 March.
Buxworth won the team race with 16 points, one point ahead of Vernon Park in 2nd place. High Lane finished 3rd and Lady Barn 4th. Buxworth hold onto the top position in the table with 124 points, High Lane hold onto 2nd spot with 149 points and Lady Barn lies in 3rd position with 164 points. While the ranking of these 3 teams relative to each other looks unlikely to change, Vernon Park has now completed their 4th event of the season and moved up the table into 4th place from which they can upset the top 3 positions with a good performance in the final event. They are currently weighed down by the 144 points from their first race of the season. The final race of the season on the 28 March provides them with the opportunity to discard these points and replace them with a much better score. A 50 point score would give them a League score to match Buxworth’s currentscore. We can look forward to an interesting final race.
Girls Years 5-6:
Our congratulations go to Jasmine Reed of Rose Hill who, in her 4th race of the season, achieved her 4th win out of 4, thereby winning the League Title. Our congratulations also go to Freya Murdoch of Pownall Green who similarly took her fourth 2nd place and with it secured second place in the League. Grace Longden of Buxworth, competing in her second race of the season, again came home in 3rd place. Saffron Meade of Great Moor finished 4th and Sophie Ellwood of Fairway, who has steadily improve through the season, finished 5th.
The competition for 3rd place in the League now looks to be between Mary Seymour of Romiley, currently lying 3rd on 16 points, and Saffron, who lies one point behind her. Potentially, 5th placed Gabriele Sampson of St Mary’s Marple could join the party, but she would need a win to do so.
In the team competition, the League winners, Romiley Primary again won the race with 26 points. Buxworth came 2nd with 39 points but with only 2 counting races to-date, they cannot affect the top positions in the League. Romiley’s B-team came 3rd with 63 points, while High Lane came 4th equal with Rose Hill with 70 points, just one point ahead of St Mary’s, Marple. Romiley B lies 2nd in the table, with High Lane 3rd. The competition for these positions is not yet over. The dark horse is Lady Barn who have failed to field a full team in the last 2 events and have an average score of 47 from the 3 races in which they have had a full team. If they turn out a team for the final race they could provide a serious challenge.
Boys Years 5-6:
The League champion, Luke Carrington of Gee Cross won his 5th consecutive race of the season, with Harry Ahearn of St Christopher’s Romiley finishing 2nd, Sol Barlow of Romiley 3rd and Patrick Doohan of St Winifred’s 4th. Finlay McLaughlin of Lady Barn House, who claimed the silver medal in the League table after the 4th event, came 5th. Harry’s 2nd place means that he retains 3rd place in the League table with an improved score of 15 points. However, Patrick and Sol have also improved their League scores and lie just one point behind him on 16 points, which means that we must await the final race to see her claims the bronze medal.
St Winifred’s team had their best performance of the three races in which they have fielded a full team and achieved a winning score of 29 points. Romiley came 2nd with 33 points to improve their score as overall League leaders. The Gee Cross team has been steadily improving through the season and achieved 3rd place with 58 points, their best race score so far. Lady Barn came 4th in the race with 60 points, which improved their League score and enabled them to retain 2nd spot in the table although with a reduced lead over Gee Cross in 3rd place. Gee Cross, however, will need a sub 48 score in the final race to better Lady Barn’s current League score of 252 points. A concern for both teams is that St Winifred’s have an average score of 40 points in the three races they have done this season. A similar score in the final race of the season would give them a League score of around 160.
Next Event
The next event takes place on Saturday 18 March 2017.
Please remember that the race times changed this year to:
Race 1 Girls, years 3 & 4 at 10:30
Race 2 Boys, years 3 & 4 at 10:45
Race 3 Girls, years 5 & 6 at 11:00
Race 4 Boys, years 5 & 6 at 11:25
Prize Presentation Event
This event will take place on Saturday 25 March 2017. The timetable for the presentation of the top 10 certificates, medals and team trophies is as follows:
10:30 Girls Y3-4
Presentation of certificates to the top 10 runners
Presentation of medals to the top 3 runners
Presentation of team awards to the top 3 teams
10:45 Boys Y3-4
As above
11:00 Girls Y5-6
As above.
11:15 Boys B5-6
As above
Runners who have participated in at least 5 races and thereby achieved the requirement for an Endeavour medal will be able to pick up their medals at the administration desk in the clubhouse between 10:00 and 11:30. As we have a lot of medals to award we shall require a signature for each medal so that we know who has and who has not received a medal. The list of children’s names will be listed alphabetically by school name. We are aware that some team managers have indicated that they wish to collect the children’s medals on their behalf for a more formal presentation at school and will therefore be able to sign on the children’s behalf. Otherwise the children or their parents/guardians can sign for the medals individually. Medals that are not picked up on the day can thereafter be picked up at the clubhouse between 18:30 and 20: 30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays until the end of April.
I would like to thank and congratulate to all the children who took part in the league races and to express my appreciation to their managers, family and friends for supporting them, St John Ambulance for tending to those needing medical attention and members and supporters of Stockport Harriers who helped put on a successful event. I hope to see you again at the final event on the 18th March.