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In this release 15/09/2010 
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| Louise's Cross-country |
In this section: |
| Louise's Stuff |
| Race Photos |
| Running 2009/10 |
| Running 2008 |
| Running 2007 |
| Running 2006 |
| Running 2005 |
Running and Athletics 2007
| Cheddleton Pudding Run - 1st December |
        A good turn from the juniors at this local annual event raising funds for cancer research. A week after Liverpool and still unwell, now with inhaler, Louise had been hoping for an easy run to retain her title. Unfortunately for her she had a battle on her hands in the form of Danielle Johnson of Birchfield Harriers, one of the leading 3000m runners in her age group. Louise was stronger on the uphill but not fast enough on the down and Danielle took the rather handsome shield. With hindsight, after the North Staffs final at Westwood (see below), this was a race too many for Louise. She has been unable to shake off a persistent cough and three races in three weeks has not given her time to recover. She needs time off. Several of the older juniors were eligible for the 6 mile race and Andy, last years junior winner, came an excellent 9th against a very strong field. |
| UK Cross Challenge - Liverpool, 24th November |
 Louise
was taking this seriously. She even spent the three days before the
race inhaling vick vapours to try to shift a peristent cough. It didn't
work and if anything the spluttering and rattling got worse. It kept
her awake on Friday night. We suggested we withdraw her from the race
but she said she was OK. She was so tired she fell asleep in the car on
the way. By the time she had jogged the course she had got through half
a dozen tissues but was doing her utmost to stiffle the coughs. She
claimed she could hold them in. She warmed up and took a few lessons in
spitting and clearing her throat and nose on the run. She seemed to
learn quickly. Very un-lady like! She stood on the start line, on the
outside edge, still psyching herself up and out of the cough. The gun
went and she began at a steady pace, falling near to the back of the
field. Her instructions: take it carefully, speed up slowly; no sudden
acceleration to trigger the coughing; use strength and power to keep
going on the soft ground; pick off the girls in front one by
one.
After 200m she was moving up through the field and looked to be going
well. After 2km she had moved through to16th position and was still
going strongly, picking of runners who were begining to tire
as
they entered the final kilometer. With 300m to go she had moved to 9th
place but was now looking pained, later she said she the cough was
welling up and she was fighting to hold it in. The strained breathing
was bringing on stitch. She battled to hold on to the position. Her
legs still looked good but her breathing was going fast. The girl
behind was closing. Louise was fading, but then with less than 100m to
go she speeded up and almost took 8th place. Her final position: 9th,
in 11' 37'', 17 seconds behind the winner, was an excellent result for
a first individual outing in a national class race. At last she
believes she has the potential to be a top class runner. She just
wonders what she could have done if she hadn't been carrying the cough.Louise was the only girl from the club to be entered but she was accompanied by a number of male team mates: Alex Derricot finished 20th and Matt Clowes 46th in the under 20 men; Matt Allott was 30th in u17 men and Myles Barratt ran well in u23 senior men, but we don't have his result. For pictures of the race leaders and the Staffs Moorlands runners see the photo gallery. See UK Athletics for more details of UK Cross Challenge and possible the full results. Go to the top of this page |
| National Relays, Mansfield - 3rd November |
 This
was a fun day out. None of the girls teams was expecting to be in
contention and it was a chance for Louise to run in a national
competition for the first time. In the event she was somewhat over awed
and ran an overly cautious race. Louise ran the first leg and
thought the leaders would be far too fast for her. Convinced she would
tire and fade if she tried to keep up, she held back until almost the
end. The team of Louise, Antonia and Lucie finished in 33rd
place, in the top half of the field.. There were some good results for the club's junior men. See Results and photos. Go to the top of this page |
| North Staffs Cross Country League 2007 |
  1st Race, Lyme Valley - 6th
OctoberThis race proved an enormous test for Louise. She was expecting strong competition from the Macclesfield Harriers team but ended up over-coming an even bigger challenge. About 75m from the start, already moving to the lead, she was tripped from behind and took a very heavy tumble. All part and parcel of the race, but seriously shaken, trampled and dazed from a bump on the head, nearly at the back of the field with the leaders more than 50m ahead as she regained her feet, wobbly and limping, what would she do? After briefly hesitating and being knocked into the tapes by one of the trailing runners, she started to run again. As she disappeared along the course she was starting to pull through the field. After a fantastic effort she finished in 2nd place about 25m behind the leader, Dannielle from Macclesfied Harriers. She was still shocked and crying and in need of first aid. The mud and dirt was hiding the real wound. It soon became clear she needed the St John's Ambulance, but after covering the wound they referred her to the hospital. An hour and a half later Louise had three stitches in her knee. Unfortunately this meant we missed the other races and didn't have chance to take as many photos as usual, but there are a few in the Gallery. Lucie finished 5th and Antonia 19th. In the under 15s Steph finished an excellent third and the six Staffs Moorlands runners in the ladies U17s were out on the course when we left for the hospital. The next race is in one week. Louise will have to miss it or run with stiches in her knee. See full results from the North Staffs XC League. Go to the top of this page |
2nd
Race, Parkhall - 13th October  Louise
ran with the stitches still in place, but we decided before the start
that if she didn't win, they couldn't be an excuse. It was an exciting
race with the lead changing many times between Louise and her rival,
Danielle, from Macclesfield. Louise's former school and club mate
Lindon (who now runs for Stoke AC) stuck with them in a close 3rd (1st
in U11 boys). At the end of the first lap the Macc Harrier had a clear
lead but hadn't broken free. Coach Phil was still extremely confident
that Louise would do it. "Watch on the next hill" - but at the top of
the next hill the Macc girl still had a slight edge. The leading three
were almost shoulder to shoulder when they disappeared behind the
trees. Phil said "I suppose they have lots of hills in Macclesfied".
Was his confidence flickering? As the three reappeared on the final
hill to the finish, Louise and Lindon had just edged ahead,
Lindon
took the lead and put in a kick, Louise followed and so did Dannielle,
but as Louise fought to stay ahead, Danielle appeared to tire slightly
and Louise finally opened a clear lead. Lindon finished first, Louise
behind him. Both overcomming their disappointments and injuries of last
week. Antonia ran well, inproving her position on last week, and
despite Lucie's absence, the stirling efforts of two new
recruits Charlie and Jordan, running in their first ever club
race, have kept the team in the league competition.In the U11 Girls, Becky ran a storming race to finish 2nd, improving her position on last week. With Lauren (5th) and Kimberly (17th) also running well and finishing higher placed than at Lyme Valley the team must be in a strong position. Steph ran well to hold on to her overall bronze medal position and once again the U17 girls were out in force and remain first placed team. This week we didn't have to dash off and so stayed to enjoy the remaining races. There are plenty of photos in the photo gallery . Unfortunately the photographer was eating cake and drinking coffee when the U17boys and ladies went past so sorry no photos of them, but he did resume his post for the mens race. Go to the top of this page |
3rd
Race, Stafford Common - 10th November  Not
one of Louise's favourite venues. She rarely suffers from coughs and
colds, but mention Stafford Common and the sniffles start a day or two
before the race. She assured everyone she was completely fine despite
her heavy breathing during the warm up. However, when put to the test
by Danielle before the half way point, Louise was unable to respond.
Maybe she was affected by her cold; maybe it deprived the crowd of a
more exciting race and a closer finish, but whether it affected the
result is much less certain. Louise finished 2nd, Lucie 6th
and
Antonia, improving her position on the previous race kept the team in a
medal position. Jordan who has been training hard since her debut at
Parkhall showed great spirit and was rewarded with an improved
finishing position.In the under 11 girls Becky was narrowly beaten into second place and Lauren, running well finished 5th. Kimberley, also suffering from a cold, closed the team count keeping the girls in silver medal position. Star of the day for the girls has to be Steph who, after a poor start, steadily worked her way to the front to lead home the under 15 girls for the first time. After months of running solo Steph was joined by team mate Molly, and rumour has it that there is also another new under 15 girl in the squad, enough for Steph to be part of a team again! Despite half the team missing the race due to colds and injury, the under 17 girls have maintained their lead position in the team competition. All the girls did well but the best club result of the day must be the U17 men who took the first three places. Pity they didn't have a team in the first race. Pictures in the gallery. Go to the top of this page |
| 4th
Race, Westwood - 8th December Still suffering from the persistent cough she developed prior to Stafford Common, Louise would need a miracle to beat someone of Danielle's calibre. In all their meetings (2005 in under 11's and this year) Louise had only ever beaten her once, even when in good form. In the event she struggled with this race in the wet and miserable conditions. Despite her fighting talk and brave effort it was clear she was well below par and unable to make an impression on Danielle's early and growing lead. Antionia, who was also unwell and hoping not to have to run, gallantly battled her way around the tough course and finished just ahead of newest team member Jordan, keeping the girls in the team competition. Both team and Louise finished in silver medal position. Star of the day was once again Steph who has improved her placing with every race. Starting two points down in silver position she ran strongly in the awful conditions and despite her cold, to beat her rival in the under 15s by several places and take the championship. Well done Steph. In the under 11s, Becky, Lauren and Kimberley took the team silver and Becky the individual silver medal. Lauren, who still has a year to go in this age group finished fourth. Watch out for her next year. Surely she must be a good contender for the gold. The under 17s maintained their success picking up the team gold and individual silver and bronze medals. Unfortunately due to the weather conditions the photographer wouldn't take his camera out of the case and so there are no photographs. The SMAC men also did well, especially Alex. See the final results. Go to the top of this page |
| Meerbrook - Junior Gun Hill race - 23rd September |
   A
race of about 2km up Gun Hill. In a small field Louise finished 1st in
a time of 10' 08'' followed by Jack Ross in 10' 13''. Steph
finished 3rd. Jack is much faster than Louise on the flat but
until recently he has mainly trained on the track and wasn't
accustomed to relentless hills. Pictures from left to right: Steph,
Jack and Louise. For more photos see the GalleryGo to the top of this page |
| Uttoxeter Cross Country - 16th September | ||
 Surely not!
Listening to Phil, the coach, BEFORE the race |
The Uttoxeter event, the first of the season, attracts
a field from
across the Midlands. This was Louise's third appearance at Uttoxeter;
her last race
as an 11 year old and her first major appearance in the under 13s. After the usual routine of "I've got a pain in my foot; I can't walk on it; I'm not any good at this" and her other pre-race rituals which wear out parents and coach alike, Phil got her and her two team mates, Antonia and Lucie to the start. We could almost relax. Once the hooter sounded we knew she would be totally focused on the race. Approximately 1.75 miles and 6 water crossings. Louise
lead for the whole race although she almost lost it at the 2nd water
crossing. Listening (unusually) to the advice to keep to the shallower
water on the left (last year she didn't and took a tumble ) she left
herself with a difficult, slippery climb out.
On the 2nd lap she took a better compromise route and held on to an 8 second lead through to the finish in a time of 10' 39''. Antonia and Lucie also ran well but the team just missed out on the medals. |
 Antonia at one of the water
crossings
|
  |
 Louise struggling out of the water |
|
| For full results see Bourne Sports Go to the top of this page |
For more pictures of the team and their club colleagues in action see our Uttoxeter 2007 Gallery | |
| Wenlock Olympics - 15th July | |
| This was supposed
to be a fun day
out for our winter cross country runners to enjoy something different
in the summer sun! But the weather had other ideas. We spent most of
the day in the tent .... Louise nearly didn't make it. The tent was packed; the sandwiches made; the dogs sorted out, but Louise would not get ready. Tempers started to fray and then twenty minutes before we were due to leave for the bus we discovered she had left her shoes at Northwood Stadium after the City Championships on Friday night. . ...read here about the rain, the sulks, the races and more rain ..... Go to the top of this page |
 |
| Stoke on Trent City Schools Athletics Championships - Track events 13th July |
| It was dismal and
wet. We didn't take
any photographs. The rain never stopped and those spectators unable to
find a place in the stand huddled around the perimeter of the track
under a multitude of coloured umbrellas, but the event proceeded, the
kids seemingly undaunted. Races were run and won and lost. Medals and
certificates handed out and points totted up. Louise and her fellow
Burslem runners were hoping to retain the track championship which they
won in 2006, but it was not to be - the Burslem girls finished 2nd
behind Longton. Louise and her club mate Antonia ran in the 800m,
almost the last event. A girl from Stoke took an early lead but by 200m
Louise had reeled her in and was out in front. She continued to widen
her lead finishing well ahead of the second placed runner. Antonia had
been strong in 3rd place until she became boxed in on the kerb and was
unable to break free. The rain came harder. The crowd had started to
thin. We finally found a seat in the stand. Warmed up from the 800m,
Louise ran in the very last race, third leg in the Under 12s 4x100m
relay. The team finished 3rd. By the time the points were added up and
the trophies ready for presentation, there were only a handful of
spectators and competitors left. For a while it seemed there
were
no girls from Longton to collect the cup. Next year Louise will be in
the high school, so this was our last visit as parents to this
particular event. Will we remember the racing or the rain? Go to the top of this page |
| Newcastle 4 x 1 Mile Relays- 7th July |
| Despite the
weather forcast the rain held off, but the ground was still
heavy and the course slightly modified. Staffs Moorlands had two teams
running, an under 15 girls and a ladies team. Actually the ladies were
three young ladies (under 17) and one very young lady (under
11) and
they did extremely well to finish as second senior ladies team. See full results. The U15s team set a new record, by one second, finishing in 25' 33''. Lucie had the fastest lap time, 5'56'', much to the annoyance of Louise'. Lucie ran the first leg, Antonia the second (7'04''), Steph the third (6'32'') and Louise the last (6'01''). Louise could think of lots of excuses for being slower than Lucie (field more muddy, no one to directly run against, not feeling well etc), but the good thing is it showed her that she can't always be top dog and it is the performance on the day that counts. Despite Louise's disappointment, the whole team did really well, as shown by their record time, and they didn't let Louise's sulks didn't detract from their success. |
     Go to the top of this page |
| Shugborough Relays - 20th June | |
 Louise was excited but a little nervous about this race, a 4 x 2 mile relay, and whether she would do herself justice running with such illustrious team mates, named for this event the Moorland Marvels. She was running 2nd leg after Alex Derricot and before Lucie Farrell on 3rd leg and Andy Marsden on the last leg in the Under 64s mixed team (i.e. total age of the team less than 64).  The
field was criss-crossed with tape and Louise was concerned about
the change over and the route. We asked a marshall. He said all she
needed to do was to follow the person in front. We said we weren't
expecting many people to be in front of her. He laughed and said it
again. We said, "no, seriously, there might not be anyone in front when
she has to set off". You could tell he was trying to decide if we were
mad or serious. In the end he pointed us to someone else. It turned out we were right. Alex came back in 2nd place in 9' 44'', about 35 seconds behind the first runner, Tom Humphries.... so Louise did indeed have no one to follow, at least for the first few seconds. Both girls ran well, holding off many of the challengers and battling the men, a few of whom offered encouragement to Louise as, probably to their surprise, they found themselves overtaking a small 11 year old girl running with the race leaders. Louise came back in 16th place (12' 16'') and Lucie about 23rd place (12' 35''). On the final leg Andy running 10' 48'' pulled the team back into overall 17th position. They were the first mixed team home (45' 23''). In front of them were 15 mens teams (including one works team and 3 vets teams) and one under 64s boys, team; no ladies teams. Louise and Lucie were disappointed. They clearly had wild expectations as they bemoaned the fact that they let the side down by losing the 2nd place!!!!! |
 Louise, Andy, Alex and Lucie
 Alex handing over to Louise
 Louise setting out in 2nd overall
position
|
| On a very good
night for Staffs Moorlands juniors the other under 64s
mixed team, Jamies' Joggers, with Jason (replacing Jamie),
Samantha Sheldon, Steff Reeves and Matt Clowes
finished in 2nd place in 52'57'' while the under 64 girls, Pussy Cat
Dolls, (including
Lauren aged 9) finished 3rd in 58' 13''. Moorlands also won the over 160 mens vets, the "Moorlands Oldies" being one of the vets team finishing ahead of the Marvels. Full Results and Photos by Mick Hall Go to the top of this page |
|
| Staffs Moorlands Summer Series | ||
  Staffs
Moorlands AC
runs a 10 race summer series each year mainly in the Staffordshire
Moorlands area but with one race in the Maccelesfield area and another
Buxton. This year Louise ran 9 of the 10 races. It was her third year
in the series but her first in the full junior event. She found it
tough and there was some good competition from the girls of Buxton and
Boalloy as well as from within her own club, but she was very pleased
to win her 9 races and take overall first place to secure the voucher
for a new pair of Inov8 running shoes. Details of the races and the
results are available on the club
website. For pictures, mainly of of the junior club runners,
see our Summer
Series photo gallery.Go to the top of this page |
| Stoke On Trent City Parks Grand Prix | ||
| For more photos of the 2007 parks races see our Parks Photo Gallery and Bryan Dale's photo and results site | ||
   Hanley
Park - 14th AugustAfter producing some very good times in the first three races, Louise was hoping for a fast time in Hanley, the final race of the series. Last year it was by far her best race, but not this time as she finished in 7' 27''. Slower than last year but good enough to win. It was a successful series for Staffs Moorlands juniors with Kyle Fowler 1st and Jack Ross 3rd in U15 boys, Steph Reeves 1st in U15 girls , Louise 1st U13 girl and Lauren Hancock 2nd U11 girl. In the 3k U17's Jamie Lewis finished overall 3rd man and Amy Dean first junior lady. The seniors picked up some prizes too: Alex Derricot won the senior mens series and Mark Dean was 2nd in M40. |
||
  Fenton
Park - 10th JulyAfter her "disappoinment" the previous Saturday when she had a slower time by 5 seconds than Lucie in the Newcastle relay, Louise was hoping to recover in the park race and re-assert herself as "the fastest", but Lucie, with the county schools athletics championship the next day, decided not to run. Fortunately there was ample comptetion from Lucy Hayes, not to mention quite a few boys to challenge. Despite struggling a little at the start and fading about 200m from the end, Louise ran a respectable time of 7' 18''. She complained that her legs felt weak and her breathing was heavy on the up hill sections .... but maybe it is just that she is putting in more effort. We couldn't stay to see the other events as we had to dash off to the High School for the new intake meeting. |
||
   Tunstall
Park - 5th JuneLouise and Lucie finally went head to head. Would Lucie's track speed or Louise's cross country stamina triumph in their private race? And how would they fare against Lucy Hayes? In the event Louise went for it from the start and by two thirds around was feeling the pain. She said her legs were wobbling and had been about to give way, but apart from the expression on her face the casual observer would not have noticed. Her legs looked fine and she continued to pull ahead, finishing in 7' 18'', 6 seconds faster than Lucie. Despite a slower time, Louise said she ran faster than in Longton. She argued that the course was more difficult and, with a detour to avoid resurfacing works on the main pathway, slightly further than the 2km intended. The results suggest she may be right as almost everyone else's times were also slower. |
||
  Longton
Park - 8th MayThis was to have been the first race this Summer season between the club mates and friendly rivals Louise and Lucie. Due to busy schedules and more formal training programmes they have not run together since the beginning of the year. Louise was worried but excited, she likes competition. Last year she just had the edge on Lucie, but since then Lucie has been running in the bigger races as an Under 13 while Louise has been on the sidelines as an U11. On the day Lucie was unwell and couldn't run. Louise led the girls' race from the beginning and finished the 2Km course in 7'.12", 16 seconds ahead of Lucy Hayes from Newcastle. Lucy started running last November and hasn't been training for long, so this was a fantastic run and Louise will have to watch out. A bonus for Louise was that she finished ahead of Linden giving some consolation after the Killer Mile. Louise's Staffs Moorlands club mates also performed very well with Kyle Fowler (right) winning the U15 boys race in 6.05, which I think was a new course record beating the previous one of 6.06 set in 2002, Linden 2nd in the U11 boys, Steph Reeves 1st in U15 girls and Lauren Hancock 3rd in U11 girls. See Bryan Dale's Photos and Results See more pictures in our Parks Races Gallery Go to the top of this page |
| Burslem District Schools Athletics - 15th June | ||
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 |
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| St Anne's school wins the girls
and boys track events Go to the top of this page |
Going for gold | Louise leads the 800m coming off the first bend |
| MOW COP KILLER MILE |
 Louise's first appearance in a
club
race this year was on 26th April at
the Mow
Cop Killer Mile in which she competed in the U13s club
runners
race. The race is excactly what it sounds. One mile up a very steep
hill, reputedly an average 1 in 5 for the first three quarters of a
mile and 1 in 4 for the last. Louise had never seen the very steep
section of the course and we wondered how she would cope when she first
saw the 1:4 rising straight up in front of her (picture three below
from Killer Mile 2007 race site) . For most of the race Louise was in 2nd place behind a young man from Winsford (picture 1) and in front of her school mate Linden, but despite a valliant attempt she couldn't hold Linden off when he crept past her about 200 metres from the top (picture 2). She finished in 9 minutes and 16 seconds, which won her the gold medal and gave her the third overal fasted time for female competitors on the night. For full results for each race see the 2007 race site. |
   |
| There are many
more photos of the race in the Killer Mile Gallery and on Bryan
Dale's photo site. Go to the top of this page |
See also Running and Athletics 2005 2006 2007 2008
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