Annual General Meeting

All Telford Athletic Club members are welcome to attend the Annual General Meeting to be held at the White Horse, Wrockwardine Wood, next to Oakengates Leisure Centre at 8 pm on Thursday 21st October 2010.

Shropshire YA XC Lge

Heath heads first fixture field.

At the first of the Shropshire Star sponsored cross country league meetings, held at Adams Grammar School in Newport, 150 young runners competed in flat and fast conditions on a bright afternoon.

In the first race, the Under 15 and Under 17 boys started together, but it was the older athletes who set the pace. Russell Adams of Ludlow Runners led the first lap but at just over half way on the three lap race, Ryan Heath of Telford started to pull away. The title holder from last year Guy Gregory went with him but couldn’t hold on to the fast pace. Ryan ran easily to win in 16 mins 08 secs, fifteen seconds in front of Guy with Telford’s Haydn Gleave finishing strongly and just overtaking Adams in the finishing straight. Telford beat Ludlow by just 3 points and the team positions should be close over the next three fixtures.

The Under 15 race was settled on the second and final lap when 1000m from the finish, last year’s champion Ben Ashcroft increased his pace and left the rest behind. He was followed in by fellow Shrewsbury team mate, midland Triple Jump champion, George Speakman who showed what a versatile athlete he is. The Shrewsbury AC club completed their team with Ryan Cullen making his debut in the league in 7th place. Telford athletes came in 3rd, 4th and, with the Midlands 800m champion Josh Burrows coming in 5th, this team competition also looks close.

Harriet Grandfield now a sixth former at Adams Grammar, and so running on home ground, led home the Under 17 girls. Harriet has won at every age group in this league and wants to finish with a win. She finished the 4000m course in 14 mins 2 secs with fellow Telford team mate Jessica Bailey coming in 25 seconds behind. Harriet’s sister Emily completed the Telford team in 6th place and they look set to dominate at this age group.

Another Telford runner who may be hard to beat this year is Isobel Bradley in the Under 15 Girls race. Isobel had an excellent cross country season last year and so far is showing the same pace this year. She in undefeated in both school and club competitions this year and won from a fast finishing Alex Cawthra form Maldwyn Harriers, with Georgia Potts of Bridgnorth in third. Telford won the team but Shrewsbury Girls High School look good in second place. The races over all four meeting will count towards the team championship.

The younger runners race over shorter distances and will always set off at a fast pace. The two Maldwyn athletes slowed the least in the Under 11 boys with Will Evans just beating his Maldwyn Harrier club mate Joseph Crytchley by 3 seconds. Cameron Van Onselen, from Oswestry Olympians, was just another 5 seconds behind in third. The team competition looks too close to call at this stage with seven clubs still in close contention.

The 22 starters in the Under 11 girls race also set off at a near sprint and the winner Eva Wade of Telford completed the mile course in 5 mins 47 secs. Molly Andrews of Bridgnorth also just ducked under the 6 minute barrier in second with Megan Davies third.

The Under 13 girls had to run 2000m and in a very close race Kitty Peel of Moreton Hall school used her sprint finish to good advantage to beat Chloe Evans of Maldwyn Harriers in a time of 6 mins 27 seconds. The battle for the minor medals will be very close with the finish officials finding it hard to separate Fion Sweeney of Telford and Passy Goddard of Shrewsbury High. They were both given the same time but Fion took third place.

In the Under 13 boys Telford runner Alex Burrows looks difficult to beat. He ran away form the high class field to win in 11 mins 11 secs over 20 seconds ahead of second placed Aiden Wade. Telford made it a clean sweep in this age group with David Stephens third.

The next races will be held on October 17th over another fast course at Oswestry. This course is hillier and the local Oswestry Olympians have a reputation for doing well on their home turf.

Colin Lancaster

Stretton Skyline Fell Race

Stretton Skyline

Steven Cale, claimed another Shropshire fell running title when he won one of the toughest races in the Shropshire calendar the 19 mile Stretton Skyline race, organised by Telford Athletic Club. The Wrekin College teacher who runs for Shrewsbury AC comfortably won the 29th Stretton Skyline in 2 hours 30 minutes and 17 seconds finishing a massive 21 minutes ahead of his nearest rival. His time puts him equal 17th on the all time fastest mens list, behind course record holder Ken West whose time of 2 hours 17 minutes and 16 seconds has remained unbeaten since 1986. The only person who has come near to that time in the last ten years is Shrewsburys Mike James who ran 2.18 when winning in 2008.

Cale who burst onto the Shropshire fell running scene over the winter of 2009 when he finished 9th in the Shropshire Winter Series. Since then he has never looked back as he won the Shropshire Summer Series in 2009, then the Shropshire Winter Series in 2010 and most recently the Shropshire 2010 Summer Series. He plans to defend his Shropshire Winter Series title and starts his defence this Sunday at the Breidden Hills Race.

Ed Davies, from Forden near Welshpool moved through the field steadily to finish second in 2.51.30 and was the first over 55 home, with John Hedger third in 2.53.46 and Matthew Fortes of Eryri was 4th in 2.54.29. Matthew Marston, the 22 year old Mercia Fell Runner from Clive, has made a massive impression on the Shropshire fell running scene this summer, after finishing 4th in the Shropshire Summer Series. He finished a superb 5th place in the Skyline, one of the longest races he has run in 2.55.00.

the Stretton Skyline route starts and finishes in Church Stretton. It starts with a climb up Cardingmill Valley to Pole Bank, then down to Little Stretton and up Ragleth Hill. The next climb is Caer Caradoc followed by The Lawley, before the route crosses the valley, across the A49 and climbs back onto the Long Mynd via Gogbatch before descending through Cardingmill Valley to Church Stretton a total of 19 miles and 4450 feet of climbing.

Val Swingler, from Shropshire Shufflers was comfortably the first woman but was also an incredible 6th overall in the race in 2.55.20. This is the 4th fastest ever time in the 29 year history of the race. The only athletes ahead of her on the all time list are course record holder Ruth Pickvance from Cardiff, when she ran 2.46.42 in 2005. Polly Gibb from Coalbrookdale ran the second fastest time of 2.48.54 in 1989 and Anna Bartlett of Shrewsbury AC ran 2.55.05 when finishing 3rd in 2005. This was a great performance and she headed a quality womens field that saw 7 athletes produce times that got them into the top 53 all time performances.

Newport's Helen Skelton was the second woman home in 3.04.10. 15th overall and the 12th fastest womens time ever. Becki Law from Eryri, a Snowdonia based club, was 3rd, 21st overall and 19th fastest ever in 3.08.35. Mercia's Polly Gibb was 4th, 1st over 45, 27th overall in 3.12.21., just ahead of Aberystwyth's Phoebe Webster, 5th, 28th overall in 3.12.50. Her team mate Louise Barker was was 6th 30th overall in 3.16.34. The Shropshire Summer Series champion, Mel Price of Mercia from Woolston, was 7th, 31st overall 35th fastest woman ever in 3.16.47.

Paul Sanderson

Cross country fixtures

Hi Everyone here are the cross country fixtures for 2010/2011



30th of October:

North Wales League race 2 Bangor

Birmingham cross country league race1 Leamington (incorporates midland womens league)



6th of November

North Staffs League race2 Park Hall Country Park, Weston Coyney.



13th of November

North Staffs league race3 Stafford Common.



27th of November

North Wales League race3 Wrexham

Midland 7 and 5 mile championships



4th of December

Birmingham cross country league race2 Birchfield

Midland Womens race2 Birchfield



11th of December

County Cross country Championships Lilleshall Hall Sports centre

North Staffs cross country league race4 Westwood High school, Leek



15th of January 2011

Birmingham cross country League race3 Coventry

Midland Womens league race 3 Sphinx



22nd of January

North Wales league race 4 Lilleshall hall sports centre



29th of January

Midland Cross Country Championships, Newbold Common, Leamington



5th of Febuary

North wales Cross country race 5 Oswestry



12th of Febuary

Birmingham Cross country league race 4 Rugby and Northampton

Midland Womens League race 4 Bournville



19th of Febuary

National Cross country Championships

http://www.birminghamccleague.co.uk/

http://www.northwalesxc.com/fixturesvenues.htm

http://domain1998670.sites.fasthosts.com/index.htm North Staffs league

http://www.midlandathletics.org.uk/

www.englishcrosscountry.co.uk

North Wales Cross country league race1: Colwyn Bay

The start of the North Wales league races, saw the members of Telford go to the sea side with the sun shinning. Colwyn Bay was the venue for a glorious undulating race which saw a double yet again with victories in the mens and womens races.

Claire Martin took the field on early and found there was no takers to the early pace, with only the juniors to keep her company, Amanda Davies ran a really strong race moving through the field to a very good 5th, once again Cheryl and Julliet pushed each other all the way round finishing 31st and 32nd and Sarah Mackness coming back to cross country came 57th. Well done to all, will update on team position when the results come in.

The mens race was once again a one runner race with Chris Davies going out hard and establishing a lead which never looked in doubt, Mark Dalkins running another superb race finishing 2nd, Greg Wilson coming back to his favourite course to finish 9th, Rob Hughes although starting the race chatting his way round the first few meters of the race came through to a impressive 14th, Martin Turnock came in 29th, Kevin Fisher 32nd, Paul Williams 53rd, Rick Hailey 55th, Dave Talbot 75th, Jamie Davies 83rd, Malcolm Dawes 111th and Paul Sanderson 138th.

Thank you to all that travelled and to the ladies for the lovely cake very nice.

The next race in the north wales league is up at Bangor on the 30th of october.

North Staffs Cross country league Race 1 Winsford.

Its that time of year that the Cross country season is now firmly back and the days are getting colder with the grounds getting muddy.



First up was North staffs league at a new venue of Winsford. The weather was superb and the course was the best we've ever seen for a north staffs meeting. The ladies and junior men were up first. Ryan Heath put in a superb performance to finish 5th . Kim fawkes had a brilliant come back run finishing 1st overal, Michelle Clarke came 3rd, Cheryl Evans was 21st, Juliet Hoad 22nd, Lisa Blagden 35th and making her debut was Jenny Hinton in 61st. This impressive performance from the ladies gave them a 4point lead over Vale royal.

The mens race was lead from start to finish by Chris Davies coming back from some time off due to injury, Mark Dalkins was 3rd, Wayne Daspher 10th, Nick Andrews 26th, John Garmson 44th, Kevin Fisher 55th, Paul Williams 60th, Dave Talbot 80th and another athlete returning from injury Rick Hailey in 90th. The team is up against some very strong opposition with both Staff Moorlands and city of stoke scoring very low points leaving us 63points of first spot. Not impossible to drag back if we can get a few more runners out to take points away from the other teams.

Next race in the North Staffs Calender is 6th of November at Park hall country Park, Weston Coyney, Stoke on Trent.

Looking forward to seeing you all there.

Telford Games

Hundreds of athletes from throughout the country took part in the 21st Telford Games held at the Telford Stadium organisd by Telford Athletic Club in one of the last track and field meetings of the season. The packed eight hour programme produced many outstanding results including 16 Games Best Performances many by Shropshire athletes. Hayley Rubery from Telford AC produced a massive personal best in the under 17 womens discus with a winning throw of 40.27m her first time over 40 metres, a new games best performance and a throw that puts her 4th on the UK rankings. Isabel Bradley also from the host club, ran a superb race in the under 15's 1500m, with a winning time of 5.00.4. She was disappointed that it was a fraction outside the 5 minute barrier, but delighted with a new Games Best Performance and also the fastest ever run at this event by a female of any over the last 21 years, quite a feat for someone in the under 15 age group. She is currently ranked 4th in the West Midlands this season. Alex and Josh Burrows from Broseley both won their 800m races in the U/13 and U/15 boys events in 2.20.2 and 2.11.8 respectively.

Oswestry's Welsh International Adele Nicholl went home with 3 gold medals as she won the Under 15 girls discus throwing 34.76m, the shot with a putt of 12.63m and the javelin 25.78m. She is ranked number 1 in the country at shot and number 3 at discus. Telford AC's Nancy Ndure won the high jump with 1.70m a height that equalled the games best, just below her season's best of 1.73m that she achieved, when winning a silver medal at this years National Championships at Bedford, a jump that ranks her 3rd in the country. She was also 2nd in the 80m hurdles in 12.6 and 2nd in the long jump with a jump of 5.17m.

Bethan Partridge from Bridgnorth won and set a New Games Best of 11.74m whilst winning the senior women's triple jump.

Oswestry's Toby Parkes set a new games best in the Under 17 mens long jump with a leap of 6.12m as well as winning the 100m hurdles in 14.9. Aidan Reynolds, from Randlay who won a silver medal at this years English Schools Championships, won the Under 17 mens javelin throwing 60.25m just below his season's best of 62.70m which sees him sitting 3rd in the national rankings this year. His Telford AC team mate James Bell, was second throwing 48.19m, James has a season's best of 54.89m which puts him 12th nationally. Becky Fagan won the under 17 womens shot with a putt of 10.21m, Becky has a season's best of 11.17m with a flurry of good late season performances which puts her up to 13th in the national rankings.

Telford AC's Jack Brothers won the under 13 boys long jump 4.84m and high jump 1.48m. Jack has had a great season that has given him personal bests of 1.52 hugh jump, the 12th best in the country and 4.92m long jump the 17th best nationally.

Bridgnorth's Josh Merrett won the under 15 boys javelin throwing 40.34m, whilst Oswestry's Jake Hunt won the shot, 11.76m. In the under 17 mens age group Shrewsbury AC's Richard Groom won the triple jump with 12.62m.

Other Shropshire gold medallists.

U/11B cricket ball throw, William Brothers, TAC, 28.87.
U/11G cricket ball throw, Jessica Charleson, SAC, 29.42
U/13G long jump. Hollie Williamson, SAC 4.58m
U/15G 100m, Aimi Whitehouse,TAC,13.0
U/15G 75m H, Alexis Newton-French,TAC, 12.0
U/15B long jump, Gregor Sukara Fielding, TAC, 4.90m
U/17M 3000m, Ryan Heath, TAC, 9.45.7 and 1500m 4.23.7
U/17W 3000m Chloe Murphy, TAC, 12.50.9.
U/20M Shot, Ed Dawes,TAC,10.32m,Pole Vault 3.00m.
U/20M Javelin, Rob Millar, TAC, 47.04m.
Sen Mens 800m, Toby Birtwhistle, TAC, 2.03.1.
Sen Mens 100m, Vince Adiamah, TAC, 10.9.
Sen Mens 200m, Michael Dickens, TAC, 23.1.
Sen Mens 1500m, Josh Ogden, Osw, 4.10.1
Sen Mens High Jump, Malc Dawes, TAC, 1.85m
Sen Mens Shot, Ian Taylor 11.87m, Discus 40.36m.
Sen Mens Javelin, Jamie Wilkinson 48.07m.

For full results see Telford Games section of the website.