The 5th Borders League race of the season took place on Sunday 5th March at Manley Mere, this time hosted by Helsby Running Club. The conditions were far from ideal, a cold and very wet morning was unfortunately what the runners who turned up had to contend with. There was even sleet and snow on the journey up, which I am sure was putting some off the thought of a race.
A total of 318 runners turned out for this new course which takes in 5.1m of what is the middle section of the Four Villages Half Marathon. The route is on the lanes around Manley and Mouldsworth and is a relatively flat and fast course, there is around 200ft of elevation gain, mostly in the middle 2m of the race.
From Buckley, there were 41 runners this time (16 Ladies and 25 Men), while numbers were down on race #4, it was still a very respectable turnout, yet again it was great to see new members turning out for their first club race.
It was a special day for John Morris, as it was his 200th Borders League race, an epic achievement that has seen him consistently turning out for the 7 race series for almost 30 years.
Some excellent results from the Buckley team on the day, with three men in the Top 10; Jez Brown 8th (28:31), Przemyslaw Tomczak (Max) 7th (28:26) and a truly exceptional performance from Elliott Cox finishing 2nd (27:41).
Some very strong performances from the Ladies too saw the top 3; Hazel Berrett 28th Lady ( 37:24), Ceri Cook 18th Lady (35:47) and Sam Dutton 7th Lady (34:04). Also worth a mention are Hazel Berrett, Margaret Ludden and Jane Lindley who’s consistent performances mean they currently occupy 1st, 2nd & 3rd in the overall championship for the Female VET50 category.
Buckley’s Men were the 2nd Team on the day in Division 1, just behind Wallasey Athletic Club, this also sees them in 2nd place in the league, behind Wallasey, with two races to go and only a few points separating the two.
Overall Results are as follows:
| Rank | Name | Time | Category |
| 2 | Elliot COX | 27:41:00 | SM |
| 7 | Przemyslaw TOMCZAK | 28:26:00 | SM |
| 8 | Jez BROWN | 28:31:00 | MV40 |
| 18 | John PRITCHARD TAYLOR | 29:25:00 | MV45 |
| 22 | Chris MYLES | 29:35:00 | SM |
| 27 | Simon ROBERTS | 29:43:00 | MV45 |
| 32 | Chris CALLAGHAN | 30:10:00 | SM |
| 44 | David WHITE | 30:58:00 | SM |
| 60 | Eddie DAVIES | 31:35:00 | MV45 |
| 78 | Peter GRAY | 32:33:00 | SM |
| 103 | Sam DUTTON | 34:04:00 | FV35 |
| 117 | Steve BELLIS | 34:53:00 | MV60 |
| 118 | Chris REID | 34:53:00 | SM |
| 128 | Paul WILCOCKSON | 35:20:00 | SM |
| 129 | Karl WILLIAMS | 35:21:00 | MV45 |
| 143 | Ian HOGG | 35:42:00 | MV45 |
| 144 | Ceri COOK | 35:47:00 | FV45 |
| 149 | Tim HARGREAVES | 36:05:00 | MV45 |
| 151 | Richard FINCH | 36:12:00 | SM |
| 164 | Rob MAHONEY | 37:11:00 | SM |
| 170 | Hazel BERRETT | 37:24:00 | FV50 |
| 191 | Mike AUSTIN | 38:15:00 | MV40 |
| 196 | Dave WOOTTON | 38:28:00 | MV50 |
| 207 | Margaret LUDDEN | 39:14:00 | FV50 |
| 208 | Jane LINDLEY | 39:15:00 | FV50 |
| 227 | Kirsty JOHNSON | 40:13:00 | SF |
| 231 | Lisa MACPHERSON | 40:21:00 | SF |
| 232 | Les COATHUP | 40:23:00 | MV60 |
| 235 | Mark AINDOW | 40:36:00 | MV45 |
| 236 | Amanda MOUNTFORD | 40:37:00 | SF |
| 247 | John MORRIS | 41:42:00 | MV70 |
| 248 | John POYNTON | 41:43:00 | MV50 |
| 250 | Ann BROUGHTON | 41:48:00 | FV35 |
| 262 | Kelly JONES | 42:29:00 | FV35 |
| 271 | Evelyn AINDOW | 43:22:00 | FV45 |
| 295 | Rob MACKEY | 47:34:00 | MV65 |
| 303 | Sue RIDINGS | 50:08:00 | FV55 |
| 307 | Alli HUNT | 52:12:00 | FV55 |
| 310 | Donna CULFF | 54:15:00 | FV35 |
| 312 | Steph BROWN | 54:47:00 | SF |
| 317 | Becks BROWN | 60:04:00 | FV35 |
The next race is at 11am on Sunday 9th April, hosted by Wirral Athletic Club at New Brighton.
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