LIVERPOOL Harriers’ Mark Keeley claimed a comfortable victory in the Seaside 10k Road Race in Southport. Keely clocked 32:36 with Liverpool RC’s Paul Sankey second (33:19) and Wilmslow’s Malcolm Fowler third. Martin Swensson (Penny Lane Striders, 35:14) and Greg Callaghan (Liverpool Pembroke Sefton, 35:15) also enjoyed top five finishes. Liverpool Harriers’ Sophie Whiteside was the first woman home in 40:46 with Southport Waterloo’s Sue Cooper second in 41:45. Home club Southport had five senior men in the top 20 with Gerry Lenehan (12th) followed by David Hamilton (13th), Ben Johnson (16th), Peter Roome (18th) and Rick Bowker (19th). With 690 finishers, this year’s race enjoyed the highest turnout for eight years. LIVERPOOL Harriers were the highest placed local finishers in the men’s six-stage National Road Relay Championships at Birmingham’s Sutton Park. Richard Burney (18:14) was 37th after the opening leg but Jonny Mellor (17:16) gained 21 places before Ricky Challinor (18:36) handed over in 20th. Adam Peers (18:18) climbed to 18th but they couldn’t sustain it and after Ian Lawton (19:23) and Colin Potts (19:05) Harriers were 26th overall. Warrington finished 30th with Southport Waterloo 53rd and Str Helens Sutton 61st out of the 80 teams. St Helens actually led at the end of the first stage after a stunning run from David Forrester (17:10). However, Dan Griffiths (19:21), Jake Healey (20:56), Greg Williams (19:55), Ian Costello (21:31) and Matt Crehan (20:28) slipped back through the field. LIVERPOOL Pembroke Sefton fielded a team at the nationals for the first time and the senior women’s quartet finished a creditable 32nd. Kirsty Longley ran a great 15:45 for 37th place and then Liverpool University student Rhea Ellis (15:48) raced past 13 athletes to climb to 24th before handing over to Lyndsay Doyle. Doyle recorded 16:30 for 26th spot and on the final circuit Cath Terry came home 32nd in a solid 18:10. The highest placed Merseyside women’s team was the Liverpool Harriers quartet of Chantal Quarless (16:10), Vicky Griffiths (15:58), Jenny Clague (15:41) and Laura Murphy (15:54) who were 22nd overall. | 
Article
