Lancaster and Morecambe Athletics Club celebrate cross country league title

Lancaster and Morecambe Athletics Club are celebrating after winning a major cross country league title.

The men's senior team won the 2024 Mid Lancashire Cross Country league title last month, securing the title for the first time since 1961, when only four teams competed for the honour.

That was also when the club were under the different name of Primrose Athletic.

Thirty eight teams are participating this year and LMAC have been confirmed champions after just four out of six events in the series have taken place.

The men’s B Team are in with a strong chance of winning Division 4 of the league, while the Vet 40 and Vet 50 teams are also in strong positions in their divisions.

There was also cross country participation at junior level as well last month.

Here are the junior results from the Mid Lancs Blackpool Cross Country:

Under 11 Girls - 6th Team

10th Scarlet Gora

23rd Ailsa Roberts

24th Sienna Hardiman

25th Isla Heath

Under 11 Boys - 4th Team

13th Joe Maguire

21st Ruben Heath

22nd Jack Parrington

30th William Gardner

U13G

42nd Olivia Hemingway

U13B

20th Elijah O’Neill

24th Arthur Dickinson

U15B

2nd Ben Brassington

U17W

1st Isabelle Murphy

6th Annie Dickinson

U17M 1st Team

1st James Brassington

6th Jack Eccles

16th Milo Reynolds

Here are the senior results from the Mid Lancs Blackpool Cross Country:

U20M

2nd Tom Bowman

Senior Women:

53rd Miriam Maher

Senior Men - 2nd Team, 3rd V40 team:

15th Lee Parrington

16th David Brown

17th Mark Colgate

37th Garath Lee

46th Matt Guilder

59th John Brassington

81st James Dalgleish

118th Paul Riches

124th Graham Hodgson

128th Chris O’Neill

Here are the results from the Northern Cross Country Championships at Sedgefield on January 27:

U15G - Anna Nicholson - 35th

U17W - Annie Dickinson - 69th

U17W - Erin Gillian - 79th

U17M - Jack Eccles - 54th

U20M - Tom Bowman - 26th

SM - David Brown 92nd

The senior sides were also involved in the Lancashire Cross Country Championships event in Blackburn last month.

Mark Holgate won a gold medal in his age category for LMAC, while Lauren Gora and Miriam Maher won silver for their age groups.

Fabian Schiller (fastest LMAC finisher in event), Tom Bowman and Thomas McGrattan won team silver for their age group.

Several LMAC runners also took part in the Garstang 10K, the first of 12 club championship races in 2024, on January 14.

The fastest from LMAC was Grzegorz Niewiadomski, who was fourth quickest overall.

The quickest in the female category from LMAC was Christina McGuire, who was awarded the chairman’s award by Angus Murray at the club’s senior presentation night last month.

Here are the LMAC results for that race in full:

Grzegorz Niewiadomski 37:01

Gary Atkinson 40:29

Rob Clayton 43:27

Christina McGuire 47:40

Miriam Maher 49:32

David Wilkinson 51:08

Mark Simmill 51:17

Emily Stapleton 55:13

Carole Wilkinson 55:39

Steve Walsh 57:13

Christine Perry 59:13

Elaine Simmill 59:43

Catherine Douglas 59:44

Gurb Dhillon 1:03:17

Billy Gardner 1:03:18

In a Power to 5K race on January 12, three LMAC runners – Beau Smith, Luke Davis and Timothy Forber – recorded times of 15:46, 17:48 and 19:33 respectively.

It was the Morecambe Festival of Running on January 21, with LMAC members taking part in both the 10k and 10 mile races.

In the 10k run, Mark and Elaine Simmill finished with times of 54:14 and 1:03:01.

John Brassington, Christina McGuire and Steve Walsh competed in the 10 mile race in 1:01:49, 1:25:57 and 1:37:31.

On January 27, Kay Schiller, Ully Kritzler and Beyond Radio’s very own Paul Fisher completed the 10K Night Trail Run on Rivington Pike, with Schiller finishing in 1:22:45, while Kritzler and Fisher both recording times of 1:31:06.