Dave Evans reports:

Good support today and the threat of inclement conditions did not materialise despite poor weather north and south of the race venue until an hour before the off.  Actual race number 3 of the 20/21 season brought together a well balanced field of 10 with quality walking and times throughout.  Adrian Edwards and Tony Malone were asked to give the rest of their colleagues a 4 minute start which gave everyone something to chase so all finished within a 6 minute window.  Competition usually brings the best out of performers and the physical presence of club colleagues gave an extra incentive. With this event under their belts I suspect all walkers will improve the times as we head towards the autumn.

Leading home the aspirants at the end of the 10k was the tall figure of Adrian Edwards who rattled off laps in 20 26, 20 25 and 20 10 producing a final time of 61 mins 01. Tony Malone chased him home with a very solid 62 mins 11(21 04, 20 43,20 26). A much improved Martin Payne destroyed his old pb with an eye opening 63 mins 47(21 19, 21 09, 21 19). Stuart Edgar made a worthwhile journey from the Midlands posting an encouraging 67 mins 04(22 10, 22 23, 22 31). Dan Maskell made the long journey from Brighton and showed he is gradually getting back to his usual good standard and as always attracted compliments on his walking style. His 68 mins 51(22 36, 23 03, 23 12) is a good standard to start from. Ian Hilditch appears to have recovered from his 20 + day traverse of the Pennine way recording a swift 69 mins 31 reflecting his physical strength on a testing course. Roy Gunnett is another stylish walker and his 71 mins 16 was a solid performance with a good opening lap of 23 13 and follow up laps of 23 45 and 24 18. Joe Hardy is a model of consistency and laps 23 32, 23 58 and 23 51 show that his pace judgement is still intact. 71 mins 21 is proof of his ability to churn out solid times. Pat Evans walked well with laps in 23 33, 23 59 and 23 57 and a finishing time of 71 mins 29.  She has managed to hold her form from the Bury track race. Phil McCullagh employed his normal tactics of gradually increasing his pace and to prove this he recorded a first lap in 24 41, a second in 23 42 and a swift 23 18 for his final lap. A final time of 71 mins 41 made him the fourth walker with a 71 minute clocking.

Six walkers sent apologies for their non appearance – Tony Taylor, John Crahan, Sailash Shah, Glyn Jones, Stephen Walker and Tony Bell which reflects their disappointment at not supporting our latest event.  Thanks to Eric Horwill for timekeeping and Irene Pike for course marshalling. We always appreciate the input from officials without whom we could not promote these events. At the close of proceedings walkers were reminded that our next event will be the Fred Pearce relays on July 24th at Simister and we would hope for big numbers. Thanks as always to Marshal Barnard and his wife Kath, our host at Macclesfield for their continuing support at this venue.

Race result
1. Adrian Edwards 61 01
2. Tony Malone 62 11
3. Martin Payne 63 47
4. Stuart Edgar 67 04
5. Dan Maskell 68 51
6. Ian Hilditch 69 31
7. Roy Gunnett 71 16
8.Joe Hardy 71 21
9. Pat Evans 71 29
10. Phil McCullagh 71 41

Handicap
1. Martin Payne 53 47
2. Phil McCullagh 55 11
3. Joe Hardy 56 21
3. Dan Maskell 56 21
5. Ian Hilditch 56 31
6. Pat Evans 57 29
7. Stuart Edgar 58 04
8. Tony Malone 58 41
9. Roy Gunnett 59 16
10. Adrian Edwards 61 01

Thanks to Greg Smith for the photos taken during our previous race at Bury.