Japp enjoys perfect preparation

It should have been the final meeting of the 2015/2016 season, but the heavy rain last March flooded parts of the course and it had to be cancelled.

Despite heavy cloud and some drizzle, conditions were good, if tough.

Emily Japp is running in Sunday’s highly rated Abbey Dash in Leeds, so she did not want to over-extend herself.

However, her performance was still good enough to win the two-lap, 5.6K race in 19:19.

Jess Rogers, in her first race as a senior, was 13th and third Under-20s, and Stasia Bligh was 42nd in 24:51 to make up the team, who were fourth.

The Vet 35 team of Bligh, Bev Wright (55th in 25:26) and Laura Lawler finished seventh.

Wright, Lawler and Karen Dunford (66th in 26:28) were the fifth Vet 45 team.

The rest of the squad were Becky Rogers (64th in 25:59), Andrea Smith (69th in 26:28), Dawn Maher (119th in 30:44) and Deborah Terras (29th in 31:30).

On the same course, John Winters was fifth Vet 70.

Andrew Simm has taken over as captain and his efforts were rewarded with the best turnout for a couple of years.

Danny Hayes led the way for BWFAC in 23rd in 36:07 on the four-lap, 9.9K course, with Simm 128th in 43:24.

They rest of the A team were Darren Tremble (139th in 43:57), Paul Sparrow (142nd in 43:57), Peter Singleton (183rd in 46:28) and – returning to competitive action – Ian Close, who was 244th in 51:03. The team was 20th.

The B team of Alan Wilkinson (258th in 52:32), Rick Pinches (275th in 55:48), Alan Smart (281st in 58:22), Simon Scarr (286th in 63:33), Bernard Singleton (288th in 63:58) and Bob Massey (291st in 67:32) was 29th.

The Vet 40 team were 14th, the Vet 50 11th and the Vet 60 team second.

At the Lytham Hall parkrun, Michelle Tickle in 28th was just a second outside a course best with 22:10 and Steve Dunn was 81st in 26:25.