December 2004

Tamworth Two Star at Home Countries International Friday, December 17 2004
This weekend saw the long awaited appearance of Tamworth AC’s Meghan Beesley and Nathan Woodward representing England in the Schools Home Countries International against Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The event was held at Grangemouth at the Scottish Institute of Sport Indoor Centre, due to the fact that the usual venue, Kelvin Hall in Glasgow was closed for renovation. This also meant that the 800m and the 200m would have to be run outdoors on the outside track as the Indoor area had only a limited straight of 100m approximately.
In the competition, each country was represented by 4 competitors, making a total of 16 in each age group, and both Meghan and Nathan were in the under 16 age group competition. Both started the competition well, with Meghan leading after the first event and Nathan in the top six. As the competition went on through the different events, positions changed until after four of the five events, Meghan was in 3rd position, 104 points behind second place. and with Nathan in just 2nd place just 32 points in front of third place. Both had to run a very good 800m if they were to hold on to a medal winning top 3 place.
Nathan went off first and ran an exceptionally good race and managed to hold on to his 2nd place to secure the Silver medal, despite a very good attempt by Michael Cole (England) to overhaul him. In fact both Nathan and Michael were quite close to the Gold Medal place after their excellent runs in the 800m.Their efforts helped England to win team Gold from Ireland (2nd),Scotland (3rd) with Wales 4th.
Next it was Meghan’s turn, and having been told what she had to do, literally beat the girl in 2nd place by 10 seconds to  get the Silver medal, she duly set off with that in mind. She took out the pace and after a sensible run over the first 400m, then applied herself in the latter stages of the race to actually beat her by just about 10 seconds.When the result was finally announced, Meghan had done enough to secure the Silver medal, and her team had done enough to also win Team Gold for England as well, with all the home countries finishing similarly to the boys competition.
Congratulations must go to both athletes who performed to the best of their ability, as well as achieving some personal best performances during the competition .They were both a credit to Tamworth Athletic Club and England in their appearance and behaviour.
Posted by:Admin
Willaims Strolls On To More League Glory Sunday, December 5 2004
Mark Williams' great start to the race walking season continued last weekend as Tamworth Athletics Club took part in the second Midland Counties Race Walking League meeting in Birmingham.
  The Welsh international followed up his win in the first meeting at Worcester by claiming another victory, completing the 5km race at Perry Park in an impressive time of 23.38mins.
  Club colleague Mark Culshaw was the third male home, fourth overall, in 27.28mins, becoming one of the few walkers to beat his time from Worcester in the process.
  Both were in action in the 10km race as well, with Williams again heading the field as he crossed the line in 49.12mins and Culshaw finishing sixth in 57.53mins.
  John Culshaw Jr only arrived at the course two minutes before the start of his 5km race after being delayed in traffic but still managed to claim a creditable eighth place overall in 30.12mins.
  The two lady walkers in the race both performed well and finished within one second of each other in 20th and 21st place, with young Danielle Webb - in only her second race over 5km - just pipping Aime Ashton in 34.54mins.
  Sheila Owen was the first lady home in the 10km race, finishing 11th overall in 59.12mins - exactly the same time as she had set in Worcester.
 John Culshaw Sr was 22nd in 1:09.20hrs.
  Meanwhile, in the 1km race for under-11s, Tamworth's Lauran Webb walked really well to hold the lead for much of the event and, despite being passed in the latter stages, held on for an excellent third place in a personal best time of 6.54mins.
  Sam Webb again won the under-13s race in 12.35mins, with club colleague Michaela Webb finishing third in 13.54mins.
Posted by:chris
Farrell Enjoys Superb Debut Thursday, December 2 2004
Tamworth AC's cross country runners acquitted themselves in heavy conditions at the first major cross country event of the season in Sennellys Park, Birmingham. They were competing against runners from all over the country and produced some good results. In the under-13 boys section, newcomer Craig Farrell ran in his first ever cross country competition and finished a superb 12th, the third best Midlands athlete. Matthew Wood, who improves with every race, took 31st place but unfortunately Stephen Parkes injured his ankle in the boggy ground and was withdrawn by his coach. Laura Lewis was the club's only athlete in the under-13s girl's competition and she too is making excellent progress completing the race in 44th place. Simon King is returning to form after 18 months of injuries and he produced his best race for many years with a position of 24th in the under-15s boys race, beating some very strong runners from across the country in the process. Meghan Jacobs, our only entry in the under-15 girl's competition, has been struggling with a hip injury for some weeks and she found the testing conditions difficult but still finished in 67th position. Tamworth had three men in the under-17 race with Adam Bache finishing in 57th and Michael Pierrepoint in 65th. Unfortunately, a knee injury meant that Tom Adams had to be withdrawn after the first lap. Seventeen-year-old Martin Naunton competed against a strong field in the under-20 men's event and did very well to finish in 28th place in his first attempt at the longer 10km course. Over 800 runners took part in the senior men's race and the course soon resembled a ploughed field. The race is split into four divisions and Phil Clamp once again came out on top for Tamworth with an excellent third place in the division. Andy Wright, who has been pre-selected for the London Marathon on evidence of his previous performances, ran his usual steady race and completed the course in tenth place. The new super-slim Tom Orton made a welcome return to form in 18th and Howard Bush, in his first cross country since he left school, achieved 33rd position. The remaining results were not available at the time of going to press but Matt Hargreaves ran a solid race just behind Howard. The race saw a welcome return to cross country for Mark Wapplington and Steve Deegan. Brian Moran made light work of the tricky conditions and Matt James must have wished he'd never entered the race after his magnificent plunge into the river.
Posted by:chris
Cross Country is 'Just For Starters' Thursday, December 2 2004
The Marlborough Way Athletic Stadium will be the venue for a new winter cross country Starter Squad sessions run by Tamworth Athletic Club for boys and girls.
Young athletes, between the ages of nine-13 are welcome to attend the coaching sessions between 5.30-6.30pm on Thursday evenings, starting today and running until the end of March.
The sessions will follow a specially structured programme in a fun environment and will take place within the stadium grounds. The sessions will include activities and training on the track as well as on the hills.
This is an ideal opportunity for boys and girls to try out endurance activities and training under the guidance of a qualified endurance coach and with the assistance of qualified coaching assistants from Tamworth AC.
All new athletes who join the Starter Squad will be entitled to two free sessions after which each session will cost £3 for non-members and £1.50 for those who join as a club member.
There will be the opportunity for club members to compete for the club as an individual or as a team member in the West Midlands Young Athletes Cross Country league.
Participants will need warm kit, layers of clothes are best, trainers and a change of clothing in the event of wet weather.
Induction sessions will continue to run as usual on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7pm in the clubhouse. For health and safety reasons, it is essential that all new athletes attend one of these sessions with the club's induction officer.
Posted by:chris