Walter Kennaugh

/
Walter Kennaugh.png

A very sad day for Manx athletics and fell running in particular with the news that Manx Fell Runners Life Member Walter Kennaugh has passed away peacefully this morning at Abbotsfield Ballasalla at the age of 94 years.

Walter became timekeeper and committee member for MFR or Manx Mountain Marathon Organisation as it was then known in the early 1980`s and for over 20 years was an absolute rock in the organisation. The successful sport we enjoy these days was founded on the base that Walter and the legendary Arthur Jones, a life long friend of Walter, laid down for us.

A very good soccer player in his day, Walter went on to be a successful referee before entering into the world of athletics as a result of his close friendship with Margaret Lockley who at the time was one of the UK`S finest marathon runners. Thankfully for us Walter took a shine to our branch of the sport and was a mainstay in fell running for many years impressing everyone with his integrity and friendliness.

I, personally, thoroughly enjoyed working with Walter over a long period of time and I had a great respect for him. It would be easy to write many words in praise of Walter, all of which he would have deserved, but he was a private man who hated any fuss, especially if he was involved. So to finish, on behalf of Manx Fell Runners I would just like to say thank you Walter for you tireless work for our sport and more importantly for your friendship.

Our thoughts go out to his family Barbra, Doreen, Geoff and Tony and of course grandson Steven.

 

Words by Richie Stevenson 

Winter Hill League Round 1 - Cringle Plantation

/

The Isle of Man Bank sponsored Winter Hill League gets underway on Saturday 26th October at the Cringle Plantation. This short race will be held on a tight, twisty course that follows tracks worn in by mountain bikers and will be well marked. It is an ideal course for any newcomers or for any roadies who fancy a change of terrain.
The expected winning time will be around 15 minutes. The running surface is mostly soft with a couple of stony sections and as it is mostly within the plantation competitors need to watch out for tree roots.
The start and finish will be near the main entrance to the Cringle Plantation on the B39 Solomons Corner to Corlea road. Easy way to get there is to go up the main road at Foxdale and take the second turning on the right at Solomons Corner. Follow this road until you will see the Cringle Reservoir on your right. The start and finish is just past the reservoir on the right. If coming from the south turn off the A27   Colby Glen Road onto the B39 just past Ronague Chapel.
Registration will be at the main entrance gate to the plantation from 12.30pm until 1.15pm. The race will incorporate the first leg of the 2013 Junior Hill Runing Championships for school years 7 and upwards.
Parking is limited, car sharing is strongly advised. There is limited parking available at the reservoir, at a small park to the south of the start area and at the side of the road in places. Please park carefully.

SENIOR ENTRY FORM          JUNIOR ENTRY FORM

Top Performances at the ESFRC

/

A group of fourteen young athletes traveled to the English Schools Fell Running Championships in Cumbria last weekend. The trip was organized by Manx Fell Runners with assistance from the Isle of Man Secondary Schools Sports Association. Hosted by Queen Katherine School, Kendal, the event is now in its fifth year and continues to attract high quality athletes from schools across the north-west and beyond, including a host of established England internationals. There was a huge entry of nearly 500, up 25% on 2012, and the standard of all the races was extremely high. On the day, the weather was glorious, providing fine views across the Lake District fells.

In the first race of the day, the Year 7s competed over a testing 2 km course which included a steep climb and fast descent. After a fast start, Ethan Georgeson (CRHS) and Harry Read (RGS) settled into a good pace and worked well together on the climb. Ethan edged ahead on the descent and finished the race in a fine 13th position, ahead of Harry in 19th and teammate James Harrison in 40th. In the girls race, Lorna Spiers (QEII) powered round the course, looking composed throughout, finishing an excellent 8th with teammates Megan Lockwood (CRHS) and Millie Palmer (RGS) close behind in 17th and 21st respectively. They were delighted to finish as runners-up in the Year 7 girls team competition.

David Mullarkey (CRHS) is an experienced competitor on the fells and his determination was clear to see in the Year 8/9 boys race. After an aggressive start, he settled in behind the lead group and held his own over the testing course. He finished strongly, eventually taking a well deserved 7thposition. Oliver Shearer (CRHS) paced himself very well, finishing just ahead of James Strickett (KWC) in his first major, off-island fell race in 40th and 42nd positions respectively.

In the girls’ race, Angela Aumonier (CRHS) and Isabella Barnes (KWC) were running shoulder to shoulder at the front end of the field up to the halfway point. Unfortunately, Angela went over on her ankle on a particularly difficult section of the course, causing her to withdraw from the race. Bella, who had been training with Lloyd Taggart and Jackie Lee in the weeks leading up to this event, pushed on and finished in a respectable 10th position, all the more impressive considering she was likely the youngest competitor in the race.

The final event of the day was for Year 12/13, over a testing course to Benson Knott and back measuring 4 miles with over 1,000ft of ascent. The race was taken out hard by two experienced internationals while Stephen Garrett (RGS) and Jason Moore (SNHS) sensibly tucked into the chase group. Both were running well until Jason unfortunately had a recurrence of an old calf injury which effectively ended his challenge. Stephen just lost touch on the early part of the descent but recovered and finished strongly for a superb 4th place, narrowly missing out on a medal. To his credit, Jason stuck to the task, and limped in for 11th place.

Manx Fell Runners would like to thank Isle of Man Steam Packet Company for assisting in making the trip possible. This type of experience is hugely important for young athlete development and they are all most grateful for the Steam Packet's input.

The Isle of Man Team

The Isle of Man Team