With the Spring marathon season over, let’s give a special mention to all our members who undertook the months of training and dedication to complete the 26.2 mile challenge.

Manchester Marathon

Duncan Cooper
Ed Foster
Ed Coppinger
Anna Sanders
Dave Sanders
Andy Clay
Owen Mitchell
Gemma Lunn
Neal McCathie
Carina Allan
Joy Edge
Pippa Pinches
Tom Senter

London Marathon

James Kay
Ryan Simms
Matt Allan
Wayne Asprey
Mitchell Smallman
Ben Stanaway
Katie Elton
John Hutchison
Paul Thomson
Matt Hall
Jane Bradbury
Claire Wheat

Brighton Marathon/Providence Marathon, Rhode Island, USA

Phill Brindle

Boston Marathon, UK

Andy Evans

Lake Garda, Italy

Federica Cantatore
Ludovica Mazzucco

Exeter Marathon

Jo Turrell

It’s fantastic to see such a large number of our members, across all age groups and paces, competing in marathons all over the country and even abroad. You should all be incredibly proud of your achievements and serve as an inspiration to others to take on the challenge.

Some of them are pictured below.

A small team of LRC runners took part in the Uttoxeter Festival of Running Half Marathon, the second event in the Burton and District Summer League, taking on the beautiful, but hilly countryside route.

For Paul Mortimer, it was his first event over the distance; for Adam King, Clare Tanter and Charlotte Wesley, it was their second half marathon in a few weeks, having previously competed in Stafford.

First man over the line was James Coombes (19th: 1:27:56), followed by Ben Richards (91st: 1:44:26), Adam King (98th: 1:45:28) and Paul Mortimer (145th: 1:58:35). First lady home was Melanie Baker-Hunt (26thF: 1:53:32). Despite suffering a fall in the latter part of the race, Gail Fortes-Mayer finished in 2:00:47(32nd F), followed by Clare Tanter (58th F: 2:26:13) and Charlotte Wesley (67th F: 2:57:11).

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An enjoyable morning for the team, with post-race ice-cream going down well!

The Burton and District Summer League kicked off in April, with the first event, Run in the Forest, held by South Derbyshire Road Runners.

The varied terrain (mostly trail, with some tarmac, steep inclines and a canalside section) made for an interesting five mile course, starting in the Conkers Discovery Centre car park and finishing close by, in the woodland. The rain held off and after a chilly start, the sun even came out for us!

There was an excellent turnout, with 32 runners representing LRC, including newest club member, Lisa Gilbert, as well as several others taking part in their first BDSL season: Steph and Jon Jervis, Adam King, Mitchell Smallman, Liam Chawner, Viktor Karaiosifidis, Rachel Dobson and Ryan Robinson.

James Kay was first to cross the line, in 9th place, in 29.19, followed shortly afterwards by Morgan Bradley (20th/30:31), James Coombes (26th/31:14) and Liam Chawner (30th/31:33).First female was Lorraine Amos (31st F/44:55) with Janna Heathershaw next home in 45:40 (49th F).

Massive congratulations to everyone who took part: James Kay, Morgan Bradley, James Coombes, Liam Chawner, Mitchell Smallman, Will Packham, Stephen Howard, Adam King, Phill Hammersley, Nick Parkes, Keith Lowther, Paul Fowler, Phil Pinney, Jon Jervis, David Gould, Viktor Karaoisifidis, Paul Gilbert, Ryan Robinson, Lorraine Amos, Janna Heathershaw, Rachel Dobson, Clare Tanter, Beth Clarke, Marian Lowther, Abbi Storer, Maria Andritsou, Steph Jervis, Daniella Gonzalez, Sophie Thompson, Lisa Gilbert, Charlotte Wesley and Marcelle Hollins.

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Congratulations to the new runners who graduated from our eight week beginners’ course a few weeks ago, successfully completing their final 5k run. They showed real dedication throughout the course, braving some of the worst weather we’ve ever had! What a great achievement; you are all amazing!

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Lichfield Running Club’s men’s team were out in force at Sutton Park for the Midland Road Relays, putting in a strong performance across all legs in a very competitive field.

The team of James Pickering, Chris Benson, Ben Stanaway, Matt Allan, Ed Coppinger, Mitchell Smallman, Liam Chawner, Wayne Asprey, Stephen Rivers, Morgan Bradley, Phil Radnor and Ryan Simms all ran well and kept us in the mix throughout. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way we briefly invented our own course… and the result didn’t count. Let’s call it creative navigation. Plenty of positives to take though — strong runs, great team spirit, and a reminder that we’ve got real depth in the squad. On to the next one!

What a brilliant way to close the cross country season! After the final (rescheduled) event at Sinai Park, Lichfield Running Club brought home the trophies for the men’s and mixed team events once again, retaining the men’s title for the second time, and the mixed team title for the third consecutive year!

The two lap course was the usual challenging mix of steep elevation, both up and downhill, including a wooded section (which, on another occasion would have made a pleasant walk!), slippery walkways, several stiles, sheep and, of course, plenty of mud.

Nonetheless, everyone made it round relatively unscathed and retired to the Albion Pub for the results and presentation; after a tense wait, we were announced overall winners of the men’s and mixed team competitions.

Furthermore, numerous LRC members were awarded category prizes: Chris Benson (2nd SM); James Kay (3rd SM); Matt Allan (3rd MV40); Andy Evans (1st MV45); Phil Pinney (1st MV70); Carina Allan (2nd VL55); Clare Tanter (3rd VL55); Marian Lowther (3rd VL60). Congratulations to everyone who represented the club in the competition, whether at one or all of the events; it was a real team effort, and we couldn’t have done it without you.

Huge thanks, too, to those who supported by bringing the kit, cakes, cheering us on, and so on. Thanks, especially to new team captain, Charlotte, who stepped into the role early in the season, and guided us through another successful campaign. We’ll be back next year!

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Another sunny Sunday morning saw 19 of our runners go to Stafford to take part in the half marathon. Starting and finishing in Victoria Park, the route follows roads and paths around the town to produce an undulating course. There was lots of support from local people around the course which was much appreciated.

Our first runner home was James Kay in 01:17:56, a new PB and taking 18th place overall. Following him were Andy Clay – new PB (01:25:43), James Coombes (01:26:12), John Corpe (01:26:55), Phil Radnor and Jimmy Pickering both in 01:27:08, Liam Chawner (01:29:10), Adam King – first half marathon (01:43:57), Keith Lowther (01:48:29), Tom Senter – new PB (01:50:06), Neil Anderson (02:10:28) and Phil Pinney (02:12:12). Phil was also 4th in his age group.

Joy Edge was the first woman to finish in 02:08:00. Joy used the half marathon as part of a 22 mile marathon training run, which shows real dedication. She was followed by Janna Heathershaw (02:09:34), Louise Anderson (02:10:28), Clare Tanter – first half marathon (02:12:59), Ann Schwarzenbach (02:18:27), Marian Lowther (02:27:47) and Charlotte Wesley (02:46:41)

Well done to all our runners, some great performance over a testing distance.

What a brilliant day Lichfield Running Club had at the first event of our 2026 Grand Prix competition, Fradley 10k!

38 club runners took on the flat and fast course, a two lapper around the village, in near perfect conditions. They certainly appreciated the support from the non-running LRC members around the course; huge thanks to John and Sarah, Paul, Alun, Joy, Will, Pippa and families for your encouragement!

So many fabulous performances and many shiny new PBs achieved! First male home was Andy Evans (11th: 34:57): first female, Carly O’Neill (20th F: 43:59).

Here are the results in full:

Andy Evans (11th: 34:57), James Kay (14th: 35:18), Chris Benson (30th: 36:57), Matt Allan (36th: 37:34), Ed Coppinger (53rd: 38:24), Liam Chawner (67th: 39:07), Phill Brindle (136th: 42:02), Nick Parkes (180th: 43:51), Carly O’Neill (20th F: 43:59), Sarah Hayman (22nd F:44:10), J-P Nellist (194th: 44:16), Stephen Howard (218th: 44:47), Ben Richards (252nd: 46:01), Keith Lowther (269th: 46:48), Adam King (302nd: 47:45), Martin Shortall (307th: 47:50), Gail Fortes Mayer(72nd F:49:47), Alexandria Evans (94th F: 50:46), Katie Fawcett (107th F: 51:40), Phil Pinney (526th: 53:31), Sophie Webster (144th F: 54:06) Sophie Thompson (149th F: 54:14), Janna Heathershaw (156th F: 54:32) Carina Allan (161st F: 54:47), Des Adey (608th: 55:40), Clare Tanter (225th F: 57:18), Alan Miles (700th: 57:46), Beth Clarke (240th F: 57:57), Rachel Dobson (260th F: 58:51), Ryan Robinson (758th: 59:22), Laura Nellist (296th F: 1:00:05), Marian Lowther (325th F: 1:01:40), Paul Gilbert (909th: 1:04:16), Maria Andritsou (375th F: 1:04:18), Amy Kennedy-Brook (386th F: 1:04:39), Viktor Karaiosifidis (945th: 1:05:19), Marcelle Hollins (445th F: 1:08:16), Charlotte Wesley (463rd F: 1:09: 23).

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Lichfield Running Club have celebrated achievements over the past year at our annual presentation and social event. Members gathered at Darnford Moors Golf Club and enjoyed a wonderful evening of food, conversation and congratulations!

Here are the winners:

Men’s Grand Prix
1st: Andy Evans
2nd: John Doyle
3rd: Dan Floyd

Women’s Grand Prix
1st: Jess Webb
2nd: Gail Fortes-Mayer
3rd: Joy Edge

Bob Connor Trophy (awarded for best age graded performance in the Grand Prix)
1st: Andy Evans
2nd: Ed Coppinger
3rd: Wayne Asprey

Time Trial Series
1st: Ed Coppinger
2nd: Paul Fowler
3rd: Owen Davies

Cross Country Series
1st: John Doyle
2nd: Ian Buckner
3rd: Dan Floyd

For the first time, an award was given for the Parkrun Challenge. This was won by Clare Tanter and will now become a regular part of the club competitions.

In addition to these, two awards are given annually: The Dave Nason Trophy for Outstanding Contribution to the club and the Mike Green Trophy for Outstanding Running Achievement. These are decided by members’ votes and were awarded to Charlotte Wesley (for her support with Time Trials, supporting the Parkrun Challenge and for supporting the club in the BDSL & XC league – marshalling, running and always cheering on) and Phil Pinney (Celebrated for his journey from the beginners group to completing the Manchester Marathon) respectively.

This year, all those who competed in at least 5 of the Grand Prix events received a personalised commemorative t-shirt; these are modelled in the photos below!

A bouquet was also presented to Claire Wheat in recognition of her contribution to the club as a Run Leader.

Huge congratulations to all our winners! We look forward to seeing what you all achieve in 2026!

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The presentation evening for the Burton and District Summer League was held in October, with our members winning a number of awards. For the second year running, our men won the team prize! An amazing achievement from some of our dedicated runners.

Our most decorated member was Will Packham, who came 2nd in the men’s U25 category. Will was also one of only four people to get an award for completing all nine races in the league. In fact, Will was declared the men’s overall winner for nine races completed which gave him another trophy! Hope you have room on your mantlepiece Will.

John Doyle came 2nd in the senior men category with Andy Evans winning the VM40, both taking these awards for the second time; Wayne Asprey came 3rd in the VM50.

Sophie Thompson came 2nd in the U25 women, whilst Jess Webb placed 2nd in the senior ladies. Joy Atkin came 3rd in the VL45 category and Gail Fortes Mayer was 2nd in the VL55.

Well done to all our award winners and our runners who took part in the league. We’d like to say a big thank you to all the clubs in the league for organising a range of great events throughout the summer. See you all at the start of the 2026 season.

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