Review of the Year 2004.

We started and ended the year in style and filled the time between with over a hundred new club records, attained new levels of individual and collective achievement and can look forward with renewed vigour to 2005.

The cross country season opened with the county championships producing three individual champions, three other individual medallists, retention of the under 13 boys’ team title and medals in four other age groups making a record total of 26 medals. In a day of collective effort and success the contribution of James Farghar will never be forgotten, nor the sight of the under 13 quartet of Ben Clough, Peter Knowles, Mike Ehlen and John Dumbell leading their Liverpool opponents up the hill at Stadt Moor.

 There were no medals in the Northern Championships but the club earned plenty of plaudits for staging a brilliant event (especially when compared with Manchester in 2004) and we had an increased number of competitors from 22 to 38. That number has been exceeded yet again for Consett which has attracted 43 entrants despite the distance to be travelled. A similar story was true in the National at Leeds where the number of finishers rose from 23 in 2003 to 28 in 2004.

 Yet it wasn’t only about quantity. There was quality too with nine club members making the inter-counties championships and five running the ESSA event. Full details are available on the website for March, the same month that the under 11 girls won  the Cheshire League title.

Indoors, too, we were setting new records, Jake Davidson winning our first indoor athletics medal. The under 11 Girls won the North West sports hall final, the under 13 Boys taking the silver medals and nine members competing for Merseyside in the North West Regional Final coming back with nine medals.

 On the road numbers increased for our own road race, the ladies winning the team race and the men finishing second to Penny Lane Striders. We fielded teams in the Northern Road Relays in April and September and were rewarded with medals in the North West event held at Birchwood. Indeed, we emerged as the second strongest Merseyside club across the age groups.

 On track and field we took second place to Wigan in the newly scored joint league and are promoted to division two with the excitement of a weekend away in the Isle of Man in May as a reward. Ben Fisher, who crowned a superb year by winning the ESSA title at Gateshead, was excellent in support of Phil Robinson, who with Ray Vose created our first pole vault duo for many years.

 The ladies, shorn of middle distance runners, found “volunteers” in Jackie Turner, Julia Eccleston, Chris Dempsey, Louise Casey and Joanne Taylor willing to score points while Nicola Quinn and Emma McClatchey became our new high hurdler and pole vaultes respectively. 

Despite many athletes travelling to Cardiff to watch St Helens and Wigan knock seven bells out of each other in the Rugby League Cup Final (which has now been moved to the end of the season) we won a dozen county titles, including Craig Knight and Dave Twigg for Cheshire, Steve Knowles, Jourdan Cotter, Joanne Sturgeon and Laura Crook for Merseyside. The total medal count was 29.

 In the Northern championships we came into our own, Jake Davidson repeating his indoor feat with an outdoor medal, Caroline Morley running in oceans of lactic acid to gain a bronze, Becky Keegan surprising everyone with a javelin bronze to add to the gold she won in the Merseyside and Dave Forrester confirming his growing reputation with a silver in the 3000 metres.

 Several athletes mentioned above made it through to the ESSA schools as did Lucy Mitchell who had what is known as “a bad day at the office” but reacted well. Five members made it to the AAA’s championships, including Thaddeus Anim-Somuah whose various exploits should come to the fore over the next two seasons.

 In August 13 members competed in the Inter-Counties championship at Cudworth, Jake Davidson and Ben Fisher winning titles before Ben travelled to Ipswich to win his first Northern vest. The following week the club made its second appearance in the Plate final putting up a splendid show in preparation for winning the trophy next year.

 In between the Young Athletes made a major impact earning a place in the top six of the Northern League division one, despite only having a handful of under 17’s and staging two matches to help the League out. Defeating Warrington in the final match was particularly satisfying.

 There were highs and lows, the latter being the premature death of Dennis Fulton at the tragically young age of 52. The president’s trophy has been renamed the Dennis Fulton Trophy in his honour and went to the volunteer of the year, Dave Morley.

 The cross country season started well and entries for the championships in January and February were at record levels. Of which more in 2005.