It wasn’t the best of mornings at the Church in Mobberley as the Waters Wilmslow Half Marathon passed by. The daffodils, as is usual, were in full flower but it was otherwise grey and showery, not particularly cold but no sign of any sun. Excellent conditions for the competitors but less pleasant for spectators.

There didn’t seem to be as many spectators gathered on the pavement to cheer the runners on as in previous years, no doubt put off by the weather. This part of the course is marshalled by Wilmslow Lacrosse and their juvenile members entertained themselves by practicing their catching and stick work in the middle of the road with an old tennis ball until the arrival of the first runners. A Chorlton Runners support crew was also present in full voice every time one of their team went past and judging by their frequent cries of exhortation, it seemed they had a very big team.

The leaders appeared after being on the road for just forty nine minutes, about fifteen minutes ahead of the main body of the race. Phalanxes of runners went by ‘en masse’ for the next hour until thinning out as the tail enders went through. The last runner, an elderly lady, staggered past at about 12.45pm., closely followed by a car, displaying a last runner notice and two trucks picking up and clearing away race paraphernalia.

By 1.00pm Sunday lunchers were arriving at the Church Inn and if they hadn’t had known, there was no evidence to remind them of the hordes that had just passed. There’s no doubt that it’s a finely tuned event.

This year’s winner was Mo Abu-Rezek of Altrincham AC in 66-27 minutes. Matt Bond of Sale H. and AC. Contested it all the way until the final four hundred metres finishing four seconds behind. Andrew Davies of Stockport H. and AC. finished in third place a minute later. Fanni Gyurko of Central AC. was the first lady home in 78–11.

The first Wilmslow runner was Peter Speake in 75-02 and the first Wilmslow lady was Janine Ellis in 93-11.

This year the lead beneficiary was the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.