ATHLETICS: WEST CHESHIRE AC celebrated success on the road at the weekend.

The Chester and Ellesmere Port outfit's distance runners showed their strength at the Northern AA Road Relay Championships staged at Risley, Warrington.

West Cheshire's senior men finished 41st in the 75-strong team event won by Salford, and finished the event as the best-placed team in Cheshire.

Andy Starkey was the first member from West Cheshire AC in action, completing the opening 4.2-mile leg in 23 mins 23 sec.

Gary Munslow received the baton and negotiated the second leg in 24.12, before Iain Wedge posted 24.12 on the third leg.

Gary Roberts completed the fourth leg in 23.08, before West Cheshire's final two competitors picked up no fewer than 18 places on the final placings.

Penultimate team member Ken Begley clocked 22.34 and Paul Frodsham saw West Cheshire home in 22.57.

Gary Withers was the other WCAC member in action at Risley, completing the course in 24.31 on the first leg.

West Cheshire AC missed out by four minutes and 16 places to qualify for the National Road Relay Championships.

Four of the six team members are vets and they are now keen to compete in the Northern Veterans Road Relay Championships, and the British Vets Cross-Country Relays at Glastonbury on October 25.

Anyone requiring further details about West Cheshire AC can contact Dennis Wall, on 0151 201 1254, any evening. Fixtures this weekend include the Corporate Challenge Road Race on Sunday in Chester (10.30am). Any West Cheshire AC members wanting to volunteer as marshals for the event should assemble at Chester Racecourse no later than 9.30am. The Chester Zoo 10k Road Race gets way on Sunday, October 19 (11.15am). Contact Roger Knight, 8 Wenlock Gardens, Great Sutton, Cheshire CH66 2QZ. Tattenhall Runners' Justin Realff returned to his roots to take part in the Great North Run to finish in 1 hour 25 minutes.

Many of his clubmates will be in the Sandstone Trail races this Sunday, the 16.5 mile race starting at 10am from Duckington and the 9.5 mile event from Beeston Castle at 11am. Taking part in the Sportshall Championships at the EPIC on Sunday, there were wins for Kerry Riley and Ruth Pritchard in the six-lap races and also in the speed bounce where both scored 77s.

Lauren Hunt won the shot by almost one-and-a-half metres in her age group while Aidan Stoakley won both his field events in fine style, particularly in the standing triple jump where he was almost a metre ahead of the rest of the field, achieving a mark better than some of the competitors two age groups ahead of him.

Another superb performance came from Gareth Preston, who was two seconds clear in his sprint race, also coming home in first place in the shot and standing triple jump.

The U15 boys' squad were five seconds ahead of the opposition in the 4x2 relay and were winners in almost every category. Tom Price won the 2L, standing triple jump and standing long jump, Sam Bateson was a winner in the B six-lap race and also in the speed bounce, James Callaghan and Carl Van Schie wrapped up the points in the shot and Martin Jones was first in the B speed bounce and standing long jump.