History of LWAC

The Club had only just got started when the First World War started. After the War, the Club had many local successes, but its first Northern Counties Champion was A. Freeman who won the 220yds.

During the 1920s the Club grew and so did the successes. This era was called the “Golden Era” as the first prize in the larger events was a gold watch and gold medals in championships.

G. Vinters won The Lincolnshire 1-Mile Championships in 1922, 1923, 1926, as well as the 2 miles in 1923.

Other club members who won in the 1920s were:

• J. Hebden 1 Mile, 2 Miles & Lincs Cross Country 3 times.
• A. Wheatley 880yds & 440yds
• C. Smyth 880yds (x2)
• D. Oswin 220yds 440yds
• C. Roberts 100yds & 220yds
• A. Wells 100yds & 220yds.

In the 1930s, the AAA began to have more control over the clubs, and the meetings, we saw betting at the meetings disappear & so the sport improves from it.

The club got stronger & we became one of the leading clubs in the north, both in track & field & cross country. The Eastern Counties came into being in 1934, we won it 3 times before the War, as well as the Lincs CCC 4 times.

On the Track we had too many successes to record here! A fine Relay Team was hardly beaten in 6 years. In the Championships we had our successes:

• In 1932, N.A. Hewson came 3rd in the Senior Northern High Jump and S. Lockwood was 3rd in the Youth Northern 440yds.
• E. Murry won Lincs 100yds in 1938-39 & Lincs 220yds in 1938-39.
• W. Moorcroft won The Northern Counties Junior 880yds & the Mile in 1935, AAA Champion 1 Mile in 1935.
• S. Gunn Represented England 1 Mile in 1938. Won NCAAA England 1 Mile in 1938.
• E. W. Harrison won Eastern Counties Cross Country in 1934-36-38. Lincs CCC 1932, 1935, and 1936. Represented RAF many times. Represented Great Britain in 1937 over 5000m and represented AAA 1936, 1937, and 1938 in the 3 Miles.
• J. Konacevik represented Yugoslavia at the 1936 Olympics.

During the Second World War, the Club was kept going by Mr. J. Littleover (pictured in the 1926 Team photo in the second row, 5th from the left), who joined on 19th September 1912, became the main stay of the Club in the 1930s & 1940s.

He was Secretary, then Chairman. At the end of the War, the club came to life again, runners returned (and some, unfortunately, did not). Other people joined and soon we had a club again! It was not long before the club was flourishing again. The next 10 years were the club’s best years – it was on ‘the crest of the wave’. We got larger and so better, but so did most clubs in England…

The club had a very good cross-country Team, as well as track and field. Soon invitations began to come in for the main Trophy’s Meeting, where we could always hold our own. Also for the London to Brighton Relay (6yrs) and later the Manchester to Blackpool Relay. In this Era the Club must have won more than a hundred events.

We also had very good field event athletes. Jānis Stendzeniek won the AAA Javelin in 1947 and held the club Javelin record until 2012 when another Olympic trialist, J. Dunderdale, bettered it. Janis hoped he might be able to participate in the 1948 Olympics taking place in London. But this was not to be, as his status was a lowly “displaced person”.

In this period the Club won The Eastern CCC 6 times, Lincs CCC 4 times.

In 1948, the senior team were runners up in the Waddilove Trophy. T. White won the 440yds, J. Stendzeniek won the Javelin, and A. Jankovskis won the discus. The team also won the 1st mile medley relay.

In 1949, the Youth team of A. Aldred (9th), P. Wray (10th), R. Armstrong and R. Williams won the National Cross Country championships.

In 1953, the team of L. Bohn, J. Murray, J. Murphy and P. Sutton won the Northern 4 x 110yds Relay. Individual winners were:

• EECCC B. Hebb (2) F. Bauckham, K. Barnsdale, N Clark (4) E.W. Harrison (3)
• LCCC F. Bauckham, C. Thurlby, K. Barnsdale, Girdham, N. Clark (3)

On the Track:

• E. Murry 100 & 220yds.
• T. White AAA Champion 880yds (2). Represented Great Britain in 1946-47 over 880yds and again in 1950-1952. Represented AAA 1946-1947 880yds. Represented: NCAA 880yds 1946-47-48-50-51, 1-mile in 1952, P/Games 880yds 1948-52, Lincs 880yds, and 1-mile.
• J. Murray Northern champion 220yds hurdles in 1952. His best times were 9.92s (100yds), 21.8s (220yds), 49.5s (440yds).
• E. Murry in Lincolnshire County 100 & 220yds.
• A Murry in Lincolnshire County 440yds (x4).
• B. Hebb in Lincolnshire County 1-mile (x2).
• C. Thurlby in Lincolnshire County 2-mile.
• F. Bauckham in Lincolnshire County 2-miles, and 3-miles.
• E. Harrison in Lincolnshire County 2-miles (x3), 3-miles, NCAA 3-miles.

One of the Clubs outstanding success in this period was in the 2 miles team races, must have won over 40 races (examples 8 in one year & 11 in another). Teams came from the following runners W. Close, W. Hebb, C. Thurlby, F. Bauckham, K. Barnsdale. E.W. Harrison, Girdham, E. Wilson.Later in middle of the 1950s the Club ran in Road Races from 10 Miles to Marathons. Once again the Club became a force in these races & won many prizes. E. Wilson & E. W. Harrison represented Lincolnshire in the 20 Mile Inter-Counties in 1958. Harrison won the RAF Marathon in 1958. N. Clark was outstanding over 10 Miles. T. Wray became one of England’s best runners over 20 Mile in 1959, broke the Kent 20 Mile Record. Janet Gaunt competed in the Highland Games in 1957 and was a guest at the High Jump in East Berlin in 1960. She was chosen for the Olympic Games in 1960 but was unable to compete through illness.End of ERA 1960.LWAC athletes who have received international recognition in recent years include:- Ruth Elder (GB & England) 200/400; Sally Robinson (England) X Country; Myfanwy O’Brien (Wales) X Country; Sharron Davenport (England) 800.

Also Ernie Harrison won 10,000m Olympic trial at Bolton on 22/5/48. C. T. (Tommy) White came 5th in European Champs 800m final in 1.51.5 in 1946. In 1947 he won the British Games 800m and the AAA’s 880 yards. Ran in the 1948 Olympics 800m and placed 3rd in heat 2 (1.56.6).

The senior women dominated this race for a number of years in the mid-2010’s. LWAC won the Northern Athletics XC Relay titles in consecutive years (2015, 2016, and 2017). 

In 2015, LWAC won the championship title, comfortably beating out regional rivals Leeds City AC. Rebekah Ward led the team out into ninth place, Abbie Donnelly ran the fastest second leg bringing the women into first place, before Sophie Cowper ran the fastest third leg of the day the consolidate Welly’s lead. The ‘B Team’ finished incredibly also finished inside the top 10, with some superb splits of their own.

In the 2016 race, they claimed back-to-back victories to retain the Northern trophy. Rochelle Harrison kicked things off again, bringing the team back after leg one in fifth place. Bella Williams stormed through to put Welly in the lead with the fastest second leg of the day, before Abbie Donnelly brought the victory back to Lincoln once more. Again, the ‘B Team’ placed 14th and delivered exceptional performances on the day.

Finally, in 2017 we completed a historic “hat-trick” of three consecutive wins. For the third time in as many years, Rochelle Harrison lead the team out, placing 18th, before Gemma Holloway clawed the trio back 11 places to 7th. It was then left to Abbie Donnelly to work on a best possible placing. She managed to gain first place (with the fastest third leg of the day) and opened a 2-second gap over second place, to make history in winning 3 in a row!

2018 saw the end of the wins…with a runners up finish. Rochelle once more led out to seventh place, before Laura Wilkinson gained 4 places and put Welly into a medal position. Abbie Donnelly then anchored the team home, gaining one more place, to give Lincoln Wellington AC a silver medal and another podium finish.

The COVID-19 pandemic struck and relays were cancelled in 2020. A year later, the team narrowly missed a medal, placing 4th with the team of Rochelle Harrison, Natalie Burns, and Lucy Thornton. In 2022, a new look duo of India Barwell (1st) and Evie Brooks (2nd), alongside a stalwart Rochelle Harrison first leg (4th), gave Welly another medal, this time silver, just behind Hallamshire Harriers.

In 2015, the quartet of Richard Brown – 10:41 (Handed over in 11th place), Joe Wilkinson – 10:37 (Moved the team up to 8th place), Ronny Wilson – 10:34 (Moved the team up to 5th place), and Tom Straw – 10:14 (Anchored the team forward to finish in 2nd place) finished as runners-up in the Northern Athletics XC Relays, before the team of: Joe Wilkinson, Tom Straw, Ronny Wilson, and Matt Bowser went one better in 2016, winning the title.

2017 saw the same 4 defend their title, with the winning quartet consisting of: Joe Wilkinson, Tom Straw, Shane Robinson, and Matt Bowser. Joe ran the fastest leg of the day (ahead of Patrick Dever). LWAC’s ‘B Team’ of James Straw, Will Strangeway, Ronny Wilson, and Ryan Page finished 5th, with the ‘C Team’ in 14th.

Having not placed on the podium in 2018, they reclaimed their title in 2019. Will Strangeway brought the team through the opening leg to set up the chase. Thomas Trimble clocked an exceptional time of 10:32, which was the 4th fastest individual time of the entire day, moving Lincoln Wellington into pole position. Jake Richardson put in a strong performance to consolidate the club’s lead and give the final runner a comfortable cushion. Joe Wilkinson anchored the glory leg and logged a blistering 10:14, the 2nd fastest overall individual lap time of the day.

Lincoln Wellington’s senior men’s were crowned North of England 6-Stage Road Relay champions in 2017. For three years, they worked hard to develop the relay squad. As a unit, they stuck together, trained well, and evolved both as individual athletes and as a team.

Lucian Allison led to team to sixth after the first leg (19:48), before Aaron Scott put them in the lead (19:50). Shane Robinson ran strong to keep Welly at the front (19:38) and James Straw kept it that way (19:57). It was then left to Tom Straw (19:39) to maintain before handing over to Joe Wilkinson (19:40) to close the show with the team emphatically winning.

Not only was our ‘A team’ the kings of the North, but we had three more teams out in force too. The ‘B team’ came a creditable 14th, and 2nd B team home; the ‘C team’ came 31st, and 1st C team home; and the ‘D team’ finished 65th.

Having all four teams not only displayed our depth but created a winning atmosphere.

The team then went on to Nationals, where they took home a bronze medal. Shane Robinson led them off to 19th place (17:54) and handed over to Tom Straw who got LWAC back in the top 10 (17:49). Lucian Allison cut the position in half to leave us fifth (17:47), with Aaron Scott moving the team into the medals (17:51). Matthew Bowser shifted us up another place to second (17:49) before Joe Wilkinson held on for an eventual bronze (17:24).

This after they’d finished fifth in both the Northern and National 12-stage road relays in the March and April.

Abbie Donnelly served as the captain for the Great Britain & NI team at the 2024 World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. Donnelly was selected for the role following a standout winter season that included an individual bronze and team gold at the 2023 European Cross Country Championships.

She delivered the traditional captain’s speech to the squad before the Belgrade championships on 30 March 2024. As captain, she led by example, finishing 20th in the senior women’s race, making her the top-performing British athlete in that event. Belgrade marked her third World Cross Country appearance, having previously competed in 2015 (Guiyang) and 2023 (Bathurst).

At the Regional Volunteer Awards (East Midlands), LWAC were awarded the title of ‘Club of the Year’.

Lincoln Wellington is a welcoming, inclusive community offering athletics for all ages and abilities. Through its 515 group, it nurtures young athletes and encourages members to become coaches and officials.

Despite a sudden venue closure, the club adapted swiftly – relocating sessions, maintaining facilities, and hosting major events. Their resilience kept the club thriving and united. Environmentally conscious upgrades like LED lighting and moss roofing show their forward-thinking approach.

With athletes excelling nationally and internationally – including Olympians and para-champions – LWAC continues to inspire.

Their commitment to development, sustainability, and excellence makes them a standout club.

LWAC Wins the prestigious Lincoln Civic Award. The club was officially presented with the award by the Mayor of Lincoln, Councillor Bill Mara, at a ceremony held in the historic Lincoln Guildhall on Thursday 30th April 2026.

Recognised for outstanding contributions and bringing credit to the city, providing an inclusive space for training, competing, and wellbeing. The Lincoln Civic Award was established in 1966 to honour individuals, charities, or companies that have made exceptional contributions to the city.

It is eligible to individuals, societies, businesses, or charities. Their achievements can be a single act or long-term dedication, whether through voluntary or paid work. In recognition of this, winners are added to a prestigious Roll of Honour.

Running Imp’s Chris Illsley (and former LWAC member in the 1980s) nominated the club, summarising by saying: “By it’s own definition the Civic Award is presented to an individual or organisation for an achievement which has, in the opinion of the Trustees, brought credit to the City of Lincoln, and after 115 years of service, Lincoln Wellington epitomises this.”