Harriers enjoy success at the Allithwaite 8 race in Furness

The old Lancashire enclave of Furness proved a fertile hunting ground for Horwich Harriers last Saturday.

The Allithwaite 8 pitched itself as a trail race with more than a hint of fell. The route crossed rivers, farmland, and Cartmel racecourse, before finally nipping up and down the low limestone hill, Hampsfell.

Adrian Bramham, fresh from his victory in the V60s at Burnley the previous week, kept the ball rolling with another age-category win. So convincing was his performance, he also beat the first V50 and V40 en route to seventh place overall and a cracking time of 1hr 1min 7secs. Another supervet present was Mary White, whose sprightly 1:26:21 ensured she was victorious in the FV70 category. Sam Fairhurst took the overall victory in 52:56, and all were thrilled with the holy trinity of fell race prizes - handmade chocolate as big as their heads, beer from the local brewery and cash.

Mark Walsh also traded his cross-country spikes for fell shoes, taking on the Shepherd’s Skyline fell race, in Todmorden. Walsh stopped the clock at 56:49, good enough for fifth MV55, after a six-mile moorland romp which included 1,148 feet of ascent. The course featured a steep descent off Stoodley Pike to whet the appetite of the daredevil descenders, before a tortuous climb back up on to the moors for the stout-legged.

At the 13 Arches Half Marathon, in Whitefield, Manchester, Michael Salmon and Linda Webb crossed the line together in a time of 2:12:51. Webb was second F60 in the scenic, multi-terrain race, which passes the grade-two listed Clifton Railway Viaduct, whose 13 arches lend the race its name.

At parkrun, performance of the week was Isaac Parker, who finished second at Pennington Flash in his first attempt at the venue. Chris Essex-Crosby celebrated his 50th parkrun at Haigh Woodland, sneaking in the top 20 with a time of 21:17. He has a way to go to match Chris Charnley’s total of 271, who returned to his old stomping ground after his Guinness-fuelled jaunt in Limerick last month. At popular Peel, Rob Jackson ran his fastest time since July, scorching round in 18:34. This netted him first V55 and seventh overall in a field of nearly 600 runners. Among them was Andrew Storey, who ran a personal-best time of 25:56.

With 661 competitors, arm-swinging room was at a premium at Alexandra Park. After a ‘carnage start’, Richard O’Reilly navigated his way through the pack well to finish 76th in 20:16, while Sean McMyler and Maria Lowe found strength in numbers, finishing together in 21:13.

Andrew Crickmore returned to his old habitat at Bolton after an extended spell at Huntingdon, posting a time of 22:26, while Jacqueline Purlan dusted off her trainers to attend her first parkrun in more than a decade. She chose picturesque Lyme as the venue for her return, clocking 35:55 on long, hilly lap.