IT was a day for the hardy parkrunner at Bolton on Saturday as the rain lashed down.

The lower-than-normal number of runners splashed through the puddles as personal best times and first-time runners were understandably in short supply.

After taking a look out of the window at the morning downpour 225 people decided to brave – or embrace, depending on their love of running and Bolton parkrun – the elements.

It was the lowest number of runners since last December but proved to be a memorable day for some.

Ben Forrest was first to cross the finish line in 18mins 1sec, the 15-17 age-group runner finishing 10 seconds ahead of Bolton United Harrier John Knowles in second.

Barnsley Harrier Simon Haywood was third in 20:07 on his first appearance at Bolton after chalking up 122 parkruns elsewhere.

Another Yorkshire club member, Sarah Louise Cumber was fourth home in 20:13, the Halifax Harrier finishing five seconds ahead of local 18-19 age-group runner Matthew Smith in fifth.

Despite the weather there were still 19 personal best times run, a remarkable achievement in such challenging conditions.

The highest finisher with a PB was Ben Pickford in seventh position.

The Bolton United Harrier who is in the 11-14 age category knocked seven seconds off his previous best time when he crossed the line in 20:45 to record his third PB in his last four appearances.

Katie Percival is no stranger to PBs with Saturday's time of 22:47 her sixth in eight Bolton parkruns.

The Radcliffe Athletic Club member, who is in the 20-24 age category, has brought her time down more than five minutes from her first couple of attempts around 15 months ago.

Sam Haslam's improved times have been even more eye-catching.

The 20-24 age-category runner has only done five Bolton parkruns – all in the last five weeks – and has knocked a staggering 15 minutes off his time.

His first attempt on August 12 saw him cross the line in 39:01, his second 36:45 and the next 35:01.

Then the improvement really happened! The following week witnessed a massive progression of more than 11 minutes as he improved his finishing position from 260th to 42nd with a time of 23:53.

And then on Saturday he shaved another second off his time in finishing 25th.

Andrew Bebbington is another who just keeps churning out the PBs, Saturday's time of 24:01 his fifth in five attempts following his initial attempt at the 5k course around the track, trails and paths of Leverhulme Park.

Likewise, Anna Frew keeps getting faster and faster.

She has recorded PBs in 11 of her last 12 appearances at Bolton.

Seven days after dipping under 26 minutes for the first time the 25-29 age-group runner knocked another 13 seconds off her best time with 25:44 which was good enough for her highest finishing position of 50th.

Personal bests are just as much an achievement regardless of where you finish and there were a couple of impressive performances from runners further down the field.

Dylan Burgess's best time before Saturday was 51:17 set in April of last year.

The age 10 category runner returned to Bolton parkrun for the first time in 15 months and knocked more than 18 minutes off his previous best time on his sixth appearance at Leverhulme Park when he crossed the line in 32:44.

Further down the field Rebecca Pritchard also made her sixth appearance at Bolton and set her fourth PB.

The 25-29 age-category runner finished in under 40 minutes for the first time as she lowered her best to 38:20.

Full lists of finishing times and positions from Saturday's Bolton parkrun:

1 Ben Forrest JM15-17 18:01 20

2 John Knowles BUH VM45-49 18:11 21

3 Simon Haywood VM40-44 20:07 FT 123

4 Sarah Louise Cumber VW45-49 20:13 42

5 Matthew Smith HRMIH SM18-19 20:18 83

6 Assad Abdiaziz Maslah SM20-24 20:42 4

7 Ben Pickford BUH JM11-14 20:45 PB 50

8 Brendan Connaughton VM40-44 20:54 164

9 Nigel Smith VM50-54 21:14 83

10 Paul Collins VM50-54 21:59 FT 257

11 Stephen Horsman VM55-59 22:10 81

12 Ian Riggs VM40-44 22:23 277

13 Lewis Hodgson JM15-17 22:25 108

14 Geoffrey Cumber VM70-74 22:26 36

15 Unknown

16 David Howard SM30-34 22:31 13

17 Rebecca Suckling SW20-24 22:32 30

18 John McCawley VM35-39 22:35 24

19 Katie Percival RAD SW20-24 22:47 PB 9

20 Paul Swyers RAD VM50-54 22:48 48

21 Unknown

22 Unknown

23 Rowan Ardill SM30-34 23:14 117

24 Peter Rhodes VM50-54 23:29 47

25 Sam Haslam SM20-24 23:52 PB 6

26 Duncan Forrest BURY VM45-49 23:57 20

27 Andrew Bebbington SM30-34 24:01 PB 6

28 Kate Ellis BRR VW55-59 24:04 24

29 Alan Tatterton VM55-59 24:08 144

30 Mark Jackson BRR VM35-39 24:08 118

31 Steven Livesey VM45-49 24:13 8

32 Peter Francis Johnson JM15-17 24:24 258

33 Ian Hodkinson BMTC VM55-59 24:25 19

34 Stuart Waldram VM45-49 24:43 34

35 Jack Hallworth SM25-29 24:44 2

36 Richard Blake BRR VM50-54 24:49 29

37 Graham King VM45-49 25:00 76

38 Andy Laycock LOST VM50-54 25:07 104

39 Ben Callaghan SM30-34 25:10 19

40 Robert Mwelwa VM40-44 25:13 121

41 Paul Barlow BRR VM50-54 25:17 14

42 Paul Rossington VM40-44 25:22 29

43 Ethan Wallace JM11-14 25:26 77

44 Tim Taylor BRR VM55-59 25:29 62

45 Nathan Hill VM50-54 25:30 15

46 Paul Roberts VM55-59 25:32 61

47 Paul Andrew Johnson BRR VM50-54 25:33 276

48 Tony Woodiwiss VM45-49 25:35 12

49 Mustafa Jaafir SM20-24 25:42 4

50 Anna Frew SW25-29 25:44 PB 64

51 Paresh Patel VM40-44 25:47 63

52 Mel Walker BRR VM70-74 25:53 80

53 Tom Gleaves SM20-24 25:53 149

54 Phil A Holden BRR VM50-54 25:57 186

55 Mark Weatherall VM50-54 26:13 38

56 Olivia Kearney BUH SW18-19 26:20 223

57 Neil Counsell VM45-49 26:21 41

58 Dave Carroll BURY VM50-54 26:22 302

59 Gareth Doherty BRR VM40-44 26:30 112

60 Philip Worsley VM55-59 26:32 231

61 Don Nichol BRR VM60-64 26:36 74

62 Unknown

63 Paul Taylor VM55-59 26:43 56

64 Janette Daeth VW35-39 26:48 10

65 Neil Bonnar VM50-54 26:57 256

66 Judith Bonnar VW50-54 26:58 262

67 Unknown

68 Hannah Crickmore SW25-29 27:03 27

69 Jonathan Lilliott VM55-59 27:06 65

70 Catherine Fox VW50-54 27:08 127

71 Matt Shurlock SM30-34 27:13 97

72 Chris Mann SM25-29 27:13 164

73 Jonathan Shurlock SM25-29 27:14 FT 28

74 David Atherton VM55-59 27:20 65

75 Stu Doherty VM50-54 27:27 PB 10

76 Peter Siska VM65-69 27:30 49

77 David Foster VM50-54 27:36 60

78 Adam Connell SM30-34 27:38 194

79 Stephen Short VM45-49 27:41 PB 3

80 Ian Dufton VM45-49 27:51 15

81 Marjorie Leigh VW65-69 27:52 55

82 Timothy Green SM25-29 27:53 178

83 Gary Halsall VM50-54 28:01 3

84 Edward Webster JM15-17 28:06 22

85 Bryden Darley VM45-49 28:11 8

86 Tony Lythe VM70-74 28:15 104

87 Dahne Sahla SM30-34 28:35 6

88 Ray Bond VM45-49 28:37 44

89 Rachel Hancock VW40-44 28:38 101

90 Jocelyn Chadderton LOST VW45-49 28:42 63

91 Robert Chadwick VM60-64 28:46 16

92 Craig Leatherbarrow BRR VM50-54 28:49 129

93 Greg Daintith SM25-29 28:51 FT 1

94 Kathryn Davies RAD VW50-54 28:52 94

95 Paul Costello VM45-49 28:54 48

96 Joseph David Walker JM11-14 28:55 181

97 Sumit Guhathakurta VM40-44 28:57 96

98 Gary Hamnett VM55-59 28:58 48

99 Brian Gathercole VM60-64 29:05 70

100 Mark Davis BRR VM55-59 29:09 28

101 Rebecca Spencer SW25-29 29:11 PB 31

102 Nick Adams SM30-34 29:12 FT 1

103 Christopher Brickell VM60-64 29:17 97

104 Harvey Tammam VM40-44 29:26 31

105 Unknown

106 Unknown

107 John Crickmore VM55-59 29:38 4

108 Linda O'Byrne BRR VW40-44 29:48 113

109 Paul Davies SM25-29 29:54 47

110 Suzanne Williams VW45-49 30:06 76

111 Brian Frew VM65-69 30:08 95

112 Mark Murphy RAD VM45-49 30:28 36

113 Debra Ridings VW50-54 30:28 54

114 Naomi Elliott SW25-29 30:29 21

115 Chris Hughes VM55-59 30:30 10

116 Gail Hayes VW40-44 30:30 3

117 Richard Hawkins VM35-39 30:31 PB 5

118 Kathryn Hall SW30-34 30:34 4

119 Gary Smith VM55-59 30:36 132

120 Amanda Holt VW45-49 30:45 41

121 Matthew Ellis SM25-29 30:51 56

122 Hannah Mcarthur SW25-29 30:53 153

123 Jackie Cairns BRR VW50-54 30:53 66

124 Joanne Darby BRR VW50-54 30:54 133

125 Rachel Hunter VW35-39 30:55 PB 2

126 Maurice Halliwell VM60-64 30:56 67

127 Zoe Chadwick SW30-34 30:57 13

128 Keith Harper VM45-49 30:57 71

129 Emma Bailey SW25-29 30:58 19

130 Glenn Evans SM30-34 30:59 18

131 John Webster VM45-49 31:00 30

132 Anthony Johnson JM11-14 31:03 248

133 Hollie-Jo Davies JW11-14 31:07 FT 1

134 Jackson Pierre JM10 31:08 21

135 Tony Haslam VM50-54 31:08 FT 1

136 Gregg Beardwell VM35-39 31:09 93

137 Kelly Sharples VW35-39 31:11 23

138 Julia Uttley VW55-59 31:13 6

139 Iain Taylor SM30-34 31:14 64

140 John Egan BRR VM65-69 31:14 56

141 Sharon Dooling VW45-49 31:16 13

142 Leah Haslam SW20-24 31:18 5

143 Becky Halsall SW25-29 31:18 5

144 Scott Harwood SM30-34 31:26 PB 3

145 Louise Hamer JW11-14 31:32 FT 1

146 Sarah Bailey SW25-29 31:49 46

147 Khadijah Ali JW15-17 32:00 31

148 Jude Povey VW35-39 32:08 113

149 Stuart Furness VM65-69 32:21 114

150 Anna Leatham SW18-19 32:24 6

151 Prakash Patel VM50-54 32:31 11

152 Elaine Bailey VW55-59 32:33 86

153 David Mole VM55-59 32:35 PB 3

154 Dylan Burgess JM10 32:44 PB 6

155 Maya Porter JW11-14 33:02 20

156 Janet Leatham VW55-59 33:06 10

157 Geoffrey Winder VM55-59 33:06 102

158 Bernadette Ball VW60-64 33:07 48

159 Frances Johnson VW50-54 33:21 219

160 Jayne Louise Walker VW45-49 33:22 196

161 Vanessa Hamnett VW45-49 33:33 61

162 Beryl Ngogeh JW11-14 33:34 FT 1

163 Eddie Boswell VM55-59 33:41 3

164 Tia Barnett SW25-29 33:44 4

165 William Fox SM20-24 33:55 7

166 Nicola Bennett VW40-44 33:56 101

167 Simon Darby BRR VM50-54 34:09 50

168 Sandra Kay VW50-54 34:11 12

169 Helen Field VW55-59 34:12 35

170 Shardai Bristow JW11-14 34:22 FT 1

171 Katherine Smith SW30-34 34:35 30

172 Abigail King BMTC JW15-17 35:06 67

173 Kath Rothwell VW55-59 35:09 67

174 John Parkinson VM60-64 35:13 PB 3

175 Joseph Leake JM11-14 35:21 PB 2

176 Stuart Leake VM35-39 35:23 3

177 Finlay Smith JM10 35:29 3

178 Martin Smith VM60-64 35:31 100

179 Glen Smith SM30-34 35:32 13

180 Fiona Ashton BRR VW50-54 35:47 145

181 Diane Leatherbarrow BRR VW50-54 35:47 95

182 Unknown

183 Unknown

184 Sam Parkinson JM10 36:05 3

185 Stuart Parkinson VM35-39 36:06 4

186 Stephen Rothwell VM60-64 36:11 88

187 John Docherty VM35-39 36:17 20

188 Andrew Gibbons VM35-39 36:20 13

189 Jessica Cooper VW35-39 36:26 FT 1

190 Peter Whiteside BRR VM65-69 37:10 142

191 Elizabeth Thompson SW30-34 37:10 105

192 Abbie Foster SW20-24 37:22 8

193 Lorna Tyldsley VW45-49 37:46 41

194 Mark Alan Williams RAD VM50-54 37:49 128

195 Joanna Sweet SW30-34 37:56 PB 3

196 Rebecca Pritchard SW25-29 38:20 PB 6

197 Shakuntala Patel VW55-59 38:22 4

198 Bhawan Patel VM55-59 38:23 6

199 George Ogden BRR VM50-54 38:41 101

200 Rebecca Peachey SW25-29 38:53 5

201 Charlotte Watkinson SW25-29 39:48 PB 2

202 Unknown

203 Jack Langley JM10 41:19 FT 1

204 Nicola Armstead SW20-24 41:49 FT 1

205 Unknown

206 Liz Spencer VW55-59 42:15 28

207 Mandy Whittle-Darrock VW40-44 43:03 PB 2

208 Tony Hadcroft VM65-69 43:54 3

209 Leanne Langley VW35-39 44:46 FT 1

210 Philip Langley SM30-34 44:47 18

211 Tina Pye VW40-44 45:17 FT 104

212 Kath Bebbington VW55-59 45:18 4

213 Unknown

214 Lucas Williams-Aron JM11-14 48:44 6

215 Tonia McCabe VW40-44 49:24 3

216 Gloria Hadcroft VW65-69 49:25 3

217 Tracy Jane Cameron BRR VW50-54 50:06 46

218 Leanne Evans VW40-44 51:37 7

219 Unknown

220 Angela Williams-Aron VW40-44 51:44 14

221 Jodie Denton SW25-29 52:34 FT 1

222 Adele Walker VW60-64 54:14 6

223 Unknown

224 Natalie Hitchen RAD VW35-39 54:32 50

225 Lucy Dewhurst RAD VW35-39 54:33 14

Club key: BUH: Bolton United Harriers and Athletic Club; BRR: Burnden Road Runners; HRMIH: Horwich RMI Harriers; LOST: Lostock AC; BMTC: Bolton Metro Triathlon Club; TDTC: Team Deane Triathlon Club; BURY: Bury AC; RAD: Radcliffe AC.