EVERY club member that completed Sunday's Greater Manchester Marathon set a personal best.

Mark Swannell lopped over a minute off his best time for 26.2 miles around the Manchester flat course, clocking an impressive 2:44:55.

In perfect conditions, he did not swan around after crossing the start line and was flat-out sprinting for the line to get under the two and three-quarter mark.

He initially thought he had missed out with the gun time ticking onto precisely 2:45:00, but it took him five seconds to cross the start line so he just made it.

He was first of the 14 Blue Vests and 67th of the 7,806 confirmed field (11th M40).

Similarly, Scott Crompton thought had missed out on a sub-three-hour time, but the 22 seconds to cross the start line also helped him with his a fast finish securing him 2:59:44.

Underlining his improvement in the last six months, Tony Warham smashed his previous best with 3:12:42 and earned him a place in th top 1,000 finishers, whilst Christian Pickford was only six minutes behind.

Marcus Chester showed dedication pays off and was the first of the 3:40 brigade – Martin Williamson and Matthew Pemrick were only two seconds apart on gun time, with Aidy Costello just 30 seconds back on chip time.

Adrienne Fisher led the female trio, with a stupendous sub-four hour time; Donna Cooper thought she had missed out on the same mark, but again, travelling over the line accounted for six minutes of the official gun time.

Hannah Edwards just missed out on the four-hour marker, but her improvement in the last few months was clearly on show.

Paul Rossington put months of training to good use and also bagged a highly creditable 4:30 time.

BUH&AC times: Mark Swannell 2:44:55, Scott Crompton 2:59:44, Tony Warham 3:12:42, Christian Pickford 3:18:58, Marcus Chester 3:40:09, Martin Williamson 3:45:47, Matthew Pemrick 3:45:03, Adrian Costello 3:45:34, Adrienne Fisher 3:52:28, Donna Cooper 3:56:16, Hannah Edwards 4:04:11, Paul Rossington 4:32:01.

On Saturday, Bolton’s U17 and U20 Blue Vests kicked off their Youth Development League (upper) campaign in the Northern West Two Division at Preston Sports Arena Track, with a collective performance that states their intent for the season.

BUH&AC’s 401 points placed second in the matchday table, just seven behind Stockport.

It was the teams beaten that raised an eyebrow though – Crewe & Nantwich (382), Lancaster & Morecambe (290), West Cheshire (289) and Border (267).

Team manager Phil Chadbond said it was a true team effort that exceeded his expectations against some big clubs.

He said: “Last year, Lancaster outpointed us even at our home match, so considering this was theirs, it was surprising they only came fourth.

“It would be unfair to single out any individuals given the result, though the u17s who competed at u20 level did so admirably.”

It was just a shame that a full set of officials would have gained full points, and netted overall victory, but second in the first outing of a tricky group is an impressive performance.