SUN and showers at Manchester’s SportCity complex were the backdrop for the Northern Athletics 6/4-Stage Road Relays and associated 3-Stage for junior age-groups.

The Harriers senior men fielded four teams and despite some late withdrawals, the A team qualified for the nationals at Birmingham’s Sutton Park in a fortnight.

Their cumulative 1hr 48mins 30secs was 18th of the 116 starting teams, with Tony Valentine marking his return as the quickest of all Blue Vests in 17:23.

Ten minutes further back, the B team finished via Dom Gavin in a fantastic 56th place, with Simon Walker having the quickest leg of the 5.6km two-lap course in 19:26.

Run of the day went to Michael Ruston, who led off for the C team but returned a remarkable 19:00.

Stewart Brierley anchored the C team, finishing 10 minutes behind the B team, with veteran Paul Turner contributing on his 34th consecutive appearance in the event.

New coach Aidy Costello led off for the incomplete D team as Liverpool Harriers took gold with 1:40:04.

For the women, Nicki Cartridge blasted off around the 5.1km course, returning in 19:00. Becca Kay took over, before juniors Liv Kearney and Mercedes Mercer took the team to 34th of 74 starters and an invite to the nationals. Leeds City won in 1:09:31.

All junior squads performed well, finishing around the halfway mark of the top teams in the North of England, with Louie Johnson (u13), Adam Akik (u15) and the Erzan-Essien siblings, Madeline (u15) and Maya (u17), having the quickest legs of their respective teams.

Team manager Dave Shaw cheered the teams on throughout the day and was suitably pleased with the end product. “Another top 20...bring on Brum,” he said, where it is hoped international star Tom Lancashire will be available.

BUH&AC times: Men's A – 18th – 1:48:30 (Karl Darcy (38) 17:43, Anthony Valentine (18) 17:23, Martin Reid (16) 17:48, Tommy Harrison (17) 17:55, John Knowles (16) 18:05, Frazer Jardine (18) 19:36); Men's B – 56th – 1:58:16 (Chris Povey (73) 19:35, Simon Walker (65) 19:26, Andrew Crickmore (66) 19:28, Declan Toomey (56) 19:33, Tom Lucas (57) 20:24, Dominic Gavin (57) 19:50); Men's C – 84th – 2:09:08 (Michael Ruston (60) 19:00, Chris Pickford (80) 21:26, Paul Trainor (85) 21:38, Paul Turner (92) 22:44, Peter Kearney (87) 21:32, Stewart Brierley (87) 22:48); incomplete Men's D – Adrian Costello (109) 23:25, Steve Houghton (112) 27:49. Women – 34th – 1:25:29 (Nicola Cartridge (27) 19:04, Rebecca Kay (35) 20:54, Olivia Kearney (35) 21:53, Mercedes Mercer (38) 23:38); U13 boys' – 23rd – 36:48 (Ben Pickford (24) 10:54, Louie Johnson (14) 10:33, Louis Greenhalgh (24) 15:21); U15 girls' – 24th – 35:40 (Molly Philbin (31) 11:54, Madeline Erzan-Essien (29) 11:44, Francesca Fordham (24) 12:02); U15 boys' – 21st – 31:34 (Cameron Donnelly (28) 10:36, Adam Akik (25) 10:18, Jack Willets (21) 10:40); U17 girls' – 19th – 43:50 (Leah Rushworth (30) 15:15, Maya Erzan-Essien (23) 12:32, Ellie Forrest (19) 16:03).

Bolton’s exploits at the NA relays just a few miles down the road had a major impact on the outcome of the Swinton 10 miler.

The Blue Vests could only field five of the 158 field, M50 Paul Mills leading the line with an impressive 1:05:42 for 22nd place.

Dom Clarke made his return to competitive action for the first time in 2016, while Hannah Edwards bookended the small squad.

The results caused the expected earthquake in the team standings, with Bolton losing their lead in the B and Veterans’ team table to Burnden Road Runners, who had clearly prioritised the Central Lancashire Grand Prix.

The competition will go down to the wire with the final fixture at Astley & Tyldesley’s Gin Pit 5M in a fortnight.

BUH&AC times: Paul Mills 1:05:42, James Rideout 1:06:51, Dom Clarke 1:15:18, Adrienne Fisher 1:25:05, Hannah Edwards 1:27:25.

Elsewhere, Matt Walker clocked a barnstorming 16:24 in the Lancaster 5K.

Nick Howarth also undertook the Olympic distance of the triathlon for the first time, involving a 1500m swim, 40K cycle and 10K run at the European City Of Sport Tri in Stoke-on-Trent.

Despite suffering cramp on the first lap of four in the swim in murky water, a dislocated finger in the cycle and a sprained ankle while tapering for the run last week, he still finished in 2:45:45 for 75th of the 213 field.

The father and son Doyle combo locked horns again at the Brownlee Tri in Leeds.

Covering the sprint distance, Andrew finished 34th (1:39:29), six minutes quicker than son Frazer (1:45:57), whose 118th of the 849-strong field was still impressive.