THERE was medal success for Bolton United Harriers and Athletic Club athletes in two popular local races at the weekend.

Jonny Kay led from start to finish in the Lostock Six-Miler on Sunday to pick up gold by finishing in 31mins 1secs – almost two minutes faster than his previous year's time.

Just over a minute behind in second spot was Karl Darcy whose consistent pace saw him finish in 32:13 for silver.

Simon Dally was 13th in 36:56 and second M45 as well as the last counter for the winning men's team whose 12 points was more than half of second-placed Chorley’s 25.

Eric Ranicar’s 40:00 won the M65 category (43rd overall), while Ken Fowler (40:59) was victorious in the M60 category and 49th overall.

Cecelia Woods was second F55 in 48:18.

Meanwhile, Shay Walker collected a bronze with 62:56 in the Terry Nortley 10-Mile race around Radcliffe.

It wasn’t the medal’s metal that was special to Walker though as his third place came on the eighth anniversary of the passing of best friend Chris Hailwood – a loss that prompted him to take up running.

Having only taken up competitive racing in 2011 after the Bolton 10K, it was a fitting dedication to Chris’s memory after battling fellow M40 runners Gareth Briggs and John Knowles for the podium.

Winner Tom Carson (58:08) had disappeared early on and was the only runner under the hour mark.

Also running for the Blue Vests were Chris Pickford (71:54 – 27th), Chris Topping (78:08 – 65th) and Marcus Chester (79:41 – 69th).

Elsewhere, Bolton United Harriers had three junior representatives at the National Cross Country Championships (ECCA) at Parliament Hill in London on Saturday.

Still recovering from illness, Katie Oakley was first of the Bolton contingent to venture around the course. She clocked 26:10 for 193rd of 235 in the under-17 field.

Muddy underfoot conditions were exacerbated by very wet weather, so Declan Toomey’s 23:12 for 87th of the 280 field, also in the under-17 age-group, was highly commendable.

Over the day’s 10 races, a record 5000-plus runners finished.

Rachel Bailey finished in 19:43 for 261st of the 379 field in the under-15s race.

Elsewhere, the Northern Veterans AC Championship, incorporated into the CL5K, saw M40 Nick Jones, England team member in last year's British and Irish International in Nottingham, win the men's title, finishing sixth in the main race (16:22).

On the podium behind were Robert White and M45 winner David Jackson.

The women's race was a close battle between Spenborough’s Lesley Leggatt (F55) and international fell champion Anne Buckley (F45), with just seven seconds between them. Gwen Kinloch took bronze.

With 50 runners (37 of whom were over the age of 60), it represented a great success as a qualifier for the British Masters series and possible international call-up.