BURNDEN Road Runners are planning major celebrations to mark the running club's 30th anniversary over the next couple of months.

The established and popular running club plan to mark the milestone with a Bolton to Blackpool relay next month and a big gala evening at Bolton Whites Hotel on July 4.

Burnden initially started as a fundraising idea for cash-strapped Bolton Wanderers when their then manager John McGovern was challenged to raise funds by taking part in the 1983 Bolton Marathon.

Other club officials and fans joined in the challenge and took part as the Wanderers Lifeline team.

Following that event a number of them continued to run together and Burnden became an official running club when it became affiliated with the athletics governing body in 1985.

Three years later club members ran in relay from John O’Groats to Land’s End – a feat they repeated in 1992.

The club is regularly represented at most major local and regional running events with members taking part in marathons, ultra-runs, triathlons including the Ironman.

Their main group meet at Smithills Sport Centre on Mondays at 7pm and compete in in road, fell and cross country leagues in a series of races against other running clubs in the area, while they also run a new-starter group which meets an hour earlier which runs over 13 weeks in a bid to introduced or reintroduce people to the sport.

The club is hoping for as many members and former members as possible to attend their celebration gala night at the Whites Hotel, Middlebrook, to share their memories of the club's 30-year history.

Tickets cost £25 and purchasing details are available at www.burndenroadrunners.co.uk/index.php/about-us/social-events or by contacting Julie Newton on 0750 6733971.