BURNDEN Road Runners and Bury Athletics Club members teamed up to win the ladies' small team race at the 24-hour Endurance Event Equinox at Belvoir Castle Estate in Leicestershire.

The four-strong team's victory came in the category for teams of three to five competitors, but they also came third in the overall race for larger teams of up to to eight runners.

The undulating cross country course took runners around a 10k loop of the scenic grounds with each team having a member running at all times throughout the 24-hour period.

Bury AC's Lisa Carter got the team off to a flying start, completing the course in a time of 59mins 21secs followed by Allison Grace of Burnden Road Runners in 1:01:40.

The remaining team members, also of Burnden, kicked off a solid 40k with Beverley Walker clocking a superb 57:28 and Maria Parkinson 1:04:09.

Consistent, successive runs throughout the night gave the team a solid base as dawn arrived and they managed to squeeze in an extra few laps before the event cut off at midday.

Carter and Grace both ran six additional laps to take their totals to 60k for the weekend, with Walker and Parkinson clocking up five laps for a total of 50k apiece.

Carter, who has run three similar events already this year, said: "The tenacity and organisation of the team paid off.

"This is definitely a team event. We all did our fair share when the going got tough, especially during the chilly night-time legs."