PHIL Eccleston led the way for Burnden’s representatives at the London Marathon in spectacular style.

Eccleston finished 204th overall in the stellar elite field, posting a fantastic time of 2hrs 37min 8secs, despite illness disrupting his training in the run-up to the race.

He ran the first half in 1:15:01 with 5K splits between 17:15 and 20:26.

Lee White was next to finish. His time of 3:09:15 with a midway time of 1:29:38 was consistency itself, being made up of 5K splits between 21:07 and 21:24.

Martyn Pollitt paced the race perfectly with 5K split times only 67 seconds apart, fluctuating between 22:08 and 23:15 for a halfway time of 1:34:53 and a completed mark of 3:11:26.

Andy Staveley and Marcus Taylor crossed together with Staveley officially a second faster in 3:14:08. Taylor had the edge in the first half, posting 1:30:51 to Staveley’s 1:34:47 but Staveley’s spread of 5K splits – between 22:14 and 24:34 – reflected a more consistent pace over the full distance. Taylor’s 5K times were recorded between 21:24 and 26:09.

Ed Ashton was just a few seconds behind them, his 5K splits of 22:37 to 24:13 earning him a time of 3:14:24, with a halfway mark of 1:35:45.

Gwen Kinloch was the first Burnden lady to finish, her time of 3:36:26 – with a halfway mark of 1:42:42 - earned her 22nd place in the F55 category, a considerable feat given the size of the field. Her 5K splits ranged from 24:02 to 27:28.

Isaline Pollitt’s 3:42:39 and halfway time of 1:45:53 were achieved with 5K times between 24:45 to 28:36.

Lawrence McDonald dipped under the 4-hour mark in 3:57:44, posting a halfway time of 1:49:03 and splits between 25:23 and 33:55.

Kris Worsley just missed out on the sub-four hour group, posting a halfway mark of 1:54:48 on his way to a total time of 4:00:02, with a best 5K split of 26:44.

Sarah Sutcliffe’s time of 4:22:43 was achieved with 5k splits ranging from 28:25 early on to 36:15 in the final stages. She paced herself sensibly in the first 21K, crossing the halfway point in 2:03:50.

Back home, Liz McLellan was fifth lady finisher and first F45 in the Bolton 10K. Her time of 42:43 earned her 52nd place overall in the race, pipping Paula Pilling by just five seconds. Pilling’s time made her sixth lady to finish and second F40.

Katy Thompson was third F40 in 47:23.

Other results:

Andy Duffy 43:47, Adrian Merritt 43:47, Steve Bate 46:16, Paul Johnson 48:45, Chris Hart 49:38, Graham Robinson 51:44, John Longden 52:32, Jeff Pendlebury 54:38, Craig Leatherbarrow 56:05, Judy Povey 58:37, Jenna Leeks 1:00:18, Christine Pendlebury 1:05:38.

Paul Duke led the 16-strong Burnden posse home at the Rivington 10-Mile Trail Challenge, recording a great time of 1:18:50.

Laurence Keighley was next home in 1:22:41, followed by Don Nichol who was second V60 in 1:28:18.

Lyndsay Darbyshire was first F45 in 1:29:07 with Anne Ferguson close behind in 1:33:04 to win the F55 category.

Other results:

Craig Philpot 1:33:56, Maria Parkinson 1:47:53, Richard Lord 1:53:38, Beverley Walker 2:00:07, Emma Walker 2:00:54, Debra Hennessey 2:00:55, Jackie Cairns 2:04:56, Joanne Darby 2:04:58, Susan Wood 2:05:05, Peter Whiteside 2:05:05, Dawn Evans 2:10:20.

George Butler's 73rd place and third category place in the Stockton Standard Distance Duathlon earned him bronze overall in the Under-20 English Duathlon Championships. His bike time of 1:10:14 was sandwiched between runs of 40:19 and 22:54 for a total of 2:14:41.

The Go Tri event at Skipton attracted three Burnden members with Diane Morrison the leading performer over the 200m swim, 9K bike ride and 2.5K run posting a total time of 52:41.

Louise Geoghegan was next to finish in 57:11 with Gillian McGowan completing her first tri in 1:04:11.

The Burnden Road Runners’ latest starter group meets this Monday at 6pm at Smithills Sports Centre in Smithills Dean Road and is the ideal starting point for you even if you have not done any exercise for a while.

Each programme is designed around the needs and goals of each runner in the group, so it is unique and tailored to your ability.

After the initial informal period you will be ready to enter a more formal training programme which will hopefully help you reach your targets, whether that be a race or to simply run a set distance without stopping.

For more details visit www.burndenroadrunners.co.uk and follow the New Starter links.