BURNDEN claimed a podium place and two of the top three female placings in the inaugural Bolton Community Half Marathon as 38 members tackled the event.

Phil Eccleston was third overall in 1hr 17mins 37secs, with Andrew Henderson (1:28:23) and Andy Staveley (1:29:45) the other Burndeners to come in under 90 minutes.

Liz McLellan was second female finisher and first F45 in 1:33:49 with Paula Pilling just seconds behind her, claiming third female finisher and first F40 in 1:34:35.

There were a host of notable age category successes as many members notched personal best times.

Mel Walker was first V70 in 1:46:50 with Phil Glassbrook third in the same age group in 1:58:56. Gretta Rainford was first F65 in 2:07:00.

Rebecca Wensley claimed third place in the F35 category with a time of 1:46:29, while Don Nichol was third V60 in 1:46:10 and Sue Blackman second F55 in 2:26:00.

Other results: Adrian Merritt 1:35:41, Steven Bate 1:41:00, Lawrence McDonald 1:46:09, Lucille Corrigan 1:50:11, John Hall 1:52:46, Michael Cook 1:52:36, Jackie Oakes 1:53:08, Robert Mack 1:53:27, Kris Worsley 1:55:13, Craig Philpot 1:57:12, Maria Parkinson 1:57:30, Neil Critchley 2:00:55, Phil Lamb 2:00:45, Maggie Slamin 2:01:43, Julie Newton 2:02:32, Diane Morrison 2:04:58, Iain Conner 2:05:37, Emma Walker 2:07:32, Debra Hennessey 2:08:40, Anthony Foster 2:09:29, Karen Taylor 2:12:48, Tracy Cameron 2:26:09, Susan Wood 2:27:28, Joanne Darby 2:41:51, Rita Ledwards 2:41:51, Gillian McGowan 2:47:34, Bill Kelly 3:33:57.

An awesome team performance by Burnden saw the club crowned champions in the Joust 24-hour endurance event, at Holt, near Worcester.

The club’s first team of Lee White, Martin Whalley, Kirsty White, Jane Forrest and Colin Faulds all put in a consistently high level of performance throughout the 24 hours to comfortably take the top prize in the small team (three-five runners) category with 34 laps of the 4.9-mile circuit.

That tally was one shy of the record total in the four-year history of the race in any category and a full five laps clear of the second-placed team on the weekend – the equivalent of almost 25 miles ahead.

Whalley posted the three fastest times of any competitor on the day with his first three laps, kicking off with 31:53, followed by 32:14 and 33:03. A total of 12 of the 34 laps by the team were below 40 minutes, an event record.

Burnden’s large (six-eight runners) team of Andy Warburton, Gwen Kinloch, Brenda Sedgwick, Paul Sedgwick, Colm O’Brien and Dave Beevers finished fifth with a total of 25 laps.

Warburton managed to get five laps to everyone else’s four.

Paul Duke took part in the Golden Ball 20-miler road race in Lancaster in preparation for the Chester Marathon.

The course from Salt Ayre Leisure Centre is flat and fast and Duke took full advantage with a tremendous effort, finishing in 20th place overall, third V40, in 2:37:55.

Finlay Coyne was the club’s sole representative at this year’s Salford 10k, crossing the line in 46:50.

Burnden vests were in evidence right across the globe this weekend.

Lesley Fisher and Dave Pearson were in California for the San Jose Race to the End of Summer series, taking part in the half marathon trail race and the 10k race 24 hours later.

In hot and testing conditions, Fisher finished first F55 in the half with a time of 2:03:05 with Pearson fourth V60 in 2:32:09.

Fisher went on to be first female finisher in the 10k with a fantastic time of 44:12, while Pearson was first V60 in 54:57.

Four members of the Butler family were in New York and took part in the Fifth Avenue Mile race, joining more than 6,000 runners who flocked to this iconic event.

George Butler led the four of them home with a time of 5:16, followed by his dad Mark in 6:21, mum Ann in 7:50 and sister Alice in 8:17.