DOUBLING as the North of England 10K road-running championship, 11 Blue Vests finished the final race of the year – the Ribble Valley 10K from Clitheroe.

In a high-class field of 1,286, where Olympic triathlete Jonny Brownlee was second, Tommy Harrison gained a very creditable top-50 position as Bolton’s first counter.

In the M45 rankings, Simon Dally was fifth, while Stephen Bonney paced well for Bolton’s third counter.

David Chrystal overtook Craig Kenny in the final 500m as both went sub-40 minutes, before under-20 Katie Oakley crossed the line 18th in the women’s race.

Ken Fowler became M65 champion – a fantastic achievement and first accolade at that level.

In the process, he eclipsed teammate Nick Howarth on ‘gun-time’ after trading ‘tuck-ins’ on several occasions, though good-natured banter followed when their ‘chip-time’ positions were shown to be reversed over the course.

James Rideout improved to within three seconds of the duo after taking 42 seconds to cross the start line.

A similar discussion could be had between Mary Cheung and Scott Bracey, who both went sub-50 and ensured all BUH&AC participants were in the top half of the field.

BUH&AC times: 43rd Tommy Harrison 33:28, 110th Simon Dally 37:03, 156th Stephen Bonney 38:41, 190th David Chrystal 39:44, 196th Craig Kenny 39:58, 218th Katie Oakley 40:37, 325th Ken Fowler 43:15, 328th Nick Howarth 43:12, 346th James Rideout 43:18, 610th Mary Cheung 48:24, 612th Scott Bracey 48:14.

The annual Bolton 10K race, hosted by Bolton United Harriers on Sunday, April 22 is ideal for those wishing to target a challenge for the New Year, perhaps as part of a ‘get-fit’ regime.

An ‘early-bird’ discount is available for entries received before January 31.

Runners interested in taking part should go to the event website at www.bolton10k.org for more information.