HORWICH Harriers Phil Marsden and Nick Leigh performed well at the Sierre Zinal race in the Alps this week.

At the 19-mile event including 7,000 feet of ascent Marsden finished 52nd in a time of 2hrs 54mins.

The winner. Kilian Jornet of Spain. is a former world mountain ski champion and earlier this year broke the 36-year-old Bob Graham Round record in the Lake District by an hour so Marsden’s time – only 21 minutes behind Jornet – was excellent in a high-class field as in the last mile cramp kicked in.

Nearer home, Dan Gilbert and Andy Ford were on the fells – both doubling up during the week.

Gilbert is in top form at the short to medium midweek races and was fourth this week in Rossendale at Pilgrims Cross before taking on the latest round of the English fell running championships above and around the Duddon Valley.

Ford and his partner are revelling in new parenthood so he has done well to get out again so soon with two top-30 results this week.

In the Harriers’ back yard, the club’s runners were keen to get back on the moors as the authorities re-opened them following the wildfires.

Seventy eight year-old John Parker, English fell running champion at MV70 in 2011 and 2012, was one of the first back up on the blackened tracks of Winter Hill.

Tony Hesketh was back on the moors, too, training with the senior fell squad before winning another V70 first prize at the Leigh Community 10k race.

Julie Williamson was back in action in the Leigh race after her recent 82-mile Lakeland race epic.

At parkrun, the veterans excelled.

Steve Williams set the mark with an 85.95-per-cent age grading at Lytham Hall, where he had a great day out with his family including young Gabriella Collings who was second under-10 finisher and her dad Ian, who was six seconds ahead of Williams.

Mary White, Quadrathlon World Cup WV60 winner in 2017, also got an outstanding 85-per-cent age grading at Haigh Woodland.

James Kevan had the fastest time of 16:47 at Cuerden Valley where he pushed habitual winner Richard Howarth into third place but was himself beaten by a parkrun tourist from Scotland.

At Queens Park junior parkrun it was a one-two for the Harriers with Isabella Merritt finishing ahead of Marty Arnot-Smith.

The juniors, meanwhile, are putting in the hard work and fun in the training sessions at the Bolton Arena track.

Horwich RMI Harriers results: Cowm Reservoir 5k Ian Stansfield Birthday race – 15th David Barnes 21:36;

Pilgrims Cross fell race (Rossendale) – 4th Dan Gilbert 41:20, 18th Andy Ford 43:32, 47th Nick Kelly 47:39;

Turner Landscape fell race – 65th Dan Gilbert 1:38:39;

Leigh Community 10k road race – 121st Tony Hesketh 45:58, 277th Julie Williamson 53:25;

Boulsworth fell race (Trawden) – 25th Andy Ford 50:28.