JAMES Hall took on a mountain of a challenge at the Great Lakeland Three-Day event and finished a respectable 16th out of 137 competitors.

Hall completed three consecutive days on the fells in the mini-mountain marathon which has a choice of three courses for runners and walkers.

Participants start and finish each day at the same location and camp overnight and Hall clocked 16hrs 55mins 18secs over the 56-mile Wainwright course which had more than 18,000 feet of climbing.

He said: “I’m pleased, considering I didn’t get as much training in as I had hoped. It was perfect weather for long days on the fells.”

Katie Percival won the women’s title at another successful night for Radcliffe AC in the Hollingworth Lake 5k Series in Rochdale.

She clocked 20:22 to finish 25th in the second race of the series which is held over five Wednesdays.

Percival was also part of the winning women’s team along with Jenny Yates, who was second Vet 50 in 21:20, and Caroline Malone, who claimed third Vet 45 in 25:16.

Robert Short was first home for the club and seventh overall in 17:51 on the fast and flat course, while Sarah Oxley and Lucy Dewhurst finished in 27:35 and 30:44, respectively, to take fourth places in their Vet 45 and Vet 35 age groups.

There was another great result for Yates who won a cheese hamper as third woman at the 10th anniversary Blacksticks Blue 10k on Sunday.

She ran 43:54 in glorious weather on the picturesque but testing course on the country lanes around Beacon Fell in Preston.

Sarah Ruston knocked four minutes off her time from last year, running 1:00:48 on the course which starts with a three-mile uphill stretch.

Other results: Dave Rushton 46:25, Paula Abernethy (third Vet 50) 47:45, Sheila Jones (third Vet 60) 51:07, David Schofield 59:13, Sarah Oxley 59:58, Karen Doherty 1:03:02, Lucy Dewhurst 1:10:36.

In the nearby Trough of Bowland, Rob Lister ran 42:56 in the tough Race 2 Remember 8k trail event in aid of dementia.

Seven took on the hard Crofters North Bolton Runners 10k with Mauro Rotondi first home for the club and 15th overall in 48:14.

Other results: Peter Cook 53:32, Kirsten Cook 58:43, Kathryn Davies 1:00:13, Andy Wheeler 1:07:47, Lisa Donnelly 1:13:57, Christine Berry 1:23:58.

Wheeler was also at Haigh Hall Race in Wigan, knocking nearly 1:30 off his time from last year to run 40:52.

Elaine Bailey was third Vet 60 in 40:37 on the course which has an uphill finish.

In her first triathlon, Kate Holden finished the 500m swim, 21k cycle ride and 5k run at the Cheshire Sprint Triathlon in 1:30:35

Paul Swyers and Mark Wolfenden joined a top-class field at the Flower Scar Fell Race in Todmorden, which was also the 2019 British Inter Counties Hill and Fell Championship Race.

Swyers ran 1:25:36 on the 8.3-mile course with steep climbs, rough moor and fast paths, while Wolfenden finished in 1:47:06.