Worsley Woods Five-Mile marked the penultimate race in the Central Lancs Grand Prix league and Burnden Road Runners went to compete with the exciting news the club were leading in the A team, B team and vets categories and now are first in the Ladies League by eight points following the recent Blackleach and Radcliffe races.

The Worsley event, organised by Swinton Running Club, is a beautiful woodland trail route. Using part of the parkrun course, it ventures deeper into the woods and this presented some challenging tree roots and other hazards.

Burnden’s top three of Suleman Badat, Lee White and Gareth Doherty were on fine form and Andy Dunleavy collected first MV65.

Badat was first past the post in 32mins 10secs and White was next in 32:28 and Doherty followed in 33:28.

Top three ladies were Gwen Kinloch, in 37:35, Lyndsay Darbyshire, in 38:13, and Linda Doherty, in 40:34.

Personal-best times were smashed by Gillian McGowan, who shaved an incredible nine minutes from 2022’s time to finish in 1:00:23, and Tony Fulop, who knocked 5:20 from 2022 to finish in 54:41.

Other results: Mark Cannon 35:06, Lyall Mew 35:27, Michael Kermode 35:40, Ian Pudge 36:31, Stephen Horsman 37:16, Neil Counsell 37:29, Lawrence McDonald 38:29, Martin Whitehead 38:46, Patrick Filio 39:29, Keith Thomas 39:44, Paul Christie 39:54, Anne Ferguson 41:38, Andy Warburton 43:33, Steven Bate 44:03, Mark Butler 44:57, Kathryn Baron 44:59, Gillian Morris 47:00, Mark Turner 48:36, Teresa Riley 48:46, Nicola Halsall 48:50, Paul Willan 51:48, Emma Walker 51:49, Philip Glassbrook 52:15, Jocelyn Chadderton 57:43.

The popular Warrington Festival of Running took place this week and, operating a ballot entry rather than paid, attracts many competitors.

Taking place in and around Warrington town centre, the flat and fast race starts and finishes at the town’s iconic golden gates and is advertised as ‘the world’s first free race on closed roads’.

A quartet of Burnden members took part in the half-marathon distance and it was Marcus Chester who led the team home in 1:37:43. Adrian Ashburn followed in 1:47:58 and Simon and Jennifer Entwistle finished in 1:56:46 and 2:29:23 respectively.

Just 35 Burndeners ran or walked a parkrun last weekend with the impending Worsley Woods the following day.

Results: Bolton - Tom Stratton (fourth) 21:37, Marcus Chester (sixth) 21:45, Mark Cannon 23:13, Martin Whitehead 23:23, Andy Dunleavy 23:29, Martin Cullen 24:29, Ian Pudge 26:40, Lawrence McDonald 28:35, Katherine Baines 28:41, Paul Johnson 30:00, Teresa Riley 31:53, Philip Glassbrook 33:42, Gillian McGowan 38:13, Gareth Lowe 39:18, Neil Counsell 1:01:21; South Manchester - Carol Richardson 32:35, Michelle Livesey 37:07; Pennington Flash - Joyce Tyldesley 37:04; Old Railway Trail Parkrun, Llangollen - Simon Marland 23:24, Sue Marland 32:24; Keswick Parkrun - Gayle Gerrard 25:15; Haigh Woodland - Mark Whittington 20:02; Stretford - Steven Bate 25:18, Adrian Ashburn 26:28; Queen’s Parkrun, Glasgow - Chris Greenall 28:38; Clarence Parkrun, Bury - Luke Newell 28:41, Sarah Brown 35:57.