The Gin Pit 5 was overflowing with Burndeners last weekend and Suleman Badat was the first to finish for the club.

Named in honour of the area of Gin Pit Colliery - the word ‘Gin’ short for ‘Engine’ - the race HQ was Astley and Tyldesley Miners’ Welfare Institute and the event was hosted by Astley & Tyldesley Road Runners.

In contrast to last year’s wet puddles, this year’s course was a lot drier and the weather a lot brighter for the racers.

Leading Burnden home with a brilliant 32mins 4secs, Badat was followed by a host of speedy Burndeners.

Paul Duke followed in 32:59 and Gareth Doherty completed the top three in 34:28 - the exact time to the second as his 2022 race.

First Burnden lady and first FV55 was the ever-swift Lyndsay Darbyshire in 38:09 - knocking 1:08 from her time last year. Gwen Kinloch shaved 25 seconds from 2022 as she crossed the finish in 38:47 - claiming 2nd FV60. Third lady and first FV50 was Linda Doherty, in 42:02.

Vets were aplenty as Mark Cannon claimed first MV60 in 35:02, Keith Thomas finished first MV65 in 38:50, Marcus Hamer took second MV65 in 39:39 and Philip Glassbrook was crowned third MV70, in 51:11, knocking 10 seconds from 2022’s time.

PBs came in thick and fast with Gillian McGowan cutting an impressive eight minutes from 2022’s race in 1:04:15, Carolyn Edwards a super 4:28 of hers, crossing in 47:23, and the legendary Tony Fulop has achieved four PBs in excess of five minutes in the last four Grand Prix Club races.

Other results: Michael Kermode 36:13, Lyall Mew 36:40, Neil Counsell 38:24, David Smith 39:10, Lawrence McDonald 39:15, Patrick Filo 39:46, Andrew Crawford 40:40, Ivan Brown 42:36, Paul Christie 44:26, Mark Butler 44:43, Andy Warburton 45:07, Kathryn Baron 47:03, Kathryn Berry 48:03, Mark Turner 50:32, David Morrison 51:44, Bernie Jones 54:02, Jocelyn Chadderton 56:56, Julie Morrison 57:40.

Heaton Park was the venue for last week’s South East Lancs Cross Country League race and Burnden’s team did the club proud.

The ladies’ team finished sixth and were placed as third team in the Vets.

The course was a tough one for the octet of Burndeners, and it was Gwen Kinloch who was first home in the ladies’ race. She crossed in 36:22 and claimed second FV60. Shirley Staveley was second home and took first FV55 in 37:45, Jenni Partington was next in 45:25, Kathryn Baron followed in 47:55 and Nia Bell completed the team in 49:27.

Lyall Mew was first for the men’s team and crossed in 47:11. Mew was followed by Keith Thomas, in 49:34, and Ian Pudge, in 54:11.

Burnden had its very own Road Runners racing the Chester Metric Marathon and it was ‘beep beep’ all the way.

Cheryl and Andy Dunleavy completed their 2023 goal of the Chester Triple as both crossed the line of the Chester Metric Marathon and raised £165 for Bolton Hospice through sponsorship.

The triple is a coveted prize by many runners and is described as ‘the ultimate running challenge’ by the organisers.

The enviable Chester Triple medal - huge and gold - was created to tempt new runners to increase and progress through different running distances and ‘achieve something they didn’t think was possible’. Athletes aiming to collect the fancy medal must run the MBNA Chester 10K, the Essar Chester Half Marathon and then finish either the MBNA Chester Metric or Full Marathon - either 26.2K or 26.2 miles in October.

The Burnden pair were joined by three other club members.

Results: Andy Dunleavy 2:07:04, Nicola Halsall 2:57:54, Jennifer Entwistle 3:30:50, Cheryl Dunleavy 3:51:07, Debra Hennessey 4:08:36.

A week after Tess Riley’s visit to Nessie’s homeland, her Loch Ness Marathon challenge has raised an incredible £642 for Bolton Dementia Support. She finished the stunning 26.2 miles in a sub-5 time of 4:57:33.

A host of Burnden members were out and about at parkrun with some creditable times.

Results: Heaton Park - Gayle Gerrard 25:17; South Manchester - Chris Greenall 24:37; Bolton - Paul Drew 24:09, Steven Bate 26:32, Luke Newell 28:58, Gillian Morris 30:13, Paul Johnson 30:30, Philip Glassbrook 31:09, Ian Pudge 31:33, Sarah Brown 32:36, Teresa Riley 32:50, Gemma Chapman 33:07, Jenni Partington 35:57, Steven Snape 36:15, Gareth Lowe 36:25, Emma Walker 37:31, Joyce Tyldesley 38:13, Jocelyn Chadderton 59:50; Hilly Fields - Colm O’Brien 25:09, Jane Forrest 27:50; Keswick - Martin Archer 22:46; Haigh Woodland - Andy Staveley 22:03, Sheila Christie 27:59, Paul Christie 27:59; Middleton Woods - Simon Marland 24:39, Sue Marland 35:18; Fletcher Moss - Simon Entwistle 24:52, Jennifer Entwistle 31:48; The Cinder Track, Whitby - Carolyn Edwards 28:50 (PB), Susan Wood 32:25; Ashington Community Woodland - Tom Stratton (fifth) 19:34, Katherine Baines 23:44; Clarence - Mark Jackson 22:55, Ivan Brown 27:15.