Horwich Harriers fell-running stalwart, and Thursday hill session leader, Matt Fawthrop recorded a personal-best time in his now annual pilgrimage to the Yorkshire Dales for the Burnsall Classic.

Billed as the number one short distance fell race by the organisers, the event last Saturday is part of the Burnsall Feast Sports and can be traced back to the early 1880s, and is perhaps the epitome of the sport in its purest, most traditional form.

A short, steep course of 1.5 miles (899 feet), it is a lung-buster which equally rewards athletic prowess, local knowledge of the fastest lines and daring descending.

Fawthrop ran a PB of 17mins 49secs, good enough for seventh place in a strong field and indicative of the rich vein of form he has been mining throughout the summer.

New member Adrian Bramham finished first V60 and 19th overall in the Pendleton Fell Race on the same day, clocking 45:37 over the five-mile (1,499 feet) route held on the northern slopes of Pendle Hill.

He doubled up the day after at Grasmere Sports in typically dreary August Bank Holiday conditions, counting himself lucky to descend an aptly slippery Butter Crag in one piece.

Ian Hamer took on the Inov-8 Pennine Trail Marathon, finishing the arduous off-road 26.2 miles (3,814 feet) race in 6:18:33.

At Smithy’s 5-Mile Charity Trail Run, Chris Fielding (40:46) was first V55 across the line.

Five miles off road was a popular race format, with Pennington Flash 5-Mile Trail Race also taking place on Sunday. As a round of the Central Lancs GP, it saw a good turnout of Horwich Harriers.

Marcus Taylor led the charge, as is so often the case, taking top V50 honours with a time of 42:57. Lawrence Pinnell continued to enjoy being back in the cut and thrust of racing after an extended lay-off, clocking 41:04.

Mary White (46:26) was first FV70, while Heather Pinnell was agonisingly close to breaking the hour, missing out by a fraction of a second. Ed Swift stopped the clock at 1:25:56.

Joe Mercer continued his parkrun winning streak, this time striking at Hull with a time of 16:26. Two parkrun veterans, both closing in on 250 participations, Lynn T Smith (38:53) and Lesley Davidson (41:41) were at Pennington Flash.

Gordon Stone laced up for the first time in three months with a conservative target of 35 minutes. Despite a fall after 1km, he battled round Worsley Woods in 33:38.

Rob Seddon placed seventh at Bolton, with 20:46, while Isabella Merritt was fourth woman, finishing in 26:12.

Jason (28:47) and Janet (33:31) Middleton travelled to Burnley, while at Huntingdon Parkrun, in Cambridgeshire, Andrew Crickmore ran 20:36 - good enough for 14th.

Haigh was once again a popular destination for Horwich members and Leo Orrell led the charge, equalling his PB of 23:05.