BURNDEN’S Phil Eccleston won the inaugural Southport 10K in a stunning time of 35mins 13secs.

Eccleston, who led the race throughout, reached the halfway mark in 17:25 and was 15 seconds quicker than his nearest rival.

The route started from Victoria Park and took in the iconic Victorian canopied Lord Street in the heart of the town centre before passing the war memorial and turning towards the Marine Lake and on to the finish line – a flat course that produced a string of personal bests and fast times.

Burnden had one representative in the half marathon, Vicki Hamer, who recorded a terrific time of 1:48:28 in testing heat.

Eccleston and Hamer were joined in Southport by a 50-strong band of Burnden runners taking part in the club relay to the seaside town.

The mass start at the Macron Stadium in the morning was followed by a succession of stages of various distances which members could either run or, if they fancied sitting one or two out, hop on the bus which followed the 32-mile route.

The climax was a testing but unforgettable three-mile stage across the sands of the bay. Two members – Martin Whalley and Keith Thomas – completed the whole 32 miles.

Liz McLellan and Andy Duffy took part in the Joan Rhodes and Fred Norris Memorial Radcliffe 5k with great success. McLellan was first lady home in 20:46 and Duffy was the second M50 runner in 20:53.

Three members took on the challenging Peak District Sprint Triathlon with the 750m swim section in the River Derwent followed by a 20k cycle and 5k run around the ground and countryside in Derbyshire.

George Butler continued his great form with a total time of 1:19:0. He followed his 14:06 swim by being seventh fastest in his category on the bike in 39:48 and ran 22:44 for an overall sixth category placing.

Martyn Pollitt was just over two minutes off, his total of 1:21:13 earning him third place in the M55 category.

He completed the swim in 17:18 but a slick transition saw him push up the field ahead of the bike ride. He was third M55 over the 20k course in 37:47 and his run of 23:39 kept him in the top three at the finish.

Isaline Pollitt emerged from the water in 22:48 and covered the bike course in 42:53. She posted 26:48 for the run to finish 11th F50 with an overall time of 1:34:49.