ADAM Lowe was the first of nine Lostockers home at the Greater Manchester Marathon on Sunday.

He completed the route through Trafford in an impressive time of 3hrs 30mins 27secs and was followed over the line by Paul Lacey (3:59:33), Beverley Atherton-McKenna (4:02:07), Mel Crompton (4:05:11), Hayley Cooper (4:05:30), Karen Taylor (4:52:32), Sarah Lewarne (4:36:29), Joanne White (4:46:49) and Alan Mather (4:57:08).  Lacey, Taylor and Mather all achieved personal-best marathon times, while White, Lewarne and Atherton-McKenna completed their first marathon.

Sunday also saw five Lostockers take part in the Darwen Heritage Half Marathon.

The scenic but tough, undulating route took place on closed roads around Darwen and Edgworth.

James Jackson and Stuart Hatton battled it out for the first Lostocker home with finishing times of 1:38:43 and 1:38:53, respectively, followed by Gareth Pratt (1:51:04), Anthony Wilcock (1:57:43) and David Wilcock (2:08:52).

Sunday was a busy day for Lostock AC with Hazel Hatfield also taking part in the Rivington 10-Mile race.

The scenic route started from the Bowling Green in Rivington, heading out towards Anglezark, White Coppice and Wheelton plantation, before heading back into Rivington.

Hatfield finished the demanding course in a strong time of 1:40:53.  

The racing week kicked off with the first of three races in the local Curley's 5k series, with some strong age-category performances from Lostock AC.

The tough course starts and finishes at Curley's dining rooms with a steep climb to Georges Lane and back down through Wilderswood, taking in around 500 feet of climbing. 

Jackson was the first man home for Lostock with an excellent time of 20:57, earning him sixth place overall and first V40 male.

Hatton was next in 22:34 (fifth V40), followed by Paul Lacey (24:17, ninth Sen), Gareth Pratt (24:26, sixth V45), Andy Laycock (25:07, fourth V50) and Ian Burns (28:40, eighth V55).

Rachel Hancock was the first woman home for Lostock, and second FV45, with a time of 26:07, followed closely by Donna Kelsall in 26:26, who came third in the FV35 category.

Next was Jocelyn Chadderton (27:09, fourth FV45), Heather Soden (28:11, second FV50), Jen Donnellan (28:23, second FV40), Amy Trevor (29:15, fifth F Sen), Karen Taylor (30:48, seventh FV45) and Emma Hatton (33:07, fifth FV40).

On Saturday, at Haigh Woodland parkrun, Andy Laycock put in a strong time of 22:57 (eighth V50) coming in just a few seconds short of his personal-best time on that course.