Last Saturday saw a huge turnout of 18 Lostockers in a field of 287 runners taking part in the first race of this year’s club championships and Central Lancs Grand Prix - the super-fast and competitive Bolton 5k.
For context on how fast this race is, the first five finishers were all sub-16 minutes - a bit quicker than an average parkrun.
Starting and finishing on the track at Leverhulme Park, this is an ideal location for a winter race, with an indoor warm-up track giving plenty of space for all competitors to stay warm beforehand.
A cold, grey morning saw the race get under way at 9.30am with a fast start taking in a three-quarter lap of the track.
Runners were soon out of the park and on to the long straights of Long Lane and Blenheim Road, which are great for getting into a rhythm and pacing. Then, it was back into the park on another long straight section before heading back out onto Long Lane for the second lap ending with a sprint finish on the track.
There were some tremendous performances by ‘Team Green’ and some great tussles for finishing places. Newcomer, Philip Holland, in his first race in a green vest, was quick out of the blocks and fulfilled all the promise he’s been showing in the weekly track sessions to be first Lostocker home in a fantastic 21mins 11secs.
The battle for second Lostocker was a five-way scrap with positions changing throughout the race, Greg Kilshaw and Gareth Pratt swapping places three or four times as they desperately tried to close the gap on Hazel Hatfield, with Chris Baker right in the mix and a very fast-finishing David Wilkes making it look easy despite suffering with a cold.
Pratt was victorious in 21:59 and was followed by first Lostock female Hatfield, in 22:04. Hatfield was quickly followed by Wilkes, in 22:05, Kilshaw, in 22:23, and Baker, in 22:24.
Fresh off the plane from his skiing trip, Andy Laycock was a bit disappointed with his time of 23:35 but still had his usual strong race, as did the always consistent and quick Rachel Hancock, who finished in 24:43.
Rachel Stevens got herself a new PB, finishing in 25:25, and she was quickly followed by Mike Berry (25:54) and Martin Smith (25:55), who finished neck and neck in a cracking sprint to the finish. Mary White then followed in 26:41, while another Lostock first-timer, Terri Aldred, smashed her PB in 27:16 in her first race in green.
Mark Checkley (29:09) got faster the further he went to comfortably get under the 30-minute barrier, as did Lynda Hardman (29:17), who showed that marathon training is no barrier to speed and backed up her 14-mile run a couple of days before with a strong finish.
Stephen Hancock (29:57) was another to dip under 30 minutes and Karen Taylor also showed marathon training and speed work go hand in hand with a great finish in 30:31 to back up her long run earlier in the week and parkrun the day before.
A big shout out goes to Mary White and Gillian Caldwell (31:18) who came second and third in their age category, respectively.
Away from Bolton, Lostock members joined 2,000 runners at the start line of the Media City Half Marathon. This is a new half-marathon and was advertised as fast and flat, so it was no surprise the event was sold out.
The race consisted of two laps, starting outside the BBC office and then took a scenic journey, winding around to Eccles before turning back toward Trafford Park. Along the way, participants passed some iconic landmarks, including the PG Tips factory, Muller, Kellogg’s, and the Coronation Street studios. The route then veered left past the Imperial War Museum North, crossing a bridge over the shipping canal, and back to the BBC.
Lap one was completed, and it was time to repeat the whole loop in the cold, gusty winds. But despite the conditions, Jo McManus managed to power through, finishing first with a time of 1:44:28. Paul Lacey crossed the line next with a solid 1:50:40, followed closely by David Gregson in 1:54:27.
Parkrun results: Bolton - Rachel Hancock 26:55 (ninth female and second in age category), Steven Davies 37:24; Franschhoek (Cape Town) - Tony Maxwell 26:31 (10th male and second in age category), Sheila Garewal 32:20 (second in age category); Haigh Woodland (400th) - Brian Halton 25:11 (third in age category), Rachel Stevens 28:54 (first in age category), Ian Burns 29:49 (third in age category in 150th parkrun), Katie Edern 31:45, Karen Taylor 34:34; Pennington Flash - Mark Checkley 32:46, Gillian Caldwell 33:10 (first in age category).
