RADCLIFFE AC's latest club championship run was to have been a pleasantly flat ten-mile race around Southport, but safety considerations unfortunately reduced the distance to five miles, over a tight little three-lap course at that. The fast conditions, as usual, suited Adrian Harris who sped round to gain ninth place, first 0-45 in 28.06.

Race times generally suggested that the runners might have actually done a little more than five miles. Sean McMyler plugged away to take 16th in 28.58, a great effort. Alec Steel, newly turned 50 and struggling against injury all summer long, was an unaccustomed 74th in 38.10.

Any thoughts David Bartlett might have harboured, as to the chances of catching his less-than-fit club-mate, were swiftly dispelled once the gun went and he finally came in 97th in 34.21. Now in the over-55s, Alan Sumner continued to plug away to take 103rd after 34.46 minutes of trying to run this shortened race flat out.

Maria Lowe popped up with a good run, her 145th (36.12) seeing off club-mates Eileen Royle (204th, 39.38), Linda McDonagh (241st, 42.02) and over-55 Brenda Greer. Brenda does really well and is a great example to everyone of a runner who thoroughly enjoys her sport. She would up 280th in 48.30.

Marathon preparations do slow a runner down in the shorter events, as Tony Meakin found when he came in 203rd in 39.38. Tony has gradually got into running over the last couple of years and it now remains to be seen how he performs in the Manchester Marathon.

SAUNDERS LAKELAND

MOUNTAIN MARATHON

THE results have only just become available of an event that attracted Mike Howard and Brian Boot last July, the Saunders Lakeland Mountain Marathon. This is a weekend comprising several different races, all of them making up about six hours running over the various fells. Mike and Brian elected to do Harter Fell. They were out for three hours, 45 minutes and 17 seconds the first day, camped over, and managed 3.35.06 the next. Due allowance was made for their elderly veteran status, Radcliffe's mountain men took 16th place out of 117 starting pairs, which is a pretty notable achievement.