A WET and windy Witton Park staged the 2012 Lancashire Cross Country Championships on Saturday – with a blast from the past stealing the show in one of the final races of the day.

Once again, Blackburn Harriers hosted the annual county event, which traditionally kicks off with the U11 races around the flat main field of the park.

And after the junior boys and girls had completed their races, in which many of East Lancashire’s best young athletes started the year with a bang, it was left to one of the county’s top veterans, 49-year-old Susan Samme, to capture the main headlines.

The Lytham St Annes Road Runner clinched gold in the ladies event, some 27 years after last winning the title.

Samme’s achievement was made even more remarkable by her winning margin, finishing 34 seconds clear of Blackpool’s Caroline Belmead in 29 minutes and four seconds.

She was one of many big winners at the county championships, with the organisers pleased with the success of the event after performing their usual slick job to make sure everything ran to a tight schedule.

“It was a very good day all round,” said Harriers president George Kilby.

“The weather wasn’t perfect, but the course held up quite nicely and entries were up on last year.

“Everything went well and the results went as expected.”

The hosts’ biggest joy came in the shape of two of their brightest young long-distance prospects, Elizabeth Greenwood and Dominic Mahoney.

Read-based Greenwood chalked up gold in the U13 girls’ race and there was additional cheer for Harriers as club-mate Grace Handley took second place.

Despite their efforts, they were pipped to the post in the U13 team results, with Rossendale Harriers, led by Charlotte Waddington and Corinna Howorth, taking top spot.

Mahoney, a student at Myerscough College, underlined his class to take gold in the U17 division, and was the only runner in the 30-strong field to break the 20-minute barrier.

Robert Wong, a multiple-winner in the Red Rose Cross County League in recent weeks, added to Harriers’ joy by taking the bronze in the U15 boys’ race.

Hyndburn AC were the only other club to enjoy gold success, youngster Eve Hutchinson leading the way in the U11 girls event, with Clayton’s Natalya Irvine not too far behind in third.

The Blackburn Harriers duo of Hannah Cookson and Elodie Smallwood were fourth and fifth.

Joshua Boyle also picked up bronze for Hyndburn in the U13 boys.

Rebecca Flanagan helped deliver silverware to Rossendale Harriers in the U15 girls with a second-placed finish.

Clayton’s first individual golds came in the senior ladies’ race, with Gayle Whittaker triumphing in the F35 category and Karin Goss leading the F60s home.

A storming run in the senior men’s race earned a gold medal for Phil Hall in the M50 category.

Dave Scott earned his latest championship medal with gold in the M65 category, while Rossendale’s Nick Schofield took the M45 honours.

Rossendale took the men’s team honours ahead of their rivals Blackburn, who were missing one of their leading runners in Ben Fish.

Simon Deakin of Leeds City AC took the top honour, with Blackburn’s Gary Priestley second, and Karl Billington the leading junior in the men’s race.