THE small band of Bury athletes who competed in Saturday’s Northern Cross Country Championships had to contend with conditions reminiscent of Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow.

As well as Witton Park’s tough hills and mud that was knee deep in places; athletes had to deal with freezing gale force winds and hail that lashed them almost horizontally.

Best-placed Bury athlete on the day was Francis Woodcock who took 17th place in the under-13s boys' race – just over a minute behind the gifted Tommy Dawson, of Leeds.

For the u13s girls, Daisy Worthington and Erin Kenyon both did well to deal with the conditions, finishing 79th and 131st, respectively, in the field of 200 runners.

Marcus Dey had an uncharacteristic off day, finishing 18th in the u15s boys' race. Ben Forrest ran strongly to finish 48th, with Alex Bennett further down the field in 146th.

Ellie Carter was the first Bury runner home in the u15s girls' race, finishing 131st. Only seven seconds separated Heledd Rimmer and Melissa Thompson, who were 148th and 149th, respectively. Lucy Alcock was just over 20 seconds behind Melissa in 153rd place.

Sophie Whittaker was disappointed with her 33rd place in the u17s women's race.

Lauren Booth ran well to take 32nd place in the u20s women’s event while Harry Stainton found the conditions very hard, finishing 67th in the u20s men's race.

Bury fielded two competitors in the senior men's race. Tony Cullen used his Ironman strength to good effect, taking 173rd place behind winner Charlie Hulson, of Sale.

Mark Johnson finished 445th out of a field of more than 700 athletes and described the race as the toughest he had ever run in.

It is of considerable credit to all athletes that they completed their races in such harsh conditions.