BURNDEN'S Sarah Woodiwiss completed the Snowdon Ultra at the second time of asking to gain the last piece of the GB ultra grand slam jigsaw for 2019.

The gruelling and toughest event of four consisted of 53 miles, 13,400 feet of elevation and a cut-off time of 24 hours non-stop, with various stage cut-off times at checkpoints along the way. 

Woodiwiss tackled well-known tracks along the way, including Pen-y-pass and the Pyg track before arriving at the summits of Snowdon, Pen-yr old wen and Llyn Crafiant before heading back downhill to the finish in Betws-y-Coed. 

Finishing with 32 minutes to spare in a time of 23hrs 28mins earned her the 'grand slam', which also included the Manchester to Liverpool Ultra, the Chester 50 ultra and Pennine Barrier events spread through the year. 

Saturday also saw the start of this year's cross country season and first up was the Red Rose League race at Leigh Sports Village.

An encouraging start was made in favourable overhead conditions and captain Paul Duke led the team home in  time of 39:09, earning him 53rd spot in the very strong men's section.

Steve Nolan was first V55 in a time of 40:21, while Keith Thomas (41:57) was second V60.

In the ladies' race, three Burnden ladies were separated by only 36 seconds – Liz McLellan (23:00 – second V50), Sarah Watton (23:13) and Gwen Kinloch (23:36 – second V55).

Other results: Men – Jonathan Sangster 40:20, Andy Dunleavy 43:26, Pete Hopley 44:03, Adrian Ashburn 45:04, Andrew Duffy 45:14, Mark Cannon 45:59, Steven Bate 49:36, Andrew Warburton 54:20, Francis Mackin 56:52, Mark Turner 57:17; Ladies – Liz Hopley 30:31, Cheryl Dunleavy 36:10.

At the Gin Pit 5-mile trail race, which was race nine in the Central Lancashire Grand Prix series, conditions again ensured an interesting race.

Leading the team home was Lee White (32:14), finishing in an impressive ninth position.

Andy Dunleavy (35:01) was first V60 and Paul Christie (39:23) was first V65.

Not to be outdone, the ladies' team of Sarah Watton (35:00), Gwen Kinloch (36:25 – first V55) and Lyndsay Darbyshire (36:27 – first V50) took first place, along with Anne Ferguson (39:41 – first V60), cementing the ladies' hold on their section in the series. 

Other results: Richard Pollitt 33:59, Gareth Doherty 34:21, Keith Thomas 35:03 (second V60), Mark Cannon 35:52, Andrew Duffy 35:41, Adrian Ashburn 36:16, Steven Bate 38:57, Chris Greenall 39:05, Vicki Hamer 40:20, Linda O'Byrne 41:12, Lawrence McDonald 42;05, Gayle Gerrard 42:21, Andy Warburton 42:37, Diane Wylie 46:26, Louise Wall 48:17, Tony Wall 51:52, Cheryl Dunleavy 57:24.

Emma Walker led Burnden home at the Manchester Half-Marathon, finishing in a time of 1:59:24 and completing a great month for her with a hat-trick of personal bests over three different distances.

Jane Compton (2:13:02), Jackie Cairns (2:12:55), Joanne Darby (2:14:56) and Shirley Robinson (2:39:08) also emulated Walker by achieving PBs.

Other results: David Morrison 2:22:34, Julie Morrison 2:22:34, Janine Taylor 2:30:48, Jen Forkin 3:22:33.

Further afield, Don Nichol completed the Palma Half-Marathon in a time of 1:54:26.

Parkrun also brought success for Burnden this week, Shay Walker (18:47) winning at Bolton, while Aidy Ashburn (21:10) gained consecutive PBs at Heaton Park along with Chris Greenall (27:55) and Steven Bate (30:56).

Simon Marland travelled to Alvaston this week and finished in 22:47.

In the '2 up 2 down' Duathlon, Tim Taylor finished 132nd from a field of 302 with a combined time of 2:43:50.