Howard leaves rivals trailing

ADAM HOWARD continued his great start for Oldham & Royton Harriers with victory in the South East Lancashire Cross Country League under-13 boys race at Leigh.

Adam ran away from the field to win in 7mins 46secs - over half a minute clear of the second-placed runner.

He was followed home by Jamie Burrows (7th in 9:37) and Nathan Hilditch (9th in 10:16) as the team finished in first place overall.

In the under-11 boys race, Chris Brown ran another fine race for his second win of the season in 7:20, with Luke Brierley sixth in 8:11 and Joseph Kershaw seventh in 8:15 to give the team second place.

Megan Whitworth finished strongly for seventh place in the under-11 girls race in 8:47, followed by Leah McDonald (9th in 8:56).

In the under-13 girls race, Layla Bramhall led the Oldham team home in ninth in 9:44, with Lucy Kershaw (16th in 10:44), Jessica Gregson (17th in 10:44), Lauren Paterson (18th in 11:40) as the team finished fourth overall.

Jane Courtnall had a good run in the under-15 girls race to finish sixth in 17:43, while in the under-15 boys race Mike Smith had his best run of the season to take third in 13:05.

Jane Augsberger also had an excellent day, taking second place in the under-17 ladies race in 24:11.

In the senior men’s race, Owen Flage ran well for seventh place in 38:12, followed by John Hudson (43rd in 42:57), Brian Schofield (58th in 45:15) and Darren Mannings (78th in 48:39).

On the roads, the Stockport 10-mile race saw Mike Baron finish 238th in 1:17:50, with Sandrine Fraisse in 260th place in 1:18:40.

Meanwhile, in the Paul Best 5k in Preston, Oldham’s Pete Williams set a new over-50 personal best on his way to 16th place in 20:13, followed by Emma Taylor (21st place in 20:58 for second lady) with Sarah Heffron (31st place in 22:02 for third lady).