It was an important week for Horwich Harriers with a dinner marking the centenary year of the club last Friday before it was all hands on deck for the second running of the Coronation Trail Race, in Rivington.

Competitors ran a six-mile out-and-back route, tracing the course of the River Yarrow on lesser known paths and tracks. Charlotte Wilkinson (first female, 43mins 37secs), Steph McKee (eighth female, 48:55, racing her second race in as many days) and Diane Furlong (56:10) won the ladies’ team prize. Marcus Taylor was the first Harrier (first vet 50) home in 41:04 and Nick Kelly was first vet 55, in 43:05, with Gary Porteous third in the same category, in 46:22. Further proof of the club’s strong veteran contingent was Sean McMyler winning the vet 60 category by some margin, clocking 47:44.

The previous Tuesday, three Harriers had reason to be really chuffed at Mearley Clough fell race, near Clitheroe. The four-mile course packs quite a punch, with a hands and knees scramble up the side of Pendle Hill, before a helter-skelter dash back to the Calf’s Head pub, in Worston, for a complimentary pasta dinner.

Sam Fairhurst let gravity do the work on the descent, breaking away from the other front runners and maintaining the gap to finish first after 34:16. Fell Captain Dan Gilbert was not far behind, placing 10th (second vet 40) in a time of 37:27. Steph McKee lunged across the line to take 10th lady in a photo finish, in 48:54.

A baking day in The Lakes saw Julian Goudge take to the Old County Tops fell race in the Lake District on Saturday. This test of stamina and navigation takes in 37 mountainous miles and some of the National Park’s loftiest peaks, including Scafell Pike (978m), Helvellyn (712m) and the Old Man of Coniston (802m). Goudge, and his friend Dom Raby, beat the heat to win the prize for the best team with a combined age of more than 100 years - a fitting prize in the club’s centenary year.

The following day, Horwich’s young fell runners made the trip to the second FRA Junior Championships race, at Shutlingsloe, in the Peak District.

The course was short but tough, with some technical ascent and descent. Jennifer Irving and Jacob Wilkinson were the first to take to the slopes in the scorching heat, finishing the U11 race in 8:29 and 8:55, respectively. Benjamin Higgins (27:00) and Maddison Wilkinson were next up in the U13s. Harry Yates and Kitty Crossland followed in the U15s as Yates finished in 22:26 and Crossland 22:58, good enough for eighth female. Mark Titmuss was 15th in the MU17 race (20:36) and Grace Mort 18th in the FU17 (29:11). The final junior race was the U19s, with Charlotte Wilkinson crossing the line in 11th after 25:44.

Also on Sunday, Steve Thomasson ran 45:29 at the 3-1-5 10k in Lancaster. The course takes competitors alongside the river Lune which, due to its colour, was not enticing the competitors for a post-race dip.