THERE is an international flavour to the Horwich Harriers report this week - starting with, back-in-the-fold local legend, Michael Cayton, writes Richard O'Reilly.

Cayton, the 1998 British Fell running champion who has also represented England at three Mountain Running Championships was victorious at the Lakeland Montane Trail Ultra.

Starting and finishing in Glenridding the stunning course takes in the Lowther Estate and Dalemain loop with the 33.5 miles was completed by Cayton in a time of 4hours 13mins 19secs.

Another glutton for punishment was Julie Williamson who finished 172nd in 9:00:25.

Multiple Vet65 International Vest holder, Gareth Webb donned his racing attire for the incredibly flat and fast Podium 5k held at the Steve Burke Cycle Track, Barrowford. The sixth race in the 12 round Pendle and Burnley Grand Prix series attracts a quality field with an impressive elite sub-15-minute sub-race.

This year, Great Britain marathon star Calli Hauger-Thackery competed and ran a blistering 15:04 just six days after winning a bronze medal in the half marathon at the European Games.

Webb finished in a personal best time of 19:23 which currently ranks him joint 11th in the UK. Fellow club runner Chris Charnley finished 76th in 20:45 continuing his glory quest of a grand slam earned by competing a full house of 12 out of 12 runs in the series.

Following Ireland International Ian Conroy’s stunning victory in the Vet40 category at the Casamanya Extreme Vertical race in Andorra last weekend he was, of course, running up more European hills. This time at Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria for the Parangalista Vertical Kilometre race.

Conroy took on the sweltering heat and savage 4.74km with over 950m of ascent course and finished with a third place podium position in 49.47.

Back in Blighty, four Horwich Harriers competed in the English Champs race at Buttermere Sailbeck, which takes its name from the stream that tumbles down between the first ascent on one side and the breath-taking final descent on the other.

Patchy mist and frequent showers greeted the runners on the 9.5-mile route with 4100ft ascent. The climbs are particularly steep, even for a Lakeland race but it’s the two major descents that characterise it.

The first winds down through deep heather and rocky slabs and was taken in treacherous muddy, slippery conditions due to the day’s damp weather.

The final exhilarating descent drops down more than 1600ft of grassy hillside in around a mile, considered by many to be the best descent in English fell running. Luke Foley was 32nd (1:39:01), Julian Goudge 96th (1:51:01), Dan Gilbert 135th (1:57:58) and Mark Walsh 199th (2:11:23).

Over in the Staffordshire hills a number of juniors and seniors competed in the Fell Run Associations Weaver Hill Fell races.

April Mort was third in the U9 Junior Category with a time of 7:01. Louis Yates (11:39) and Jacob Wilkinson (17:21) were 6th and 10th in the U11s. In the U15 girls Kitty Crossland was 7th (20:15).

Not to be outdone by her daughter Alison Mort was 3rd in the senior ladies (23:25) and James Titmuss was 6th (18:12) in the men’s race.

June is typically the month of Horwich Harriet’s Two Lads Fell race and the weather gods didn’t disappoint furnishing a quintessential English summer feast of rain, cool temps and what the BBC weather service describes as a “gentle” breeze ensuring an energy sapping boggy race for competitors and little chance of the course record, held by local runner Mike Cayton, being beaten.

Intact course records seem to be a common theme with the earlier in the year Pike race’s course record, which has stood since 1981, also remaining undefeated.

A Category B short fell race of 8.4km and 274m metre ascent the race starts near the Bridge Hotel, Horwich in a loop over Adam Hill and Two Lads before a fast descent back to the Bridge.

Horwich Harriers turned out in force and produced some dominant displays with two out of three of the podium positions occupied by the red and black vests. Toby Middleton was 2nd (33:50) closely followed by Sam Fairhurst (34:32).

There were Vet category wins for Danny Hope (V45, 36:08), Marcus Taylor (Vet50 40:04), Douglas Fleming (Vet60 47:45), Stephen Pearson (Vet70, 1:02:21), Mary White (FVet70, 53:16) and Tony Varley (V75, 1:20:03). Podium positions were also claimed by John Robertson (2nd V40, 40:48) closely followed Adam MacDonald (3rd Vet40, 40:56) and outdoing hubby Helen MacDonald (2nd FVet40, 48:35).