A field of 550 took part in the ever popular Chernobyl 10k hosted at the Welcome Tavern, Walton-le-Dale. 11 Red Rose ladies turned out, some making their first appearance whilst welcome returns were made by those returning from injury. Debbie Kirkman ran strongly to run 45 minutes with Gail Hoyle next with a new PB of 47.04. Jo Duffy continued her comeback to racing with an excellent 47.19. Julie Coupe’s 47.42 was enough to bring her home in front of Julie Thorley who finally broke 50 minutes with a PB of 49.20. Carol Douglass was the V65 winner in 50.40.
More encouraging results came from Jayne Tomlinson in 55.10, Anne Nelson returning after a broken foot finished in 56.30 and newcomer Sarah Burton came in next in 56.43. Karen Clark broke the hour in 59.01 and Judith Cook successfully completed the team with 79 minutes.
In the men’s field, Lee Brown who put in a great performance taking off 3 minutes off his previous best was matched by another PB from Warren Hoyle finishing in 54.59. Michael Jeffryes ran 55.59. Bernard Elkington maintained his consistency with 58.20 whilst Chris Clark and Keith O’Brien ran 59.03 and 78.27. Three men broke the 40 minute barrier, Joe Swarbrick, Ken Addison and John Shepherd. Shane Cliffe finished 11 seconds ahead of Phil Butler in 41.13 with Stuart Cann running an excellent 43.43 just in front of Simon Houghton (44.00). Peter Caunce ran a steady race to finish in 49 minutes with Peter Gibson acting as a pace maker for runners looking to break 50 minutes finishing on target with 49.30.