Burnden Runners Shine at Media City Half Marathon

Two athletes from Burnden Road Runners achieved personal bests at the recent Run Media City Half Marathon, held in Salford and Eccles. This closed-roads event took participants through a scenic two-lap course, starting and finishing at Media City. Francesca Caine led the way, clocking an impressive 1 hour 33 minutes 36 seconds, marking her new half-marathon personal best. Meanwhile, Rob Moran-Hetherington, who is preparing for the Manchester Marathon in April, completed the race in 1 hour 59 minutes 33 seconds, finishing under the two-hour mark.

The Burnden Road Runners are also gearing up for their own event, the Trotters 5 Trail Race, taking place on March 15, 2024. This race, named in honor of Burnden’s links to Bolton Wanderers Football Club, will feature scenic woodland trails and open paths around Smithills Hall and Farm. This challenging yet exhilarating course is part of the Central Lancashire Grand Prix, which encourages local clubs to host races where runners seek to complete all but one for a trophy.

On February 14, 2024, Burnden members celebrated Valentine’s Day by participating in parkruns nationwide, promoting camaraderie within the running community. A special mention goes to David Morrison, who marked his 100th volunteering role at Bolton parkrun, embodying the spirit of giving back.

Leading the Burnden contingent at the Bolton parkrun was Martin Whitehead, who finished with a time of 22 minutes 34 seconds, placing 10th overall out of 263 participants. Following him were Stephen Horsman at 24 minutes 19 seconds and Lawrence McDonald at 24 minutes 27 seconds. The top female finisher was Kimberly Lowe, completing the course in 28 minutes 58 seconds, with Luisa Shield and Catherine Shield finishing shortly after at 30 minutes 49 seconds and 31 minutes 24 seconds respectively.

Other notable performances from Bolton parkrun included Gregg Beardwell with 24 minutes 35 seconds, Ravi Patel at 25 minutes 9 seconds, and Alexander Shield finishing in 25 minutes 17 seconds.

Results from other parkrun locations included Tom Stratton at Heaton Park with a time of 21 minutes 33 seconds and Vicki Hamer at Worsley Woods, completing the course in 26 minutes 29 seconds.

As the Burnden Road Runners continue to excel, both in personal achievements and community engagement, they invite more runners to join their events and share in the passion for running. Those interested can find registration details on the Burnden Road Runners’ official website at www.burndenroadrunners.co.uk.