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TWO Radcliffe Athletic Club members took on a gruelling ultra race in the Lake District on one of the hottest days of the year.

Annette McQueen and Warren Simmens completed The Lap, a beautiful 47-mile loop on the trails around Lake Windermere.

McQueen was the ninth woman and a fantastic 34^th overall in 11:10:16 while Simmens ran 13:11:52.

Simmens said: “It was amazing, a real challenge in the heat. The hills were crazy, non-stop, and it was very humid and sweaty.”

A duo of Radcliffe runners tackled the iconic Great North Run alongside Sir Mo Farah who was running his last ever race.

They were among the 60,000 people who completed the world’s largest half-marathon in very hot and humid conditions. Adam Wills ran the 13.1-miles from Newcastle to the seafront at South Shields in 1:43:51 and Bev Quinton clocked 2:52:47.

A cooling dip in a river was welcomed by Elaine Bailey and Alison Howarth at the aptly named Yarrow River Splash 10k in Chorley. They ran through the River Yarrow during the scenic woodland trail race, with Howarth clocking 1:12:10 and while Bailey was first WV65 in 1:23:46.

Five were in championship action at the midweek Hades Hill Fell Race, a rollercoaster out-and-back course on the hills above Whitworth.

Ian Swan was the club’s first finisher, covering the five miles with 1,181ft of climbing in 46:44. Also running were Mark Garner (48:15), Karen Doherty (59:45) and Peter Warr (1:00:38), while Kath Davies finished in 1:05:30 after twisting her ankle.

It was the penultimate race in the Run The Moors Grand Prix, which is contested by local clubs, and also Radcliffe’s own fell championship.

Swan was back on the hills on Sunday, completing the 14.9-mile Lost Shepherd Fell Race in Mytholmroyd 3:00:00.  It was his fourth fell race in 11 days, including the gruelling Ben Nevis Race.

He described the course with 2,700ft of ascent, including two climbs to Stoodley Pike, as ‘brutally hard’ and the conditions as ‘boiling hot’.

Club members also braved the warm temperatures at the Saturday morning 5k parkruns. With both the local events at Heaton Park and Bolton cancelled, RAC runners travelled further afield.

The biggest contingent was at Marple where Martin Archer ran 23:05 followed by Karen Doherty (27:07) and Helen Hay (30:02). Bev Quinton was the volunteer park walker.

Mia Derbyshire was the third woman home at Chadderton Hall in 27:53 and results from elsewhere were: Alexandra – Stephen Crowe (29:55); Crewe – Elaine Bailey (39:39); Homewood – Katherine Biddle (29:47), Peel junior Robbie Parkinson (22:01) and Kath Davies (28:05); Worsley Woods – Mark Garner (21:52) and Tracy Wroe (31:12).