Harriers at Blackburn 10K and Lanzarote

3rd December 2025

James, Danny and Sean at the Blackburn 10K

Three members ran for Rochdale Harriers at the Blackburn 10K last weekend. James Jordan had a phenomenal run to finish 42nd in 36 min 13 sec. Danny Bennett wasn’t far behind, winning the MV55 age category and finishing 47th overall in 36 min 25 sec. Meanwhile Sean Farnsworth posted 57 min 35 sec to take 840th position.

Ian at his 15th Lanzarote International Running Challenge

Ian Aitchison preferred warmer climbs and flew to the island of Lanzarote, to compete in the Lanzarote International Running Challenge for the 15th time, (nothing to do with it being sunny obviously). The event consists of four races, over a mixture of road, dirt trails and sandy terrain. Day one saw the runners undertaking a 10K road race, with Ian finishing 5th, M65, from 24, in a time of 50m, 7s. Day Two consisted of a scenic 13km trek on dirt trails, with 600ft of climbing, skirting the edge of a volcano, before descending via sandy tracks back to the stadium. Ian finished 4th M65, in 72m, 10s. A 5km beach race followed on Day 3, where the beach rabbit (according to the Germans who have nicknamed him with the moniker), finished 2nd M65, in a time of 24m, 9s, just 26s behind Graham McGratton, the M65 leader and Scottish International Cross Country Runner. So a very big achievement for Ian. The final day saw the runners bussed away from the stadium, to run the 13.4km back to the stadium, with 550ft of climbing on dirt trails snaking across the extensive lava fields. On this final day, Ian finished 5th M65 in 1hr, 58m, 51s and an overall 4th position in the M65 age category, with a total time of 25m, 17s.