Harriers Hit the NW Counties Road Relays, 2026

Heaton Park provided the course for the 26th North West Counties Road Relays on Saturday 12 September, bringing together clubs from across Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside for one of the region’s major road-relay events.

Rochdale Harriers fielded three Senior Women’s teams and two Senior Men’s teams, with all runners taking on the same undulating 5.2km course.

The Senior Women’s race got underway at 1pm, with 71 teams completing the course.

The Harriers’ Women’s A team recorded a combined time of 1:06:24, with Isabel Mitchell setting the team off with a 20:22 opening leg. Juliet Smith followed in 21:42 before Zara Hirst brought the team home in 24:18. The team finished 28th overall and 8th among the Greater Manchester teams.

The Women’s B team recorded a total time of 1:17:30. Susie Hirst ran the opening leg in 25:11, followed by Jennie Ransome in 26:30 and Anna Blomfield in 25:48. Their combined time placed them 55th overall and 18th among the Greater Manchester teams.

The Women’s C team completed the three legs in 1:21:57. Ruth Fearn opened in 27:02, with Helen Campbell recording the quickest leg for the team in 25:54 before Sam Fretwell completed the final leg in 29:01. The team finished 63rd overall and 21st among the Greater Manchester teams.

The Senior Men’s race followed at 2.30pm, with 94 teams of four runners each taking on a 5.2km leg.

The Harriers’ Men’s A team recorded a combined time of 1:18:28. Danny Bennett opened with an impressive 17:48, followed by Dave Parton in 19:33 and Stuart Daniels in 20:39. Ryan Taylor, making his debut for the club, completed the final leg in 20:27 to bring the team home 59th overall and 23rd among the Greater Manchester teams.

The Men’s B team also featured a debutant, with Max Bentley opening in 21:08. Rob Scott followed in 20:44, Andrew Martin ran 21:27 and Mark Walker completed the final leg in 24:40. Their combined time of 1:28:00 saw the team finish 79th overall and 29th among the Greater Manchester teams.

Further north, three Rochdale Harriers took on the iconic Great North Run on Sunday, joining 63,000 other runners in the 45th staging of the event. The Great North Run has grown into one of the world’s biggest and best-known half marathons, and now sees some of the world’s elite athletes line up alongside thousands of everyday runners to tackle the famous 13.1-mile route from Newcastle to the finish at South Shields. Dave Aspinall completed the course in an excellent 1:39:10, followed by Helen Campbell in 2:02:37 and Saf Saeed in 2:13:06.

Also racing on Sunday was Phil Lockett, who travelled to Lytham St Annes for the Fairhaven Flyer 10K. The largely flat and fast coastal course, taking in Fairhaven Lake and the surrounding promenades, provided a good opportunity for a quick time, with Phil recording an impressive 38:59 to finish 15th overall out of 403 racers.

Rounding off a busy weekend of racing was Michael Jackson, who took on the Cheshire Autumn Half Marathon at the picturesque Capesthorne Hall on Sunday 13 September. The race starts and finishes outside the historic hall before taking runners around the surrounding rural Cheshire roads, which are closed to traffic for the event. Michael completed the 13.1-mile course in a solid 1:45:13, finishing 424th out of 1,494 runners.