ROCHDALE Harriers hosted their 14th annual three-day event last weekend.

The Norden Road Race, held on Friday evening, set the scene for a demanding few days, for this was no ordinary event.

The course started at the bus terminus, headed steeply up Edenfield Road towards Owd Betts, then left along Ashworth Valley. The high point was 1,000ft above sea level.

From there the course looped round School Lane to a slightly modified finish line back in Norden.

The race was won in style by Rochdale’s Matthew Proctor in an impressive 33 mins 47 secs. He fended off stiff competition from Rossendale’s Andy Buttery and speedy veteran Rob Jackson (Horwich).

The fastest lady was Victoria Bryant from Wigan Phoenix. She took 41 mins 21 secs to complete the six-mile course. Rochdale’s Anna Blomfield and John Armstrong won the female veteran 45 and male veteran 55 categories respectively.

After little more than a night’s sleep to recover, the 5.7 mile Naden Valley multi-terrain race started at 11 the next morning. Many of the runners felt they were running on empty, with lactic acid built up from the previous night making their legs sore and stiff before they had even started.

Buttery, who was originally entered for only the first race, unexpectedly decided to enter the races for the remaining two days.

This turned out to be a good move, as he ran exceptionally well and won the multi-terrainer in 38 mins 5 secs.

The fastest lady was Becky Howarth (Leigh, 49.04), while Rochdale’s Anna Blomfield (51.30) was the third lady.

Proctor, after winning the first race, suffered from a stomach upset and finished fifth in 59 mins 57 secs. Buttery nudged Proctor into overall second place across the two days.

Rochdale’s Ian Aitchison, John Armstrong and Mike Winstanley won the veteran 50, 55 and 60 categories. Jan Needham won the female veteran 55 category.

About 80 fresh-legged fell runners from far and wide joined the three-day eventers on Sunday morning for the most popular event, the Knowl Hill Fell Race.

Near perfect conditions greeted the competitors as they battled over three climbs among the spectacular wind turbines on Scout Moor.

The six-mile/1,300ft race turned out to be something of a wild card.

The winner was Robert Gordon (Mynyydd) who clocked 44 mins 16 secs.

Buttery had an excellent run yet again to take second place (44.44). Veteran Rob Jackson posted 45.42, but a bad fall by Matthew Proctor cost him dearly, and he finished 17th on the day in 50 mins 23 secs.

In the final reckoning, the fastest cumulative time over three days went to Rossendale’s Andy Buttery.

He posted an excellent 1 hour 56 mins 55 secs.

Rob Jackson broke his run of third place finishes to take second spot in 1-59.32.

Rossendale’s Phil Bolton, who had been in sixth position at the end of day two, leap-frogged into third place overall due to his exceptional race on the final day (2-03.46).

After his impressive win on the first day Matthew Proctor had to settle for fourth place overall. He posted a great time of 2 hours 4 mins 7 secs.

The first three ladies overall were Becky Howarth (Leigh, 2-31.12), Davina Raidy (Rossendale, 2-32.43) and Anna Blomfield (Rochdale, 2-39.49).

Mike Moran, John Armstrong and Mike Winstanley won overall in the male veteran 50, 55 and 60 age categories.

The most improved runners were Richard Wormald, Davina Raidy and John Mayall. They lopped over 12, 11 and 10 minutes respectively off their 2007 times.

Positions and cumulative times for Rochdale Harriers were: 4th Matthew Proctor 2-04.07; 12th Kris Robinson 2-24.42; 13th Mike Moran 2-26.06 (1st V50); 15th Martin O'Reilly 2-27.55; 16th Chris Hill 2-28.02; 20th Mark Walker 2-31.38; 21st John Mayall 2-31.57 (10 mins 08 secs faster than in 2007); 25th Mark Catherall 2-34.38; 26th Stephen Leak 2-35.44 (50 secs faster than in 2007); 27th John Armstrong 2-36.43 (1st MV55); 28th Anna Blomfield 2-41.22 (3rd lady, 4 mins 18 secs faster than in 2007); 29th Matt Cox 2-42.28; 31st Mike Winstanley 2-49.51 (1st MV60, 8 mins 35 secs faster than in 2007); 33rd Andrew Tomkinson 2-54.28; 37th Kirstin Johnson 3-01.45; 39th Christine Deasey 3-07.42.

THE next major Rochdale athletics event is the Rochdale 10km on Tuesday 1 July, start 7.15pm from Springfield Park. The entry fee is £7, with a £2 discount for UK Athletics registered members. Entry on the day costs £1 extra.