Race report by Gareth:
Yesterday saw a mega turnout of 18 Lostockers out of a field of 287 runners take part in the first race of this year’s club championships and Central Lancs Grand Prix, the super fast & competitive Bolton 5K.
For context on how fast this race is, the first 5 finishers were all sub 16 minutes, a bit quicker than your average parkrun!
Starting and finishing on the track at Leverhulme Park, this is an ideal location for a winter race, with a lovely indoor warm up track giving plenty of space for all competitors to stay warm beforehand.
A cold, grey morning saw us underway at 9:30 with a super fast start taking in a 3/4 lap of the track. We were soon out of the park and on to the long straights of Long Lane & Blenheim Road which are great for getting into your rhythm and pacing. Then back into the park on another long straight section before heading back out onto Long Lane for the second lap ending with a sprint finish on the track!
Some tremendous performances by team green and some great tussles for finishing places!
Newcomer Philip Holland in his first race in a green vest was quick out of the blocks and fulfilled all the promise he’s been showing in the weekly track sessions to be first Lostocker home in a fantastic 21:11, we never got near him 
.
The battle for second Lostocker was a 5 way scrap with positions changing throughout the race, Greg and myself swapped places 3 or 4 times as we desperately tried to close the gap on Hazel with Chris right in the mix and a very fast finishing David making it look easy despite suffering with a cold.
Fresh off the plane from his skiing trip Andy was a bit disappointed but still his usual strong race as did the always consistent and quick Rachel Susan Hancock.
Rachel Stevens got herself a shiny new pb after hauling in Mike & Martin, who finished neck and neck in a cracking sprint to the finish. Another Lostock first timer, Terri, smashed her pb in her first race in green, plenty more to come hopefully!
Mark Checkley got faster the further he went to comfortably get under the 30 mins barrier as did Lynda who showed that marathon training is no barrier to speed and backed up her 14 mile run a couple of days before with a strong finish.
Stephen Hancock was another to dip under 30 mins & Karen also showed that marathon training and speed work go hand in hand with a great finish to back up her long run earlier in the week and Parkrun the day before.
Big shout out to Mary & Gillian who came 2nd & 3rd in their age category respectively!
Well done everyone on a great morning’s racing. For the record:
Phil Holland 94/287 21:11
Gareth Pratt 116/287 21:59
Hazel Hatfield 119/287. 22:04
David Wilkes. 120/287. 22:05
Greg Kilshaw. 126/287. 22:23
Chris Baker. 127/287. 22:24
Andy Laycock. 152/287. 23:35
Rach Hancock. 182/287. 24:43
Rach Stevens. 192/287. 25:25
Mike Berry. 200/287. 25:54
Martin Smith. 201/287. 25:55
Mary White. 208/287. 26:41
Terri Aldred. 218/287. 27:16
Mark Checkley. 238/287. 29:09
Lynda Hardman. 239/287. 29:17
Ste Hancock. 245/287. 29:57
Karen Taylor. 250/287. 30:31
Gill Caldwell. 256/287. 31:18
