On Wednesday, the Lostock AC’s usual social run was replaced by the annual Chairs Road Race. This is a friendly competition for club members in which participants can pick a short or long course. The long route covers 4 miles, starting at Victoria Road in Horwich, runners run along Chorley Old Road to the Bob’s Smithy Inn before turning around and heading back. The shorter route covers 2 miles and runners turn around at The Jolley Crofters.
This is always a challenging race as the first mile is up a steep hill. The 2024 race was made more challenging due to torrential rain, making Chorley Old Road more like a waterfall.
In the 2 mile race, Rache Hancock was victorious, completing the run in 18;10, followed by Mary White in 18:46 and David Wilcock in 20:48. Other results include Clive Worthington, Jennifer Donnellan 22:12, Gillian Caldwell 24:36 and Colin Holdcroft 29:49.
In the longer race, Evan Burrell had a fabulous run, finishing in 31:50. He was shortly followed by Any Laycock in 31:57 and Gareth Pratt in 32:46. Janet Rhodes was the first female to finish in 34:28, followed by Jo McManus in 35:22 and Beverly Atherton-McKenna in 37:58.
Other results include: Mike Berry 36:15, Tony Maxwell 36:47, Rachel Stevens 39:17, Ian Burns 40:40 and Mark Checkley 41:43.
