BOLTON has a new King of the Hills after local runner Steven Snape swept to victory in the town’s Hill Marathon on Saturday.

Snape, aged 25, from Chorley, took the top prize in 3hrs 7mins 28secs to beat the champion of the past two years Charlie Sharpe (3:11:33) of Warrington’s Spectrum Striders Club over the 26.2 miles of trails and hills across the West Pennine moors.

Moss Bank Park had a carnival atmosphere as the runners assembled at the start and the field was soon under way with Snape and a bare-chested Sharpe straight into a commanding lead as the runners headed towards Barrow Bridge and up to Winter Hill for the first of the major climbs.

Snape kept Sharpe in his sights throughout the race and at 21 miles struck the front on the brutal rise from Rivington, a lead he refused to relinquish.

It was revenge for Snape, an accomplished fell and ultra-distance runner, who came second to Sharpe in the Grizedale Marathon earlier this year.

Snape said: “Since Grizedale I’ve run fell races and been in training for ultra marathons coming up this summer.

The route of Hill Marathon covers most of my training area so I wanted to enter it for that reason and I knew I could win it. I just love being out in the hills.”

His next target is the Lavaredo Ultra in Italy’s Dolomite Mountains in three weeks and then the TDS Ultra in Chamonix, France, at the end of August.

First female runner home was Caitlin Rice of Glossopdale Harriers, who finished eighth and smashed the event’s record for fastest female finisher. Her time of 3:30:12 eclipsed the previous mark of 3:49:01 set by Sally Ford last year.

Of the 260 entrants, there were 191 finishers as the tough course took its toll – the mix of scenic views and sapping hills has seen it voted the sixth best marathon in the UK by Runner’s World magazine.

Race organiser Phil Eccleston, of Eastwood Close, Bolton, said: “The race is one of the toughest in the country so there’s a huge amount of respect for anyone who finishes it. The feedback from runners and spectators was really positive so it’s been a fantastic success – and great for the town that a sporting event like this is being recognised nationally.”

Results

1 Steven Snape (Endurance Store Appleby Bridge) 3:07:28; 2 Charlie Sharpe (Spectrum Striders) 3:11:33; 3 Matthew Smith 3:19:27; 4 David Smithers (York Knavesmire Harriers) 3:23:40; 5 Paul Brown (Trawden AC) 3:27:54; 6 Alex Brees 3:29:07; 7 Chris Jackson (Glossopdale Harriers) 3:30:12; 8 Caitlin Rice (Glossopdale Harriers) 3:30:12; 9 Mark Collinson (Trail Running Association) 3:31:38; 10 Andrew Doyle (Bolton United Harriers) 3:36:58; 11 Sam Walsh (Sarah Bonnell Striders) 3:38:14; 12 Andrew Morley (Swinton Running Club) 3:39:10; 13 Ben Hartley 3:40:32; 14 Mark Berry 3:41:11; 15 Damon Hesford (Lostock AC) 3:41:49; 16 ; Jamie Bird (Wolverhampton & Bilston AC) 3:41:57; 17 Chis Brown (Swinton Running Club) 3:43:08; 18 Robert McGrath (Southport Waterloo AC) 3:44:00; 19 Malcolm Collins (Astley & Tyldesley Road Runners) 3:44:00; 20 Gareth Hammill 3:45:24.

21 Tony Hurst 3:45:37; 22 Paul Platt (Wigan & District Harriers) 3:45:44; 23 Caroline Hemming (100 Marathon Club) 3:46:33; 24 Ben Wittenberg (Southport Waterloo AC) 3:47:31; 25 Simon Tobin (Southport Waterloo AC) 3:48:36; 26 Chris Musther 3:49:39; 27 James Pearson (East Hull Harriers) 3:51:47; 28 Nick Kelly (Horwich RMI Harriers) 3:52:06; 29 Matt Shaw (Swinton Running Club) 3:54:27; 30 Chris Campbell (Trawden AC) 3:54:56; 31 Tony Harris 3:56:05; 32 John Ryan 3:56:26; 33 Julie Platt (Wigan & District Harriers) 3:56:25; 34 Lee Geist (Razzers Runners) 3:56:47; 35 Luke Spindlove 3:57:54; 36 David Sloan (Astley & Tyldesley Road Runners) 3:58:19; 37 Ian Cooke (Leeds City AC) 3:58:57; 38 Dan Newton 3:59:12; 39 Jeremy Fagan 3:59:11; 40 Fiona Lynch (Radcliffe AC) 4:01:32

41 Ed Ashton (Burnden Road Runners) 4:02:03; 42 Sandra Kelly (Horwich RMI Harriers) 4:02:24; 43 Donal Brennan 4:02:45; 44 Ian Stanton (Vale Royal AC) 4:02:57; 45 Mariana Petrova 4:03:04; 46 Michael Pate 4:03:11; 47 Will Gono 4:03:43; 48 Paula Downing 4:03:57; 49 Michelle Brooks (Trawden AC) 4:04:08; 50 Jonathan Smith 4:04:02; 51 Greg Maughan 4:04:19; 52 Patrick Babb 4:05:38; 53 Amy Lomax 4:06:57; 54 Matthew Jackson (Newcastle Staffs Tri Club) 4:08:00; 55 Adam Lowe 4:08:18; 56 Wesley Ratcliffe (Team Deane) 4:08:31; 57 John Turner (Burnden Road Runners) 4:10:12; 58 Elliot Skorupa 4:10:53; 59 Paul Clarke 4:11:03; 60 Colin Dale 4:16:28

61 Luigi Salzano (Radcliffe AC) 4:17:06; 62 Anne Marie Lord (Oldham & Royton Harriers) 4:17:28; 63 Nicholas Bettridge 4:17:50; 64 Ugis Datavs 4:19:16; 65 Terry Hindson (Redcar RC) 4:19:24; 66 Katy Thompson (Burnden Road Runners) 4:19:29; 67 Anthony Walsh (Middleton Harriers) 4:19:28; 68 Mark Ramsden 4:19:33; 69 Darren Johnson 4:20:14; 70 Wona Donnelly 4:20:52; 71 Stephen Greenhalgh (100 Marathon Club) 4:21:46; 72 Martin Whalley (Burnden Road Runners) 4:24:26; 73 Andrew Foy 4:24:40; 74 Darren Gillman (Cambridge & Coleridge AC) 4:25:12; 75 Ryan Hogben (Gateshead Harriers) 4:25:18; 76 Andrew Walkden 4:25:37; 77 Anne Ferguson (Burnden Road Runners) 4:26:22; 78 Ian Moss 4:27:21; 79 Matt Tomkin (VO2 Tri Team) 4:27:56; 80 Steve Chave (Chepstow Harriers) 4:28:05

81 Jonathan Morton 4:29:01; 82 Eddie Birchall 4:29:43; 83 Abby Sanderson 4:30:25; 84 Gareth Llewellyn 4:30:31; 85 Gary Walmsley (Chorley AC & Tri) 4:30:48; 86 Stuart Hamilton 4:32:31; 87 Mark Davies 4:33:14; 88 Ian Pudge (Burnden Road Runners) 4:33:23; 89 Andy Wood (Belle Vue Racers) 4:33:24; 90 Andy Gray (Sunlight Runners) 4:35:07; 91 Adrian Sell (Saddleworth Runners) 4:35:07; 92 Gary Wane (Wigan & District Harriers) 4:36:36 93 Matt Barker (Burnden Road Runners) 4:37:33; 94 Ian Warrington (Radcliffe AC) 4:37:58; 95 Rich Brodie 4:39:05; 96 Emma Wright (Gateshead Harriers) 4:39:41; 97 Lee Clarke 4:40:28; 98 Tammy Harrison-Round 4:42:08; 99 Justin Thornberry 4:42:37; 100 Steve Marshall (Lincoln & District Runners) 4:42:24

101 Stephen Green (Liverpool Running Club) 4:43:17; 102 Amy Norfolk (Liverpool Running Club) 4:43:16; 103 Matt Helme 4:43:23; 104 Gillian Verdin (Liverpool Running Club) 4:43:17; 105 Laurence Regan 4:44:22; 106 Cathy Atkinson (Manchester Triathlon Club) 4:44:43; 107 Julie Williamson (Horwich RMI Harriers) 4:47:33; 108 Phil Ross 4:48:56; 109 Keziah Trump 4:49:27; 110 Lorraine Halwood (Burnden Road Runners) 4:49:28; 111 John Hammond 4:49:38; 112 Carolyn Barker (Burnden Road Runners) 4:49:50; 113 Clare Buis 4:50:16; 114 Katie Samuelson (Cambridge & Coleridge AC) 4:50:34; 115 Viv Samuelson (Swinton Running Club) 4:50:35; 116 Paul O'Brien (Lostock AC) 4:53:31; 117 Kay Leigh 4:53:42; 118 Ruth Travis (Red Rose Road Runners) 4:54:07; 119 Lyndsay Darbyshire (Burnden Road Runners) 4:55:43; 120 Kathryn Davies (Radcliffe AC) 4:56:23

121 Jason Tucker 4:57:06; 122 Pete Whitworth 4:57:54; 123 John Hughes 4:57:52; 124 Lee Verity 4:58:44; 125 Marc Bottomley 4:58:49; 126 Rob McGibbon (Salford Running Club) 5:00:07; 127 Roger Graham (Pensby Runners) 5:00:24; 128 Michael Horton (Team Deane) 5:01:19; 129 Andy Foden 5:01:18; 130 Stephanie Goodchild (Manchester YMCA Harriers) 5:03:04; 131 Pip Fitzpatrick (Manchester YMCA Harriers) 5:03:05; 132 Mark Green 5:03:37; 133 Sara Bott (Oldham & Royton Harriers) 5:03:54; 134 Dewi Jones 5:03:57; 135 Paul Catlow (Trawden AC) 5:05:22; 136 Lee Petch 5:07:10; 137 Angela Moore 5:09:05; 138 Craig Philpot (Burnden Road Runners) 5:10:52; 139 Marie Godson 5:11:13; 140 Hitesh Patel 5:13:04

141 Dave Cooke (York Postal Harriers) 5:13:40; 142 Paul Nicholls (Sandbach Striders) 5:13:40; 143 Mark Butler (Burnden Road Runners) 5:14:25; 144 Christopher Jackson 5:17:35; 145 Maggie Slamin (Lostock AC) 5:18:45; 146 Andy Earp (UKNETRunner.co.uk) 5:18:46; 147 John Hall (Burnden Road Runners) 5:19:26; 148 Adam Tysoe (Liverpool Running Club) 5:21:33; 149 Timothy Green 5:22:29; 150 Andrzej Wieckowski 5:24:18; 151 James Meta (100 Marathon Club) 5:25:00; 152 Peter Wigg 5:27:51; 153 Peter Owen 5:27:52; 154 Elaine Jones (Liverpool Running Club) 5:28:09; 155 Ellie Birch 5:31:17; 156 Adam Cole 5:31:17; 157 David Atherton (Bolton United Harriers) 5:32:45; 158 Arthur Smith 5:33:17; 159 Andy Wheeler (Radcliffe AC) 5:34:48; 160 Chris Glynn 5:36:00

161 Philip Ivory 5:36:01; 162 Carol Greenhalgh 5:36:08; 163 Stephen Hamer 5:36:04; 164 Catherine Hodgetts (Astley & Tyldesley Road Runners) 5:37:35; 165 Neil Critchley (Burnden Road Runners) 5:37:44; 166 Scott Murray 5:39:38; 167 Anthony Chadwick 5:41:57; 168 Terry Poole (Thornton Cleveleys R C) 5:42:56; 169 Tyler Muhs 5:55:54; 170 Chris Mann 5:57:58; 171 Victoria Wigg 5:58:42; 172 Gordon Macdonald 6:02:47; 173 Karl Jones 6:03:53; 174 Allison Grace (Burnden Road Runners) 6:05:54; 175 Beverley Walker (Burnden Road Runners) 6:05:54; 176 Anthony Foster (Burnden Road Runners) 6:05:54; 177 Fiona Ashton (Burnden Road Runners) 6:05:54; 178 John Kew (Bristol and District AC) 6:08:11; 179 Mick Glendening (Lostock AC) 6:10:43; 180 Julie Bower (Burnden Road Runners) 6:13:56

181 Andrew McVittie 6:17:50; 182 Julie Bowman 6:30:33; 183 Brenda Sedgwick (Burnden Road Runners) 6:34:56; 184 Peter Whiteside (Burnden Road Runners) 6:46:37; 185 Chris Taylor 6:53:59; 186 David Beevers (Burnden Road Runners) 7:03:05; 187 Osy Waye (100 Marathon Club) 7:04:01; 188 Sam Button 7:04:58; 189 Carolyn Walkden 7:10:06; 190 Paul Sedgwick (Burnden Road Runners) 7:21:23; 191 Gina Biggs (Fylde Coast Runners) 8:25:15.