IT was man and woman versus machine as 13 Burnden members took on a steam train over trails and tracks between Bury and Rawtenstall railway stations.

The Race the Train event, staged in conjunction with the East Lancashire Railway, attracted over 200 runners with family and supporters travelling alongside on the train.

Five Burndeners managed to beat the train to Rawtenstall. John McMyler headed the team with 1hr16mins18secs, followed by Paula Pilling in 1:22:15, earning her third place in the F40 category.

Then came a trio of category winners. Don Nichol was first V60 in a time of 1:22:44, Mel Walker’s 1:25:15 earned him first place in the V70 and Lesley Fisher won the F55 category with her time of 1:25:42. Peter Whiteside’s 2:01:32 put him third in the V60 category.

Other results: Craig Philpot (1:34:47), Sarah Sutcliffe (1:45:08), John Hall (1:45:08), Bev Walker (1:46:45), Trevor Fishwick (1:47:09), Maria Parkinson (1:47:15), Julie Bower (2:05:13).

Mel Walker continues to head in the right direction and is bang on schedule for England selection for the UK International Cross Country in Dublin in November.

On a humid night he ran his fastest 5K of the year in the Sale Sizzler, posting a time of 22mins20secs and taking home the V70 prize – another great achievement in a huge field of over 400 runners.

Gari Jones continued his comeback from injury with a testing run at the Runfest Wales Half marathon from Rhyl to Prestatyn and back which he completed in a solid 2:10:48.

There were some longer distance journeys for the Burnden vest this weekend. Tony Foster travelled to the south Devon coast for the Torbay Half Marathon and joined a massive field of 1900. He finished midway in fine style with a time of 2:06:25.

On the north coast of Devon, Phil Eccleston took time off from his holiday to come tenth out of 337 in a time of 1:36:29 in the North Devon AONB Half Marathon, a tough coastal race around Woolacombe Bay.

A quartet of Burnden ladies tackled the Colshaw Hall 10K with Joanne Darby leading them home in 1:02:49, followed by Rita Ledwards (1:04:45), Lauren Swallow (1:12:08) and Gillian McGowan (1:12:34). Ledwards’s run put her fourth in the F55 category.