Warrington Running Festival makes a successful return

The start and end point began at the entrance to the Town Hall with runners of all ages congregating on the lawns to warm up before the half marathon got under way.

The race followed a loop around the outskirts of Warrington with people around the community coming out to show their support.

One participant who ran as a pacer for the 10k event, Paul Myers, 53, from Ashton-in-Makerfield, praised the community for the ‘fantastic’ support along the course.

He said: “The support and encouragement from locals was great. Kids were passing bags of sweets out throughout the course and people were holding out bottles of water for the runners.”Paul Myers, 52, was a pacer for the 10k race. (Image: Newsquest)

Paul is part of a running group, attending races most weekends, and kept a steady pace as a marker for other runners.

Many people travelled from various places to Warrington to take part in the event, including Daniel Fletcher, who travelled from Matlock in Derbyshire and came 3rd place in the 10k run on the day. He said: “The race went really well; it is a fantastic course. I was using it as training for a half marathon.”

READ: Olympian Rigg returns to town and wins age group in festival half marathon

Meanwhile the first female to finish the 10k, Suzan McMahon, 51, originally from Wirral, had flown in from her home in Perth, Australia, to visit family and showed up to run the course.

She said: “It was a great race, a great atmosphere and loads of support. Just a few more hills than I anticipated.

“I was hoping to break 38 minutes, but my time was 38 minutes 15 seconds. I am still really pleased with the win.”Suzan McMahon, 51, won first place at the 10k (Image: Newsquest)

Fourteen-year-old Eva Karalius, a competitive rower from Stockton Heath, was the first female to win the 5k race, with Alfie Crockett, 30 and from Latchford, taking home the men’s first place title.

Callan Rowland, 24, from Lowton, came out on top winning first place in the 10k run, and said how he ‘constantly trained all year round’ ready for the race.

“The race was fantastic, that was my second fastest 10k so far,” he said.

“Also, the support not just at the start but across the route was really good”.Callan Rowland, 24, won first place in the 10k race (Image: Newsquest)

Rebecca Jackson, 30, from Wilmslow, took the women’s first place in the half marathon with Michael Taylor taking the men’s winning title for the day.

An experienced runner, Rebecca said how she entered the race at just 5pm last night on a whim and turned up this morning with her friend to take part, achieving not only the women’s winning title but also a personal best.

She said: “The race went really well; I got another personal best today about 30 seconds quicker than my last. The route was nice, I did the 10k last year and thought I would try the longer distance this year. I have signed up for the Grand Canaria marathon in November, so this has fit into my training plan well.Rebecca Jackson won the women's first place title in the half marathon (Image: Newsquest)

Run Through, which organised the event, has been in operation for 10 years and spends the year planning different runs and marathons around the country.

Founder of the organisation Ben Green, 36, explained how he chose Warrington as the location for this half marathon as he grew up in Padgate.

Ben said: “We started the event for the first time last year, and it has grown by around 500 people this year. I was out on the course during the race and the route goes past the street that I grew up on, so it was great to cycle past that and see all my old neighbours.

“Next year we are making this event a free event as we want to game change the way people get active. We will also make a portion of the entry’s priority for postcodes of deprived areas in Warrington, so we will have around 6,000 places that we are going to give away.”

The free event, which Run Through is already in the process of organising for the same time next year, will have balloted tickets with ballots open already for people to apply for tickets now.

To get more information on upcoming events, visit runthrough.co.uk