Try running a marathon then adding a further four miles.

Run the majority of it off-road and for good measure include a total of 8,000 feet of ascent.

At 30.5 miles, the Manx Mountain Marathon is the longest individual one day fell race in Britain. Paul Thompson from Darwen has been trying to win it for years and is so much of a regular that the poster advertising the race shows him trudging through the snow during one of his attempts.

In seven previous tries he had never been outside the top five, but on Easter Saturday finally the Clayton le Moors Harrier claimed a popular first victory to win the Lloyd Trophy.

The race covers the length of the Isle of Man from Ramsey in the North East to Port Erin on the South West.

Although Snaefell is the highest point, there are numerous other climbs too, culminating in the ascent to Bradda Head from nearly sea level when the athletes have already covered 30 miles.

Paul's performance was nothing short of totally dominant. He led by two minutes just a mile and a half into the event and his winning margin of over 17 minutes was the biggest on record.

His final time of four hours 42 minutes and 27 seconds was among the fastest ever, but he missed the outright record by three minutes.

"I wish I had known" he reflected. "I could have had a go, but it's difficult when you're running for so long on your own."

Three Clayton club mates completed the distance with over 40 veteran Lee Thompson fifth in 5:35:30, Peter Boom placing third in the over 50 class and 11th overall in 6:06:40, and Peter Browning, competing in the over 40 category, taking 14th in 6:14:12.

Rossendale Harrier Tony Spicer was a class winner leading home the over 50 veterans with nearly a quarter of an hour to spare in 5:47:53.

Tony was eighth outright with another over 50 Nick Harris 29th in 6:57:13. The third Dale finisher was East Lancashire's only female competitor Julie Feeney, the over 40 runner was sixth woman in 9:37:56.

A relatively new innovation is the Manx Mountain Half Marathon covering a 14-mile course from St Johns to Port Erin. Its covers the second half of the marathon while the marathon runners are passing through.

Clayton's Steve Whittaker had signed on for the full distance, but had problems during training and switched events.

It turned out to be a great decision as the over 40 veteran finished third in 2:01:27.

*To see how Paul Thompson and our other East Lancashire competitors fared in the 50th Three Peaks Race, read this Thursday's Athletics Page.