MARK Brown celebrated the end of his illustrious Paralympic career with his own race!

On Monday evening, 60 close friends ran in the Mark Brown Multi-Terrain Race - an event staged by expert organiser Andy O'Sullivan in Mark's honour.

The plot seemed perfectly scripted when a dull day turned into a glorious evening and Mark led out the field twice around the scenic Cowm Reservoir at Whitworth.

Salford's Ken Chapman injected a dose of realism when he swept past Brown to win the 4.2 miler in 22:58, but it mattered little and Mark came home a comfortable second in 23:21 to add another veteran title to his impressive list.

Clayton Harriers supported the event wholeheartedly and took six of the first ten places.

Garry Wilkinson was fourth in 23:57, Shaun Livesey in fifth won the over 45 class, and Andy Payne, Neil Worswick and John Roche followed in sixth, seventh and eighth. Peter Booth took the over 55 class, Richard Lawson the over 65s, and another local Keith Parkinson of Todmorden Harriers was the top over 50.

It's not many local races that can boast a European Champion, a World Champion and a World Record holder, but this one had them all.

Arm amputee Brown won the European Paralympic 5,000 metres in 2003, Maureen Laney is the reigning World Masters over 50 Hill Running Champion while the remarkable Lou Gilchrist continues to set the standard in the over 70s.

If anyone was taking the evening's proceedings seriously it was Laney who won the women's race in 26:44, nearly three minutes clear of Pendle and Burnley Grand Prix victor Tracy Mitchell.

Maureen will be defending her world title at Keswick next week, and is slightly nervous as it is an up and down course this year after being uphill only last year. She is busy racing at every opportunity in a bid for full fitness as she recovers from an achilles injury.

The race was raising funds for wheelchair athletes via the Mount Everest Marathon Fund. Seven Clayton Harriers, including Brown, will be running the race in November.

l Andy O'Sullivan has announced that the Pauline Lucketti Memorial Brown Wardle Hill Race held a fortnight ago, and won by Mark Brown, has raised an astonishing £8,000 for Christies Hospital. The race attracted a record field and the total was swelled by a raffle, an auction, and by runners and walkers raising sponsorship.

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