It was unseasonably mild at Witton Park on Saturday for the start of the cross country season – but that didn’t stop the first of the Red Rose League meetings giving the runners a genuine winter test of strength.

Heavy rain resulted in an energy sapping course, especially towards the end of the day, after more than 500 pairs of feet had slid and splashed their way round.

Hosts Blackburn Harriers marked out the course at 9am, and when the racing started they got their due reward with a victory in each of the first four age groups.

The U11s nowadays play a full part in the league and its popularity has soared with the girls’ and boys’ races each boasting fields of more than 50. All of them ran together making it extremely difficult for the timekeepers.

Blackburn’s Elizabeth Greenwood was an easy winner of the girl’s race, even beating the leading boy, while club-mate Jack Weiss was second boy ahead of Hyndburn’s William Moynihan.

The home club provided the first boys’ team, again ahead of Hyndburn, as Rossendale were narrow winners in the girls’ race with Isabella Lewis their first counter.

Club members are hoping that Isabella will take after her father Dave, Dale’s best ever runner.

Sally Searson maintained the home club’s winning run in the U13s, while Ashley Allen was third boy but was first for team purposes as he was beaten by two athletes from non-affiliated clubs, running as guests.

The final results are subject to scrutiny, and as it was the first meeting, there were understandably a few registration errors and some results will change.

Alan McKeown gave Blackburn the first of their male winners with success in the U15s, but the club didn’t have to wait long before Karl Billington won the U17s in equally decisive fashion.

In each case, they led winning teams with the younger squad having strong backing from Robert Warner in third.

The U15 girls from Blackburn were headed by Leigh Harriers, despite the best efforts of Charlotte Atkinson and Emily Fletcher in third and fourth, while Lucie Patry shone for the U17s with third spot.

The senior women’s race saw one of the best contests as Katie Ingram, the Horwich Harrier from Chorley, successfully fought out a finish with England international Carly Needham from Rochdale.

It was a measure of their superiority that there was gap of two and a half minutes to Katie Trickett, whose third place gave Pendle AC their best result of the day, while in fourth Tracy Mitchell was the first veteran for Clayton-le-Moors Harriers.

Andy Buttery was the best from our local clubs in the senior men’s race.

The Rossendale Harrier took seventh, ahead of Blackburn Harriers Matt Nuttall and Scott Marne in eighth and tenth.

Keith Johnston was 12th for Chorley Harriers with Dale’s second counter Michael Corbishley in 13th.

Rossendale deprived Blackburn of second in the team standings by just two points in the provisional results, but both were well beaten by Horwich.

Among their counters was Chorley-based James Kevan, who was third outright, and Darwen’s Graham Schofield, the winning Over 50 veteran.

Meanwhile, League Chairman and Rossendale Harrier Steve Duxbury showed that he has recovered from a serious leg injury to head the Over 55s.