Thur 29 June 2017
A bumper field of 141 teams took part in the Witton Trail Relays on a cloudy but dry evening. The minimum age for participants is 12 and the event attracted the full range of ages and abilities to a lively evening of racing as the teams of 3 negotiated the challenging climbs and descents in Billinge Woods, urged on by vociferous support from their team mates in the changeover zone. Preston Harriers entered 3 teams and team manager Richard Smith set the tone by coming home in 5th on the first leg in a time of 15:58, which eventually proved to be 12th fastest of all the competitors on the night. He was backed up by Kevin Hesketh and Alex Waddelove and the team finished 27th overall in a competitive and tightly packed field in a total time of 54:56. The team of Lee Foley, David Watson and Neil McDonald all ran similar splits to finish in 24th place in 53:55. Vicki Sherrington led off for the women’s team and Marian Hesketh gained a few places on the climbs before a speedy final leg from mountain biker Alison Rushton brought the Harriers ladies team home in 90th place overall and 16th out of the 45 female teams.