Dozens of athletes young and old descended on Padiham to test themselves in a gruelling swim and run sporting event.
The adults’ aquathlon race took place first where competitors swam 600m at the Padiham Leisure Centre pool before taking on a 5km run on the picturesque Padiham greenway.
The race was won by Florian Boutin who represents Charleville Ardennes Club in France. He just missed out on the course record by a few seconds in a time of 27 minutes and 16 seconds.
The first female to cross the finish line was Laura Lombard representing Bolton United Harriers. She not only smashed the female course record by over 3 minutes, but also finished a magnificent second overall in a time of 29 minutes and 7 seconds.
Then it was the turn of the youngsters, who took part in junior aquathlon events, swimming and running various distances depending on their age.
The 8-9 year olds category was won by Erika Corns of Burnley Athletics club, while the race for 10-11 year-olds was scooped by Maxwell Hereward of Rossendale Harriers for the third year running.
Noah Beale of Calder Valley Fell Runners glided through to take the first place in the 12 to 13 category.
Organiser Garry Stein from Burnley Leisure said the event was once again a swimming success.
He said: “It was a very successful day with more than 80 athletes competing at the event from the age eight and upwards. We saw some good racing and some really good times posted. The sunny weather was perfect for the event like this and we received some good feedback, people really seem to enjoy these events.
“I’d like to thank all the participants who turned up to take part and the volunteers and staff who helped out on the day. The event was truly an excellent start to the new sporting season.”
The next sporting event in Burnley’s calendar is the popular Burnley 10k run on Sunday, 4th June. Residents are invited to register with Burnley Leisure to be part of their charity team.
The charity places available for just £20 and leisure trust asks runners to raise sponsorship money if possible to contribute to the charity. All runners will receive a free running t-shirt, a great deal of training support from leisure instructors including weekly runs, and a free leisure pass.
To sign up please contact Michelle Grimes on 01282 477167 or email mgrimes@burnley.gov.uk
