The cross country season start-ed in earnest with the Red Rose League holding the first meeting at Wilson Playing Fields at Clayton-le-Moors.

The athletes were clearly happy to see it back with high attendances throughout including 214 in the senior men’s race – the first time the league secretary could remember it being over 200.

Conditions were near to ideal with a sunny day and a course which had a mix of firm and muddy patches.

There were some tired legs afterwards, but it will be a learning curve for the speed merchants, especially with the clinging clay of Marl Pits next in another month.

The under 11s set the ball rolling and it was good to see Clayton vests on junior runners.

There is a flourishing junior group at the club and the boys were third team with Chris Archer, William Bellard and James Haycock.

The host club Hyndburn were also to the fore with Joshua Boyle third boy and Alexa McTiffin, who was also third, guiding her club to second.

Rossendale Harriers featured in the top three teams in each of the first four contests with second in the U11 boys, U13 boys and U13 girls and third in the U11 girls.

Marcus Preedy was their star turn with second in the U13 boys race. Blackburn were lighter in numbers but could rely on Elizabeth Greenwood for the headline result as she won the U13 girls race by 40 seconds.

The U13 boys and girls races were combined and only three of the boys could beat her. Sally Searson was also back to her best with second in the U15 girls race, but Blackburn still had to wait until the U17 men’s race for their first team victory – and that seems certain to come under scrutiny.

Blackburn Harriers’ junior women gained a top two finish in four age bands as Beckie Taylor and Charlotte Atkinson added second places in the U17s and U20s to the successes from Greenwood and Searson.

The club’s U17 team was second behind Leigh, but there were no complete teams in the U20s where Rossendale’s Emma Flanagan was third.

Lynne Clough of Chorley Harriers was third in the women’s race, winning the over 40 category and combining with Jackie Redmayne and Victoria Davidson to be the first veteran team.

Fourth home was Katie Trickett of Clayton-le-Moors to be the first counter in the leading non-veteran squad which also included Gayle Whittaker and Jean Brown.

Matt Nuttall was the architect of Blackburn’s team success in the senior men’s race. He was fourth and the first veteran.

Karl Billington, Paul Bradshaw and Jon Bridge backed him up.

Paul Archer, Andrew McFarlane, Ian Greenwood and Alan Life are the scorers and fellow Clayton Harriers Pete Booth and Barry Mitchell won the over 60 and over 65 classes as Steve Duxbury edged the over 55s for Rossendale.

Junior England Fell star Joe Johnston prolonged his purple patch to be the first local in third, only losing touch with the leaders in the final stages.