Tom Cornthwaite has taken advantage of a rich vein of form by racing in two major events on successive weekends.

The first involved a trip to the famous Rock of Gibraltar Race, and then it was on to Mansfield with the Blackburn Harriers' senior men's team for the National Cross Country Relays.

The Rock Race was the sixth and final counter in this year's World Mountain Running Association Grand Prix, and Tom had raced in one round already when he represented England's under-23s at Smarma Gora in Slovenia a month earlier.

On his England debut he had excelled by being the first counter for his country, yet he had little specific training under his belt and was keen to improve on his 12th place.

This time he had to make his own way, so made contact with former Gibraltar resident Mark Brown, who helped him get an entry, and set off for a three-day round trip.

The men's course is 11.8 kilometres and is predominantly uphill as it climbs 730 metres to finish on top of the Rock with spectacular views of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean.

Tom finished eighth in 44:50, less than two minutes behind the winner Jonathan Wyatt from New Zealand, and won 200 Euros for his efforts - enough to pay for his weekend away.

Winner of the women's race, and of the Grand Prix Series, was Anna Pichrtova from the Czech Republic, the former Clayton-le-Moors Harrier.

Cornthwaite's second race was in the less spectacular surroundings of Berry Park in Mansfield, but it was an equally noteworthy performance from Blackburn's senior men as they finished tenth against 130 crack teams from around the country in the National Cross Country Relay Championships.

The first lap was run by steeplechaser Chris Hart in 15:20 to put them 14th, before Cornthwaite lifted them to ninth with 15:28.

Aaron Hargreaves clocked 16:11 as they made the final change 16th then it was Ben Fish with 15:18, their fastest, raising them to tenth.

Four Blackburn teams finished in the top 20 with under 13 girls Naomi Thompson, Charlotte Atkinson and Beckie Taylor again earning the plaudits with a fantastic seventh.

The under 17 girls, Rachel Searson, Holly Robinson and Melanie Taylor took 15th spot, and Richard Stones, Paul Bradshaw and Matt Wood earned the junior men 13th in class.

In all, the Harriers put out seven teams with the under 13 boys 29th, the under 17 men were 31st and the under 15 girls made 45th.

Rossendale Harriers fielded three teams with the under 17 men 37th and the under 15 boys 60th, but the under 15 girls were the pick in 29th.

Emma Flanagan, Fran Gregory and Heather Parker in 29th were the leading East Lancastrians as they finished clear of Blackburn.