The flat course at the Tatton Half Marathon provided the perfect conditions for two of the district’s runners to shine in the cold morning frost on Sunday.

Saltaire Striders’ Simon Pass finished in a time of 1hr 14min 15sec, which earned him first place in the male over-40s and an impressive sixth overall out of a large field of 1,553 runners.

And Sue Brown, of Baildon Runners, earned a fantastic second place in the women’s race, coming in at 1:22:52, just behind the unattached Julia Matheson, who finished in 1:22:23.

Meanwhile, Otley AC’s Jacqueline Ackroyd finished third in the female over-55s in a time of 1:49:47.

The classic Guy Fawkes Ten-miler at Ripon, also on Sunday, saw some of the district’s hardened runners take on its scenic course, which starts and finishes in the grounds of Ripley castle.

Spenborough & District AC’s Kevin Ogden missed out on a closely-fought third place by just seven seconds, coming in at 58mins 30sec.

Ogden, the first male over-40s runner, came in behind Chris Miller, of Halifax Harriers, who was pipped to second place by Joseph Kikrup, of East Hull Harriers, finishing in 58:20.

Jack Simpson, of Leeds City AC, was the comfortable winner, posting a blistering 54:56, knocking 1min 37sec off his winning time from last year.

The male’s over-45s was won by Richard Pattinson, of Pudsey & Bramley AC, who finished fifth overall with an impressive 58:53.

In the women’s race, Idle AC’s Donna Edmondson Booker finished seventh in a strong field, with a time of 1:08:59.

The day before saw 272 competitors take to the hills in the 27th Shepherds Skyline Fell Race, organised by Todmorden Harriers, where Colin Walker, of Pudsey & Bramley, ran a stellar race to come third in the M40, and seventh overall with a time of 47min 36sec.

Teammates Nicholas Charlesworth and Dave Kirkham, of Wharfedale Harriers, came in eighth and ninth (47:48 and 47:49), while Otley AC’s Sam Stell also ran well on the 6.2 mile course, with 1,150ft of ascent, to finish 16th in 49:38.

Special mention should also go to those unfortunate souls who travelled all the way across the Atlantic to take part in the New York Marathon, only to be informed it had been cancelled, including Saltaire Striders’ Jen Willingham, who will no doubt have been left bitterly disappointed after the monumental training effort she put in during the build up to the big event.