Bowser casts off his bridesmaid's tag

He just broke the 30-minute barrier in what used to be billed as the country’s fastest 10k race.

Bowser held off Stockport’s Sean Connolly in a close finish (30min 1sec), with Salford’s Tomas Abyu in third (30:13).

The top ten were strung out, but included runners from Durham, Bristol and Tipton.

Martin Sanders and Paul Marchant, from Rothwell Harriers, sandwiched Holmfirth’s Richard Smith as first Yorkshire runners in eighth to tenth.

The race had been postponed for a month due to the snow, but was now run in damp conditions with puddles aplenty.

The postponement meant only half (587) of the original runners showed but there was still an impressive national representation.

Bingley’s Stephen Bailey was 15th in 33min 32sec. Just behind was Saltaire Striders’ Simon Pass, who broke 34 minutes for the first time. Clubmate Will Kerr was 27th in 34min 39sec - one of his best times for a decade.

Sarah Harris, from Long Eaton AC, won the women’s race in 35min 21sec, with Wakefield’s Helen Singleton 16 seconds behind. Alison Dargie, from Elswick Harriers in the north-east, was next home in 37min 45sec.

Sally Morley (Ilkley Harriers) was first local lady in 38min 36sec, while Bingley’s Andrea Dennison won the women's over-45 category in 40min 7sec.

Eccleshill’s evergreen Gill Jones, in the F55 age-group, knocked over half a minute off her lifetime best.

She continues to benefit from Brian Scobie’s coaching in the Bradford adult endurance training programme and ran 54min 6sec.

In the men’s team race, with three counting by cumulative times, Salford were clear winners in 98min 35sec.

Rothwell beat Holmfirth for second and Yorkshire bragging rights, with Spenborough’s impressive trio third through Kevin Ogden, Gerard Skippins and Anthony Bradford.

In the women’s team event, Wakefield beat Barnsley and Horsforth. Spenborough's threesome of Emma Maguire, Hazel Pike and Claire Thompson were good collectively for fifth.