IT was back to business as usual for the Running Forever athletes at the weekend.

Some went to The Lakes, some went to the seaside and a small contingent invaded Dorset.

Having enjoyed one of the driest and sunniest spells in a few years, the trio who made their way to the North West for the Lakeland 50- and 100-mile ultras could have been worrying about hydration and sunburn.

However, the Lakes reverted to normal summer weather this weekend with a mix of gales, rain and the odd hail shower which made conditions very tricky.

Jonathan Newby took on the 100-mile challenge but was beaten by the conditions after 75 miles.

Chris Gunn and Matt Price were on the 50-mile race and both completed the distance in 16 hrs 40 min, which is great going such a challenging course in such awful weather.

Not quite enough to constitute a Roman Legion but a quartet of brave soldiers made their way to Dorset on Saturday for the Roman themed Invader marathon. 

Again, the weather wasn’t that kind for this White Star Running event but great running by Bev Collins got her a 5.05 finish.

Andy Higham wasn’t far behind with his 5.17 time and Rob Muir finished in 6.20.

Claire Allison crossed the line in 7.47 but had enough energy left to take part in the Chaos race at the same venue the following morning.

Sunday saw the Invader Half which Graham Bowpitt completed in 2.26 on what looked like a very wet and muddy course.

Peter Hall was on the marathon trail again, taking part in the Something Wild Trail Marathon which also suffered from torrential rain and high winds.

Unperturbed by the weather forecast, a hardy bunch set off for the seaside by way of some pretty challenging terrain on the South West Coastal Path.

This race is organised by Minehead Running Club and takes runners on a trip from Countisbury back to Minehead where there’s always a very good cake stall.

First to see the sea was Martin Webb in 3.24; Mike Shattock was next with his 3.32, closely followed by Sam Wharton (3.34) and Tanya Lewis (3.39) who never like being beaten to the cake.

A trio of runners - Matt Blee (3.52), Adrian Edwards (3.53) and Scott Weetch (3.54) - were next to the seaside with Ian Bawler just behind them with his 3.56 finish.  

Hannah Taunton did well in the English Athletics National Championships, taking first place in the T20 classification for the 1500m.

Tara Robertson is taking on a challenge of a different sort this week when she attempts the North Coast 500 cycle challenge.  

This circular route in the very north of Scotland covers 500 miles of the most challenging but scenic roads in the country.  Having covered 118 miles the first day, 87 the next day and 80 miles on Monday, Robertson is on course to complete the route in time for the Castle of Mey Highland Games this weekend.

This weekend’s parkrun tourists went to Killerton, Cheltenham, Antrim, Exmouth and the Eden Project. Thirty took part in the Longrun Meadow event.

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JAMES Wright stole the Hydro Harriers’ Parkrun show at Lydiard (Swindon) last Saturday in a rare appearance, managing an impressive 25min 50sec. 

Rowland Lyons returned a disappointing 24.27 at a slippery, humid Barking Park, while Ian Salter starred at Burnham, managing 20.06, with Andrew Phelps home in 27.51. 

Closer to home, Andy White recorded 20.21 at Longrun Meadow.