Dale Towning of Grantham Running Club completes the Warrington Way 40-mile trail marathon

Grantham Running Club member Dale Towning crowned his amazing year of becoming a fully-fledged ultra runner by taking on the 10th Warrington Way 40-mile trail marathon.

Organised by Lymm Runners, the event offered various distances including the solo 40 and relay 10 and 20 milers.

The race started and finished in the Cheshire village of Lymm, about five miles east of Warrington and runners followed a route mostly on tracks, footpaths, field crossings and country lanes to circumnavigate the town anticlockwise.

The route was waymarked with tape markers, though runners had to carry maps and be able to self-navigate.

This was Dale’s fourth ultra marathon this year and he set off determined to beat his previous 40-mile time set at the Grim Reaper in May.

He absolutely loved the route, which offered all sorts of conditions, from slippy muddy trails to dry roads with stunning views along the way.

Keeping a consistently strong pace throughout, Dale smashed his old personal best by an hour, crossing the line at a sprint in 8hrs 23mins 12secs.

Thrilled to bits with such a fantastic result, he will definitely be back next year, citing the event as his favourite so far.