PICTURES ADDED: Record numbers brave the cold to complete GPW St Helens 10K

1:45pm Sunday 10th March 2013 in News

And they are off: The runners start from outside Langtree Park And they are off: The runners start from outside Langtree Park

MORE than 1,500 runners braved bitterly cold conditions to complete the GPW Recruitment St Helens 10K on Sunday morning.

The race - now in its third year - drew its biggest field so far on the course, which involved the hills of North Road, Hard Lane and Cowley Hill Lane.

Luke Bryan, who was paralysed during a rugby match in 1996, was the official starter for the run, which set off from Langtree Park.

Half the donations amassed by the Steve Prescott Foundation will go towards the construction of a new home for Luke in Haydock.

The field included the likes of boxer Martin Murray, Saints coach Nathan Brown, the club's former skipper Paul Sculthorpe, plus Sky Sports rugby league pundits Barrie McDermott and Terry O'Connor.

Cancer battler Steve Prescott decided not to run after spending part of the week in hospital with complications from the illness he continues to confront with remarkable resilience.

However, he was the inspiration for plenty among the field - which ranged from members of running clubs to novices.

A junior 2K race, meanwhile, drew more than 170 youngsters.

The temperatures - which hovered between 1C to 2C and were made worse by a freezing wind - added to the challenge.

Runners were cheered on by thousands of supporters who lined the route and packed into Langtree Park's North Stand to see the finishers head home.

Afterwards, Prescott wrote on Twitter: "Great turn out and huge effort made by all the runners this morning. Big thank you to all those who helped, ran marshalled or came to support.

He added: "It was great to see so many people's hard work and dedication over the last few months finally pay off. #crossedthelinewithpride 2014 even bigger."

We'll have picture special, results and stories to follow online and in this week's St Helens Star.

Send your stories or pictures to akilmurray@sthelensstar.co.uk

Comments(1)

saintsfan says...
4:53pm Sun 10 Mar 13

There was a terrific atmosphere at Langtree Park this morning when I was among the crowd cheering people off on the run. There were some brave people out there and some really energetic ones, running in all sorts of costumes. The only downside for me, as I clapped people home in Church Square, unable to feel my fingers, was that there was hardly anyone from the town supporting the runners home. I think the people of St Helens should feel embarrassed by themselves. These men and women were running for charity, mostly, and they would have really been encouraged by the sight of local people cheering them on. It's a tough course and a tough challenge (I've done it, so I know!). Maybe next year people can just get up a bit earlier on a Sunday and give the runners some moral support? That would be great.

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