THE family of John Ashcroft, who was the overall winner of the St Helens 10k, have spoken out about their pride – and described how relatives, including his 72-year-old granddad, also took on the course.

John, 24, was the first past the post on Sunday with a finish time of 31 minutes 50, his fasted time at St Helens.

He was followed later by his mum Jane, uncle Andrew Donnelly and 72-year-old granddad Edward Donnelly, who ran the event with him.

His mum Jane, 49, said: “The family are big Saints fans and we love running so we started doing the event seven years ago, because of the Steve Prescot Foundation and it’s just grown and grown.

“John has run and won other events, including placing fifth in the British Indoor Championships a few weeks ago, but both my dad and I get involved every year, with John winning each one he has ran.

“We are all so proud of John, he’s doing a PhD at Leeds University and still trains up to twice a day for his running. He loves it.

“My dad, Edward Donnelly, actually crossed the finish line at one hour one minute making him the fastest in his age category so we are proud of that too.

“I would recommend the event to anyone, if you can or have been thinking about it please get involved next year. It’s wonderful to be part of.”

John’s gran Maureen Johnson, 80, added: “We all sat in the stadium with some family members also standing along the streets even in the rain to offer support.

“It’s a lovely event and we are made up for John who works so hard.

“It really was a really great atmosphere in the stadium as well and we cheered for him and the rest of the family before tucking into a family breakfast at home.”