Round three of the Law Trust Cross-Country league took place in ideal winter conditions at Crossags Farm on the fringes of Ramsey on Sunday.

Conditions for the Northern Athletics Club-organised event were better and less muddy than would normally be expected in December.

The course includes one of the longest and toughest hills to be found on a cross-country course, and the stamina of all competitors from the under-13 age group upwards was tested to the maximum.

Ollie Lockley made his first cross-country appearance of the winter, and soon showed his ability to transfer his outstanding road form to the country.

He initially ran in a leading pack of four in the men’s race with Alan Corlett, Will Draper and junior Ieuan Owen whose race was one lap shorter.

By the top of the second brutal ascent through the wooded section, the new Isle of Man marathon record holder had eased clear of his pursuers, and he continued to smoothly pull away.

Looking in complete control, he stretched his lead to a comfortable 44 seconds at the completion of his four laps.

Corlett, winner of the previous two rounds, ran as well as ever to take second place, as did Draper who finished a further 55s in arrears.

A typically solid run from Orran Smith gave him fourth place ahead of another very consistent performer Mark Burman. Andy Nash narrowly held off a chasing pack to take sixth.

A late reduction of the junior men’s race from four laps to three caught out Corrin Leeming, who ran four laps with only the leading three seniors in front him. He was not all that far behind race winner Ieuan Owen after three laps.

The women’s field was somewhat depleted with the absence of several leading athletes, but that takes nothing away from race winner Ashleigh Lachenicht.

A 400 and 800-metres specialist, who also has a 12.3s 100 metres time to her credit, she again proved what a remarkably versatile athlete she is with a convincing victory over three tough laps of the same course.

Laura Dickinson goes well in any cross-country conditions and she was rewarded with an excellent second place. There was a great battle for third, with Caroline Caren showing her fell-running strength on the hills to edge out Lisa Dunwell. Carol Brogan and Niamh Goddard ran well to complete the top six.

Race-walking stars Keira Heavey and Mia Dunwell were the winners of the junior and U17 women’s races respectively, their general fitness helping them round the testing terrain.

There was a cracking contest between Ryan Corrin and Charlie Swales in the u17 men’s race, with the latter pushing his rival hard all the way. A slight navigational error by Swales lost him a few seconds towards the end and Corrin’s final victory margin was 12 seconds.

Perhaps the race of the day was the under-15 boys, with a mere four seconds blanketing the first three, who were all members of the host club. Lucas Stennett was the winner by one second from Sam Perry, with Charlie Teare another three seconds back.

Things were more comfortable for Macy Hillier in the u15 girls’ race, and she looked in top form throughout as she won by almost two minutes.

Charlie Arculus is proving to be a very promising athlete and he completed a hat-trick of victories in the u13 age group - the youngest to negotiate the hill.

His margin over George Salter was 13s, the latter having to work hard to hold off Freddie Griffin and Oliver Condon.

The girls’ race saw an exciting contest at the front, ultimately won by Holly Salter from Abi Clayton in a reversal of their results from the previous round. The gap was three seconds at the close.

The short course races ran alongside the u13s, and these were won by Peter Bradley and Dawn Atherton.

Harry Stennett and Abi Sinclair continued their domination of the u11 age group this season, these races taking place over three laps of the bottom field. Harry’s margin was 12s from Timothy Perry, with Liam Blake third. Abi had to fight off a really determined challenge from Hope Lewis but regained her lead to win by four seconds, with Ella Quirk third.

The under-nines had to contend with the Crossags pheasant during their races, which did its best to get in their way. But it didn’t stop Seamus Hall and Eve Martin winning their races over two laps of the bottom field, each completing three wins out of three.

In the boys’ race, Corrie Brogan was third after finishing 17th and 14th in the first two rounds - a remarkable improvement.

Many thanks go to all the officials from both Northern AC and IoM Athletics who worked hard to ensure a successful meeting. Thanks also for the use of the facilities and land at Crossags.

- Round four incorporates the IoM Cross-Country Championships at Port-e-Chee on Sunday, January 17.

Video footage of the action is on the manxathletics.com Facebook page.