Records were broken left, right and centre in the IQEQ-sponsored Easter Festival of Running over the weekend.

This included fastest-ever times being recorded in four of the six events held, including all three women’s races.

The Manx Harriers-organised Festival began with the 10-kilometre road race round Port Erin and Port St Mary on Good Friday evening.

In the men’s class Scott Stirling (Leeds) became the first runner to finish in under 30 minutes over a slightly revised course, recording a time of 29min 38sec, beating Jonny Mellor’s 2007 record by 38 seconds.

Runner-up Linton Taylor was also well inside the old record, and the only other man to go sub-30.

Alice Goodall (Edinburgh) clocked a record-breaking 33.05 in the women’s race, beating Rosie Smith’s 2012 record by 1min 13sec.

Goodall then won the following day’s Peel Hill race in 16.33, beating Manx Harriers runner Rachael Franklin’s 2019 record by five seconds

In the final event of the weekend - the flat 5km on Douglas promenade, Goodall clocked 16.29, beating Smith’s 2012 record by 44s. Franklin, who finished second, was also a long way inside the old record.

Goodall finished 13th in the under-23 women’s race at the European Cross-Country Championships last December, and was part of the gold medal-winning GB team. She was silver medallist at the Scottish National Cross-Country Championships in February of this year.

There were a record numbers of finishers in the 10km with 481, and in the 5km at Douglas with 383. The Peel Hill figure of 330 was only five fewer than the record from 2015.

Linton Taylor won the Peel Hill race for the third time and became the first Leeds Doss runner to win the men’s overall festival title since James Walsh in 2006.

Goodall is the first Edinburgh Harie to win the women’s overall festival title since Sarah Inglis in 2010.

Katie Lowery finished third overall in the women’s festival (representing Edinburgh Haries) after finishing second last year when she represented Leeds Doss.

Six of the 12 fastest times ever recorded in the men’s 10km race from 2006 onwards were set during the 10km race on Good Friday. In the women’s race, Rosie Smith’s record from 2012 was smashed to pieces by Goodall (Edinburgh Uni Harriers) with a fantastic time of 33m 05s – 1m 13s inside the old event record. Local star Franklin was only one second outside the old course record with 34.19.

There was also a record number of finishers with 481, and a record number of female finishers with 180. The men’s total of 301 was only four down on the record.

There was a fabulous performance by veteran athlete Danny Bradford (Manchester Alehouse) to finish third in 30.31, and fourth was Elisha de Mello (Sheffield Uni) with 30.42. Fifth was Paul Aste (Cambridge Greyhounds) with 30.45.

In sixth place was the first under-20 athlete and the leading local Corrin Leeming (Western AC) with a cracking time of 30.48.

Alice Goodall arguably produced the best performance of the entire weekend in Port Erin to win the women’s race with a fantastic time of 33m 05s – well over one minute inside the previous event record. Second - and leading local - was Rachael Franklin with 34.19, one second outside the old record. Third was Katie Lowery (Leeds Doss) with 35.52, one second ahead of Sarah Chapman (Birmingham Uni) with 35.53.

In fifth place it was great to see Lucy Crookes (Leeds Doss) back in action at the Festival for the first time for many years with a time of 36.12, and sixth was Louise Mitchell (Durham Uni) with 36.21.

In the women’s team race, local club Manx Harriers took a brilliant second place behind Leeds, with their team of Rachael Franklin, Elissa Morris, Becky Watterson and Gail Sheeley.