COLCHESTER Harriers’ Melissa Dowell was in superb form to win the Wasdale Lake District Ironman.

Dowell finished 15th overall and was first lady out of 133 starters, after clocking an overall time of 15 hours 11 seconds.

The triathlon is billed as the world’s deepest, steepest, highest, hardest marathon.

And Dowell started at 3am for a 2.5-mile swim in the deepest, coldest water in Britain’s lakes, Wasdale screes.

She clocked 35 minutes 53s, the second fastest swim of the day, with only the runner-up male faster.

Dowell posted 7h 40m for the 112-mile cycle through all the lake’s toughest passes, averaging between 25 per cent and 33 per cent on the climbs.

She then posted 6h 44m in the full off-road marathon, which included moorland and vast hills.

Dowell, who recently won the European Ironman, used the gruelling event as a warm-up for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii, in August.

Harriers’ Jason Bilton took part in the tough West Highland Way race.

He finished in 24h 49m to finish 73rd overall, over the 95.8-mile course.

A total of 155 of 188 starting runners finished the race, which was run on rugged terrain starting at Milngavie and finishing in Fort William.

It was third time lucky for Carwyn Jones at the Mersea Round the Island race.

The tall Harriers runner, who had been a runner-up in the past two races, finished well clear of the field in 1h 16m.

Harriers also won the team prize after Mark Harrod was fourth in 1h 21m and Paul Rodgers finished eighth.

A Harriers trio were among the 1,200 runners who competed in the tough Welsh Mountain Trail Half and Marathon.

Laura Shewbridge finished fourth after clocking 1h 54m over a course which included mountain bike trails and long rocky paths and hills.

In the marathon, David Wright finished 44th in 3h 55m while Chris Manby clocked 4h 30m after knee problems, having reached halfway in 1h 58m.

Harriers’ over-50 runner Martyn Clarke clocked 2h 31m to finish 59th from 600 starters, at the North Downs 30km.

But Simon Smith went off course and finished in just over three hours.

Harriers’ Briony Downes was runner-up in the two-lap Gurnsey half-marathon (1h 33m 32s).

And Becky Cooke ran a personal best (PB) of 2h 25m 11s to win 800m bronze, at the Eastern Counties Track Championship.