A TOP athlete battled hot temperatures and stiff competition as he returned to ‘live’ racing in the Cheshire Elite Marathon. Martin Green, a member of the North Wales Road Runners Club, was among 275 high-calibre entrants invited to compete in one of the first few live endurance runs permitted after the partial lifting of strict pandemic restrictions for outdoor sports events. Run over a fast and flat lapped course on rural roads around Pulford, the race on Sunday, April 25 incorporated the former Wrexham Elite Marathon, with entry only available to male athletes capable of running 2.40 or quicker for a marathon, and female athletes running a sub three-hour time.