RUNCORN made it 36 points from a possible 39 at Wincham Park - and all the more difficult for New Mills to catch them - with a fine turnaround.
After twice losing the lead in an electric start, Linnets scored three times in nine second-half minutes.
Captain Paul Scott put the hosts ahead after just three minutes while Thomas Lamb glanced home Steve Dee's eighth-minute cross.
But each time, New Mills had exploited the vulnerability which is affecting Runcorn's defence, as Dean Butterworth and Adam Mather replied within a minute.
Runcorn had little possession in the first half and were almost punished in stoppage time.
Michael Young, who was to play his part in the second-half onslaught, lost out just inside his own half but saw his blushes spared by a brilliant Robbie Holcroft tipover.
Both sides had chances after the break but Runcorn looked more composed and, midway through the half, they found another gear.
Scott latched on to Holcroft's long 65th-minute clearance to squeeze a shot home from an acute angle while Dave Thompson drifted wide to score from a similar position three minutes later.
Thompson touched home Lamb's low, angled drive from the left for his 22nd campaign goal in 74 minutes before New Mills sub Dan Jackson (89) struck with a 30-yarder - immediately after Runcorn were denied a penalty for a clear two-man foul on Lamb.
LINNETS: Holcroft, Holmes, Parle, O'Driscoll, Boden, Edwards, Dee (McCoy 63), Scott, Thompson, Lamb, Young. Subs: Quirk, Rollinson. Attendance: 195.
