Radus girls triumph in the Middlesex cross country championships

Sisters Maayan and Lia Radus returned from the Middlesex cross country championships with a medal apiece. Maayan, 11, took Under 13 gold while Lia, 14, placed second in the Under 15 race.

“The Wormwood Scrubs course was flat but very muddy”, Lia reported.

“I got one of my best ever starts," Maayan said. “I slipped in behind the girl who eventually came second and moved alongside her just before half way. Once we hit the half way point I ran as hard as I could”. This surge brought her home 20 seconds clear of the field.

Bini Bloom, 12, won the Years 8&9 title in the Barnet Schools cross country championships. His brother Jack, 14, placed third in the Years 10&11 race and was the first Year 10 finisher.

Richard Goodman gained a 45 seconds victory in the Metropolitan Cross Country League at Perivale. Having now won the three league races that he has contested, a win in the final race next month should bring him the overall series victory.

Phillip Benson won the Armada Athletic Network 3K race in Plymouth in 10:04. It was one of four races that Benson ran in the space of a week before returning to his medical studies in Bulgaria.

Richard Goodman in the "Mo Show"

Richard Goodman gave a solid performance for Team GB in the Great Edinburgh Cross Country 8K, the event that generated the rare headline "Mo Farah beaten". The race took place in cold and wet conditions in the spectacular setting of the hills of Holyroood Park. A succession of earlier races had turned the course into a mud bath. Goodman finished 19th, 57 seconds behind American winner Garrett Heath, as GB won the team competition ahead of USA and Europe. Farah placed second, two seconds adrift of Heath.
“I actually ran against Mo in the same race five years ago, with a similar result," Goodman said. "Like some of my teammates, I went off a bit too quickly at the beginning, enjoying the presence of the television cameras covering the “Mo Show”. I struggled with fatigue over the last lap, by which time the course was really muddy, and I lost a few more places. But it was a real tough race, so I was satisfied to put in a strong performance.”

Great starts for Bloom and Bongart

Natan Bloom, 17, jumped straight to the top of the UK Under 20 10K rankings in the Serpentine New Year’s Day 10K in Hyde Park. Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier Bloom recorded 34:29.9 to place ninth overall.

James Bongart made a successful return after one year out of the sport, winning the Walthamstow Christmas Throws javelin competition with a mark of 51.15m.