Near miss for Hannah Viner at Euro cross country trials

Hannah Viner narrowly missed a place in the GB team for next month's European Under 23 Cross Country Championships. Highgate Harrier Viner was tenth U23 finisher in the British Athletics Cross Challenge at Liverpool, which served as the Euro selection race. Viner, 21, recorded 29:49 for an 8.1 km course that earlier races had transformed into a mudbath.

“The conditions were very tough;" said Viner, "it was cold, windy and extremely muddy. The course consisted of one shorter lap and two long laps. It was the highest quality field I have competed against, and the race seemed like one relentless sprint. I made sure I moved close to the front from the start, and I maintained a position in the top ten throughout the race. I gave it everything I had in the last lap, but it wasn't quite enough to make the team this year. But it was a very good experience and bodes well for bigger races in the future.”

Roger Bruck will today be presented with the Southern Counties Veterans AC Jumps Trophy, for the best achievement in the Jumps category in their 2017 Championships. Bruck, 78, won Southern Counties V75 gold in the High Jump, long jump, 100m and 200m events. His greatest success in recent years has been achieved in the high jump, an event he only took up his mid-fifties. Pride of place amongst his many gold medals is his performance in last year’s British Masters Championships, in which he achieved an extraordinary clearance of 1.27m. This added 4 cm to his own M75 Southern Counties record and would have tied for gold in the World Masters Championships.

Fine cross-country performances by Hannah Viner and Lia Radus at Parliament Hill

Hannah Viner was delighted with her silver medal performance in the London Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill. Viner explained that she had used the 6 km, two lap race as preparation for this weekend's Euro Trials at Liverpool. "My plan was to go hard, and I led for three quarters of the first lap", Viner said. "Stephanie Davis of Clapham overtook me, but I was able to maintain my second place position and prevent Davis from stretching her lead much further".

Lia Radus led Barnet Borough to U17 team gold in the London Youth Games Cross Country Championship at Parliament Hill. Bouncing back from illness at the start of the week, Radus placed fourth in a close 2.8 km race over a muddy and challenging course.

"I was in a leading group of five in the long opening run up Parliament Hill", Radus said. "Over the last kilometre two leaders broke away, shortly followed by a third. Towards the end I clawed back most of the gap that had formed, but in the final few metres the girl in front of me found the strength to fend me off. At the end there were only 12 seconds separating the winner and myself in fourth place. Despite being a bit frustrated with having allowed a mid-race gap to develop, I am pleased with my performance overall."

Maccabiah gold medallist Ellie Edwards showed that her winter training is going well in an inter-university indoor match at Cardiff. Competing for Birmingham University, Edwards, now 21, raced 60m in 7.87 and set an indoor 200m PB of 25.88.

Goodman's triumphant return

Richard Goodman returned to competition with a decisive victory in the second race of the Start Fitness Metropolitan League at Welwyn. It was the Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier’s first race since resuming serious training in September following a summer break.

The 7.8 km race consisted of three laps of a course that twisted back on itself repeatedly in hairpin fashion. Goodman reported, "It was good to be back in action doing what I like best, running around cross country fields. It was the largest field I have encountered in the Metropolitan League, more than 500 runners, and there were some top athletes competing. The start of the race was the fastest that I have ever experienced in this league. Going into the second lap I put in a surge and built up a lead that I was able to maintain to the end. For the rest of the race I was holding my nerve and trying to stay relaxed. It was a real test of fitness and extremely difficult but I was really pleased with the outcome."

Highgate Harrier Hannah Viner placed fourth in another huge field in the women's 6 km race.

Sisters Lia and Maayan Radus put in strong relay legs for Shaftesbury Barnet in the English National Relay Championships at Mansfield, and also ran well in the Chiltern Cross Country League at Milton Keynes.