George makes his mark on cross-country scene

He finished in front of the athletes who came in first and second place in the first race of the series held in Falkirk.

Although George did not compete in Falkirk, this still leaves him in a strong position for the rest of this national race series, with four of the seven races counting toward the final positions.

He already plans to compete in the events in London and Nottingham, leaving Belfast, Cardiff or Liverpool as his other options.

The Grove pupil is part of the youth system at Hastings AC which has produced athletes that have dominated the middle distance running scene in Sussex.

Coach Pete Standen, himself an English Schools Cross Country champion, was delighted with George's performance, said: 'He is in his first year of competitive running and is improving every week. Who knows what he can achieve if he continues to improve on the hard work that has marked his training of the past year?"

On the same weekend another of the Standen stable was competing at the Barnes Green half marathon. Rosalie Uphill took over 4 minute off of her personal best with a time of 87m 55secs finishing in fifth place. She just missed out on fourth position by the slimmest of margins, being given the same time as the other runner.