Long distance runners excel

Ashford Athletic Club’s long distance runners group has gone from strength to strength over the winter months, with two notable national performances over the weekend.

Teenager Louis Small competed in the Saucony English National Cross Country Championships’ in Leeds on Saturday to take silver.

In a field of 346 runners, Louis ran a tremendous race from start to finish, with only seven seconds behind the experienced favourite. Louis’ twin brother, Jack, also ran in his first national race, finishing a respectable 21st.

Louis is a newcomer to the sport, having only started competing in long-distance running at the end of last year.

Despite this, he has had his fair share of success over the winter.

He has won all four Kent Cross-Country League under15 races, the South of England Inter Counties Championships, and the South of England AA Championships.

The second highlight of the weekend was for Marshall Smith, who has also had an impressive cross-country season over the winter months.

The 18-year-old received an elite entry for the Brighton Half-Marathon on Sunday and finished 12th out of a field of 7,530 runners. He was the first junior home, beating the second placed junior by 13 minutes.

Smith’s time of 1:10.12 was an Ashford AC record and ranks him No.1 in the UK for under20 year olds. This impressive ranking has added to his No.1 ranking over the 10 mile distance from last year.

Ashford AC’s Louis Small on the way to a silver medal at the English National CrossCountry Championships in Leeds, right. Clubmate Marshall Smith after running the Brighton Half-Marathon