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January 11
Shaftesbury Barnet runners Jessica Hurley, 13, and Rebecca Hurley, 14, placed fifth and 23rd respectively in their age group races in the same championships.
Ealing, Southall and Middlesex runner Sam Shindler-Glass,16, finished fifth in the under 17 Middlesex cross-country championship, while Highgate AC's Ben Hatch, 14 placed ninth in the under 15 event.
Jennifer Simmons, of Sale Harriers, gained a victory in the 600 m at the Sportscity Manchester indoor open meeting, recording 1:36.13 s. Shaftesbury Barnet's James Grant achieved an indoor PB of 4.03 m to place fourth in the pole vault at the Metaswitch Games at Lee Valley.
January 18
Jennifer Simmons, of Sale Harriers, placed second in the North of England 400 m Indoor Championships at Sheffield. Losing out by 3 m to Harriet Pryke, Simmons' time of 56.77 represented a PB both indoors and out.
February 1
George Grant, 14, added 41 cm to his Pole Vault best with a 3.04m clearance in the Vault London event at Carshalton. This performance lifts Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier Grant to 9th in the UK under-15 rankings.
His brother and team-mate James Grant, 21, cleared 4.05m for his highest vault in 5 years at the London Games at Lee Valley.
February 15
Jennifer Simmons,21, recorded a personal best of 56.45 in placing third in her 400 m heat in the Indoor European Trials and UK Championships at Sheffield.
Simmons, who competes for Sale Harriers and Manchester University, said , "My coach Chris Bartram and I are very pleased with how the winter training has been going. My final event of the indoor season will be the British Universities Championships, also at Sheffield, next weekend. From then on I will be preparing for the outdoor season and my main event, the 400 metre hurdles."
February 22
Roger Bruck, 73, demonstrated that age need not be a barrier to athletic performance. Bruck won both the high jump and long jump 70-plus age group events at the Southern Counties Veterans Indoor Championships at Lee Valley. Bruck's marks were 1.25 m and 3.58 m respectively, his high jump setting a Championship Best Performance. Bruck also placed 3rd in the 200 m in 33.5.
Also at Lee Valley, javelin thrower James Bongart, 16, switched events to place 3rd in the long jump in the Eastern Counties Indoor Under-20 Championships, recording 5.35 m.
March 1
David Peters, 41, became a world record holder as part of the Central Park Track Club relay team that broke the Masters (35+) 4x800m Indoor World Record in New York last Friday.
Hampstead-based Peters said, "Our target was the existing record of 8:09. The second runner handed me the baton at exactly 4 minutes, so I knew I had to go out there and keep the momentum going. I hit 400 m in a rather too swift 56 seconds, went through 600 m in 1:26 and completed my leg in 2:00 exactly. The last 200 m was very painful but I’d done enough to keep us on course. Our final time of 8:04.75 beat the previous record by almost 5 seconds. I never thought I’d have the opportunity to attempt a world record, let alone break one, so this was an amazing surprise and an incredible experience to be part of."
California-based former Olympic medallist Deena Kastor won her first race as a Masters runner, just three days after her 40th birthday. Kastor, the 2006 London Marathon winner, won the Rock n' Roll Pasadena Half Marathon in 1:12:57, almost 7 minutes ahead of the next runner.
Kastor said, "The race was a tune-up for next month's Los Angeles Marathon. It was a picture perfect day and I wanted to push hard all the way, but it was difficult to focus on times on a course that was so up-and-down throughout.”
Jennifer Simmons, 21, set a 400 m personal best of 56.19, and Nick Davis, 19, set a season's best of 52.75, in the British Universities Indoor Championships at Sheffield. Shaftesbury Barnet pole vaulter George Grant, 14, raised his best to 3.15 m in the Midland Counties Open Meeting at Birmingham.
Ben Hatch, 14, placed 31st out of 194 finishers in the Under 15 Southern Cross Country Championships at Parliament Hill, while Nathaniel Lane, 36, placed 19th in the Welsh Championships at Crickhowell.
March 15
David Peters, 41, reaffirmed his position as one of the country's outstanding Masters athletes, with a commanding victory at the British Masters Indoor Championships at Lee Valley. Peters took the M40 800 m title in 2:02.51, a clear two seconds ahead of his nearest challenger. Herne Hill Harrier Peters said, "The pace felt very comfortable and I am confident that I could have run close to 2 minutes if it had proved necessary."
Barnet athlete Roger Bruck, 73, medalled in three events in the M70 division at the same championships, placing third in the long jump, second in the high jump and second in the 200 m. His performances were 3.50 m, 1.21 m and 32.83 s respectively, his 200 m time being his fastest over the distance since 2007.
April 12
Natan Bloom,14, placed second in the Middlesex under 17 1500m Indoor championship at Lee Valley, recording a personal best of 4:40.38. Hasmonean pupil Bloom also reduced his 800m best to 2:20.17 at Watford.
Jamie Cohen, of Harrow AC, raised his High Jump best to 1.55 at the Brunel Open Jumps Festival, one week before his 14th birthday.
Nick Davis, 19, finished second in the 400m 'A' race at the Watford Open Graded Meeting in 52.31. At the same meeting, his father ( and previous family record holder) Greg Davis moved to 12th in the UK V60 400m rankings with a time of 74.41.
George Grant, 14, raised his pole vault best to 3.25m in placing second at the Middlesex under 17 Indoor Championships.
Jessica Hurley, 13, was runner up in the Hertfordshire under 15 800m Indoor Championship in 2:32.51. She improved her time to 2:28.22 at the the Lee Valley Open Meeting, where her sister Rebecca Hurley, 14, recorded 29.48 for 200m.
Nathaniel Lane, 36, finished third in the Teifi 10 Mile race at Lampeter, recording 54:51.
Roger Bruck earned valuable points for his Southern Counties Team at the Inter Area Masters Match at Lee Valley. Bruck, 73, won the V70 high jump, placed second in the long jump and ran the 200 meter leg in the winning Medley Relay team.
April 19
Anna Barnett and James Bongart, the two winners of the 2012 Daniel Sacks Awards for Young Athletes, have opened their seasons with significant personal bests in their principal events. Barnett, 13, attained 25.50m in the discus at Crystal Palace and 28.71m in the hammer at the Kent Young Athletes meeting at Bromley. Both performances were competition victories, and they took Barnett to 10th and 15th respectively on the UK under 15 lists.
Although still only 16, James Bongart has now entered the under 20 age group, using the senior 800 g javelin. He placed third in a closely fought competition at the Lee Valley Open, his throw of 48.22m lifting him to 10th in the UK under 17 rankings.
Greg Davis gave away more than 25 years to every other competitor at the Mile End Open, but his time of 72.64 moved him to 11th on the UK V60 400 m list.
May 3
Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier George Grant, 14, achieved an emphatic pole vault victory in the Southern Premier Division at Basildon, recording an outdoor personal best of 3.20m. His team-mate Rebecca Hurley, also 14, cut her 300m best to 46.87 at the same meeting. Middle-distance specialist Jessica Hurley, 13, demonstrated her versatility by placing second in the long jump in the Eastern Young Athletes League at Watford, recording 4.54m.
Trafford AC sprinter Ellie Edwards, 16, recorded 63.3 for 400 m in the National Junior League at Middlesbrough, in her first outing over the distance. She will be aiming to bring that time down to 60 seconds this year.
Cardiff athlete Nathaniel Lane placed 244th in the London Marathon in 2:42:03, while Natan Bloom, Sam Shindler-Glass and Ben Hatch all achieved high placings in their London Mini Marathon races.
May 10
Anna Barnett, 14, rose to ninth in the UK Under 15 discus rankings with a winning throw of 28.28m at the UK Youth Development League at Bromley.
Jessica Hurley, 13, achieved an 800m personal best of 2:27.6 in placing third in the UK Youth Development League at Basildon.
Roger Bruck, 73, moved to fourth in the UK Over 70 100m rankings, recording 15.9 in the Southern Counties Veterans' League at Lee Valley. This performance was his fastest over the distance since 2008.
May 17
Jennifer Simmons, of Sale Harriers, retained her Cheshire & Manchester County 400m title at Stretford, recording 57.27.
Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier Jessica Hurley, 13, placed second in the Hertfordshire County under 15 1500m Championship in a personal best time of 5:07.37. Her sister and team-mate Rebecca Hurley, 14, contesting the 300m hurdles at the Hertfordshire Open Meeting at Stevenage, achieved a two second personal best of 51.22.
May 24
Sam Shindler-Glass, 16, broke the two-minute barrier for the first time in winning the UK Youth Development League 800 m at Hillingdon in 1:58.6.
May 31
Jamie Cohen, 14, cut his 800 m best to 2:21.08 at the Watford Open Graded Meeting. Greg Davis, 60, moved to 20th in the UK V60 200m rankings, recording 32.1 at the same Watford Open meeting.
June 7
David Peters, 41, opened his outdoor season in impressive style, recording 1:59.72 for 800m in New York to move to 4th in the UK V40 rankings.
Roger Bruck, 73, won five gold medals in the V70 division at the Southern Counties Veterans Championships at Ashford , Kent. His winning performances were 8.26m for the shot, 3.58m in the long jump, 16.3 for 100m, 36.0 for 200m and 1.20m in the high jump. Also in Masters competition, Greg Davis, 60, improved to 31.9 for 200m.
In winning the Essex under 20 javelin title with 51.18m, James Bongart, 16, moved to 16th in the UK under 20 rankings. More significantly, only two athletes of Bongart's age have thrown further this year.
In county championships elsewhere, Anna Barnett, 14, won the Kent under 15 discus title with 26.01m, and placed second in the hammer with 26.36m. Jessica Hurley, 13, cut four seconds from her 800m best to place second in the Hertfordshire under 15 event in 2:23.04, while her sister Rebecca placed third in the Hertfordshire under 17 300 metre hurdle championship in 49.25. Both sisters lost out to older rivals, and both have another year in their respective age groups.
George Grant, 14, was runner-up in the Middlesex under 15 pole vault event with 3.10m.
Ellie Edwards, 16, placed third in the Merseyside under 17 300m championships in 42.7, while her sister Allana, 13, placed fourth in the Manchester under 15 200m event in 29.98.
In league competition, Sam Shindler-Glass improved his bests to 1:58.0 for 800m and 4:06.81 for 1500m, while Jamie Cohen, 14, cut his 800m time to 2:20.8.
(June 14 – unpublished because of major profile on Ellie Edwards that week
Ellie Edwards, 16, placed second in the Greater Manchester Schools 200 m championship in 26.0, a time which qualifies her to compete in the English Schools Championships in Birmingham next month. Edwards also came third in the Merseyside under 17 300m championships in 42.7.)
June 21
Several young Jewish athletes achieved success in the recent Schools and County Championships. Notably, Anna Barnett, of Blackheath and Bromley Harriers, took the under 15 Kent Schools discus title at Ashford, with a winning throw of 28.22 m that was just 6cm short of her personal best.
George Grant, 14, was runner-up in the Middlesex under 15 pole vault Championship at Lee Valley and placed fourth in the Hertfordshire Schools Championship at Hemel Hempstead, scaling a height of 3.10m on both occasions.
Rebecca Hurley, 15, placed third in the Hertfordshire Schools under 17 300 m hurdles Championship, achieving a personal best of 49.1.
Allana Edwards, 13, placed fourth in the Manchester under 15 200m Championship in 29.98, and improved her time to 29.3 at the Greater Manchester Schools event.
Jamie Cohen, 14, placed fourth in the under 15 Middlesex Schools 1500 m Championship at Hendon, in a time of 4:49.65 that was within one second of his personal best. He also cut his 800m PB to 2:20.8 in league competition at Harrow.
Also in league competition, Sam Shindler-Glass, 16, improved his 800m best to 1:58.0 at Perivale and 1500m time to 4:06.81 at Watford. Jessica Hurley, 13, achieved 5:07.0 for 1500 m at Woodford.
June 28
In his first race since the London marathon, Nathaniel Lane, 37, representing Cardiff AC, recorded 33:15.0 for 10,000 m at Swansea, placing 4th in the race that served as the Welsh U17/U20 Championships.
July 12
Independent Jewish Day School pupil David Stone, 11, achieved a commanding victory in his first ever track race, the Under 13 1500 m at the Eastern Young Athletics League in Stevenage. Easing to the front of the pack at the end of the first lap, Stone remained there until the bell, at which point he sprinted away to finish 60 metres ahead of the field. His time of 4:47.2 moves him to 11th in the UK Under 13 rankings, and quite probably makes him the fastest primary school runner in the country.
Two Jewish athletes, Ellie Edwards, 16, and Anna Barnett, 14, competed in English Schools Athletics Championships at Birmingham. Edwards' 200m clocking of 26.25 was not sufficient to progress to the finals, but, as lead-off runner, she helped Greater Manchester Schools to fifth place in the Under 17 4 x 100m relay. Barnett, competing for Kent Schools, placed 11th in the Under 15 discus, with 26.77m.
Nathaniel Lane, 37, placed 3rd in the Welsh 5000m Championships at Cardiff, recording 15:52.42.
James Bongart, 16, continued his run of javelin victories at the Woodford Green and Watford Open Meetings, achieving 50.22m with the senior 800g implement at Watford.
Rebecca Hurley, 15, achieved a personal best of 45.08 for 300m in placing 4th in the UK Development League at Reading.
July 19
Hampstead-based globe-trotter David Peters, 41, moved to third on the UK V40 800 m list with a 1:59.46 clocking in New York.
Sam Shindler-Glass, 16, proved that he is rounding into top form for this week's Maccabiah Games by cutting his 800 m best to 1:56.90 at the Watford Open Meeting.
Middle distance specialist Jessica Hurley, 13, demonstrated her sprinting ability by winning the 300 m in the Eastern Young Athletes League at Stevenage in 43.7. At the same meeting, her sister and Shaftesbury Barnet team-mate Rebecca Hurley, 15, achieved two Under 17 'B' event victories. Her winning performances were 45.1 for 300 m and 16.95 m in the discus.
Jamie Cohen, 14, set three PBs in the space of an afternoon in the UK Development League at Eton. Cohen, representing Harrow AC, cut four seconds from his 1500m time with 4:45.2, added 8 cm to his high jump best by clearing 1.63, and recorded 16.5 for 80 m hurdles.
July 26
Jamie Cohen, 14, set three PBs in the space of an afternoon in the UK Development League at Eton. Cohen, representing Harrow AC, cut four seconds from his 1500m time with 4:45.2, added 8 cm to his high jump best by clearing 1.63, and recorded 16.5 for 80 m hurdles.
Oliver Ziff, 24, rounded off his Maccabiah preparations by setting season's bests for 1500 m (4:15.81) and 3000 m (9:05.10) on the same afternoon at Trafford.
Maccabiah
Adam Muscat and Jack Reece have both qualified for the Junior 200 m final. Muscat's fourth place performance of 24.52 in Heat 1 represented a PB improvement of more than the second, while Reece placed fourth in Heat 2 in 24.49. Daniel Gubbay, a 400 m and 800 m specialist, placed sixth in his heat in 25.02, narrowly missing out on the final.
In the Open 200 m event, Nick Davis, 19, placed 5th in his heat in 24.0. Davis' main target is the Open 400 m final, where he is likely to face Australian Steve Solomons, who reached last year's Olympic 400 m final.
August 2
Maccabiah
Young British athletes achieved a medal haul of two golds, two silvers and a bronze in individual track and field events, as well as securing two relay bronze medals. Sam Shindler-Glass struck gold in the junior 800m on his 17th birthday, 45 minutes after placing fifth in the 3000m and a day after taking silver in the 1500m. Ellie Edwards, 16, took gold in the girls' 200m to add to her bronze in the 100m, and gained a third medal by anchoring a Mixed International team to bronze in the girls 4 x 100m. James Bongart, 16, took silver in the junior javelin with a massive personal best throw of 53.31m, and gained a second medal by teaming up with Adam Muscat, Jack Reece and Daniel Gubbay to take bronze in the junior 4 x 100m relay.
Shindler-Glass said, "Both the 800 and the 1500 came down to final sprints after uneven early pace. I couldn't catch Tal Braude of the USA in the 1500, but in the 800 I pushed hard with 300 metres to go and did not look back. It was a relief to break the tape and a thrill that my birthday was announced to the crowd as I stood on top of the podium."
Edwards was delighted with her performances, which included setting a personal best of 12.68 in the 100m. She said, "It has made up for the frustration of all my injuries over the last 18 months, and made all the training worthwhile. I can't thank enough all the people who have supported me, especially my parents and my grandpa Aubrey."
Britain was represented by two athletes in senior events. Oliver Ziff finished a brave 7th in the 5000m, recording 15:40.24 in very hot and sultry conditions. Nick Davis placed 7th in a top quality 400m final, in which Donald Sanford set an Israeli record of 45.65 to beat last year's Olympic finalist, Australian Steve Solomon.
Local News
Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers Nathan Bloom, 14, and David Stone, 11, produced outstanding performances in a series of graded 1500m races at Watford. Bloom cut his PB to 4:24.55, while Stone overhauled the field to take victory in his race in 4:42.34, lifting him to 7th in the UK Under 13 rankings.
Anna Barnett, 14, moved to 19th on the UK Under 15 list with a winning discus throw of 28.64m in the Kent Young Athletes' League at Ashford.
August 9
In his first 1500m outing of the season, Herne Hill Harrier David Peters, 42, moved to second on the national V40 list, clocking 4:01.42 in the British Athletics League at Hendon.
David Stone, 11, recorded 2:22.7 for victory in his first ever 800m race, in the Eastern Young Athletes' League at Chelmsford. Stone, who will enter JFS in September, gained further points for his Shaftesbury Barnet Under 13 team by running 200m in 31.3 and taking a leg of the 4x100m relay.
Blackheath & Bromley field event specialist Anna Barnett, 14, moved to 19th on the UK Under 15 discus list with a winning throw of 28.64m in the Kent Young Athletes' League at Ashford.
August 16
Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier Nathan Bloom, 15, cut his 800 m time to 2:09.49, while teammate Leo Kaye, 17, returned from injury to post a 100 m PB of 11.61, at the Open Graded Meeting in Watford.
Highgate Harrier Ben Hatch, 15, reduced his 1500 m best to 4:39.8 in the Southern League match at Parliament Hill.
Maccabiah relay medallist Daniel Gubbay,15, returned to UK action by placing second in the 400m in the Eastern Young Athletes' League meeting at Chelmsford, recording 54.9.
August 23
Harrow athlete Jamie Cohen, 14, returned from the JCC Maccabi Games in Orange County, California with a medal haul of six golds, three silvers and a bronze. His gold medal events were the Boys 13-14 400m, 800m, 1600m and high jump, and 4x100m and 4x400m relays. He struck silver in the 100m, 200m and 110m hurdles, and bronze in the pentathlon. Hillingdon AC sprinter Dan Gaby, 14, also took home multiple gold medals. Gaby set a PB of 11.90 when winning the 13-14 100m and also took the 110m hurdles title and was part of the winning 4 x 100m relay team.
September 13
Shaftesbury Barnet under-13 athletes David Stone and Lia Radus each gained clear victories in their respective 1500m events at the Eastern Young Athletes League Final in Stevenage. Their times were 4:51.3 and 5:11.0 respectively. In the under-15 division at the same meeting, their Shaftesbury Barnet teammate Jessica Hurley placed second in the 800 m in 2:31.0 and third in the 300 m in 45.3. The previous weekend Lia Radus had shown that she is one of the country's fastest young middle-distance runners by placing fourth in the Oak Hill Parkrun 5K in 19:39.
Anna Barnett, 14, achieved a PB of 30.35m in winning the Blackheath & Bromley hammer championship. Shaftesbury Barnet Harrier George Grant, 15, scaled a new personal best height of 3.35 m when placing fourth in the UK Youth Development League Final at Birmingham. Highgate Harrier Ben Hatch, 15, reduced his 1500 m best to 4:35.11 in winning his heat at the Watford Open Meeting.
Nathaniel Lane, 37, completed the Cardiff 10K road race in 32:18, his fastest time over the distance since 2011.
September 27
Hampstead-based David Peters, 42, overcame recent disruptions of travel and injury to complete the New York Fifth Avenue Mile in 4:19.9. Running the elite race, his performance was more than ten seconds faster than the winner of the "non-elite" 40-49 age category.
JFS pupil David Stone, 11, continued his outstanding run of form by producing the fastest Under 13 leg in the Middlesex and Herts Young Athletes Road Relay Championships at Hayes. In this 3 x 3000m relay competition, each club can field teams for both Middlesex and Herts, the
teams being made up of athletes resident in the respective counties.
Twenty teams entered the boys under 13 event, run in wet and windy conditions. Stone, running the second leg, took over in 14th place and overhauled most of the field to hand over in 3rd position, thanks to his 10:29 split. His Shaftesbury Middlesex team went on to finish fourth.
Shaftesbury Barnet teammate Lia Radus helped the club win the Herts Under 13 girls competition through her 11:27 split, the second fastest among her age group. Further adding to the club's success, Jessica Hurley was a member of their winning Herts Under 15 team.
The Championships also included individual 1500m races for the Under 11 age group. Radus' sister Maayan, 9, came first in the combined Middlesex and Herts girls' race.
Barnet sprinter Daniel Gubbuy, 15, set a 100m PB of 12.2 in the Eastern Young Athletes' League Plate Final at Cambridge.
October 4
Nathaniel Lane, of Cardiff AC, won the Welsh M35 10K Road title in Swansea in a season's best time of 32:11. His performance also moved him into the lead in the 12-race Run Wales Series 2013, with just one race remaining.
October 25
Richard Goodman has made a triumphant return to competition in his first race since 2011. Competing for Shaftesbury Barnet in the first fixture of this season's Metropolitan Cross Country League at Woodford, Goodman recorded 24:25 for the 8000 m course, 35 seconds clear of the next finisher. Goodman, a freshman at St Mary's University College Twickenham, said, "I was forced out at a fast pace, but I went with it and found myself at the front of the field after two laps. I was impeded by the tail-enders on the final lap of what was a narrow course. But on finishing my main feeling was relief and delight at finally being back injury-free and competing."
November 8
Athletics journalist Mel Watman, and disabled sport pioneer the late Sir Ludwig Guttmann, have both been conferred the highest honour that the country bestows on its contributors to athletics. They joined seven other names inducted into the England Athletics Hall of Fame in a ceremony at the NEC Birmingham last month.
The England Athletics Hall of Fame was launched in 2008 and has now honoured 62 people who have made an outstanding contribution to the sport. The only previous Jewish honouree was Harold Abrahams in 2009.
Ludwig Guttmann, a distinguished Jewish neurosurgeon, came to England in 1939 on fleeing from Nazi Germany. At Stoke Mandeville Hospital he revolutionised the treatment of patients with spinal injuries through his belief that sport was a vital component of physical, psychological and social rehabilitation. He instituted the Stoke Mandeville International Games in 1952, which went on to become the Paralympic Games. In 1961 Guttmann founded the British Sports Association for the Disabled and he was knighted in 1966. He died in 1980 aged 80.
Professor Guttmann's vision has led to today's thriving sport, with 4,302 sportsmen and women from 164 countries participating in the 2012 Paralympics. Guttman's daughter, Eva Loeffler, was appointed Mayor of the London 2012 Paralympic Games athletes' village, and appropriately she was presented with her father's award at the ceremony.
Mel Watman, who was featured in these pages last year ago as a "JC Legend", has been writing on athletics for 60 years. Already contributing articles to Athletics Weekly while still a schoolboy in 1954, he became its editor in 1968, fulfilling his life's ambition. He saved up two weeks' leave from his RAF national service to report on the 1960 Rome Olympics, and has reported on every Olympics since. He has produced more than 30 books including “The All-Time Greats of British Athletics" and five editions of the Encyclopaedia of Athletics, and has possibly written more words on athletics than anyone else. His colleagues recognised his exceptional achievements by electing him as Honorary President of the British Athletics Writers' Association. His induction into the Hall of Fame is further recognition of his status as the country's outstanding athletics writer and historian over the last 50 years.
Watman was presented with his award by the 1964 Olympic heroes Robbie Brightwell and Ann Packer-Brightwell. Watman said, "I have been so privileged over the years to have reported on and documented the wonderful sport of athletics. It is still hard to believe that I have been chosen to join a group of people who include so many of my heroes."
November 8
Nathaniel Lane, 37, recorded 71:21 in the Cardiff Half Marathon to win the Welsh M35 Half Marathon title. The race was the last in the 12-event 2013 "Run Wales" series. Lane's performance meant that he retained, for the second year, overall victory in the series.
November 15
Shaftesbury Barnet all-rounder George Grant, 15, raised his pole vault best by 16 cm to 3.51m at the Jim Day Memorial Event at Carshalton. His performance moves him to 35th on the UK Under 17 list, with all but three of those above him also being older than he is.
November 22
David Stone, 11, placed fourth among the 759 runners taking part in the Battersea Park MoRun. Stone completed the 5 km event in 17:26, 92 seconds ahead of the next placed runner aged under 20. Stone's Shaftesbury Barnet team-mate Lia Radus, 11, placed 19th in the London Youth Games cross-country championship at Parliament Hill.
November 29
Richard Goodman showed that he is back to his best with a storming performance in the European cross country trials at Liverpool. In his first year in the Under 23 age group, Goodman placed fourth overall, second Under 23, in the 9.8 km Great Britain & Northern Ireland team selection race. Goodman finished in 29:11, 24 seconds behind overall winner Andy Vernon and seven seconds behind U23 victor Jonathan Hay, and now goes on to contest the European U23 championship in Belgrade on December 8.
Goodman said, "Conditions were perfect and the pace was fast from the start. Andy Vernon broke away from the field early on and I found myself at the head of the chasing group. My main aim was to demonstrate form and secure a place on the team, and after what amounts to almost two years blighted by injury, I'm very happy to have achieved this goal."
December 13
Richard Goodman ran a solid race to help Great Britain and Northern Ireland secure team gold medals in the European Under 23 Cross country Championships in Belgrade. Goodman finished 21st in the 8 km event in 24:41, behind race winner Pieter-Jan Hannes of Belgium (24:02) and first British finisher Luke Caldwell (24:13). The race was held over a fast, flat course consisting of one short lap of 500 m followed by five laps of 1500 m.
Goodman said, "I wanted to avoid going off too fast, but still to keep in reasonable contact in the opening laps and then move up. Everyone was tightly bunched during the first two laps, and there was a lot of jostling and people were falling over. I didn't have it in the legs to achieve everything I wanted, and my moving up the field never really happened. But it was definitely the fastest and most tightly packed race I have ever run in, and I see it as a good start to my Under 23 and senior career.”
Goodman is now flying to Kenya for six weeks of altitude training, before returning to continue his studies at St Mary'sﾠUniversity College,ﾠTwickenham and to compete in the British Universities cross country championship.
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