British Cross Challenge & European Cross Country Trials
Sefton Park, Liverpool – Saturday 26th November 2016
More than 2000 runners congregated in Liverpool’s Sefton Park on Saturday the 26th of November to compete at the European Cross Country Trials meeting, with all of them hoping to gain selection for the Great Britain team which will travel to Chia in Italy for the European cross country championships which will be held there on Sunday the 11th of December.
Harry Powell Kingston’s outstanding under 20’s distance, middle distance and cross country runner won his second representative vest at this Liverpool meeting having been selected to run for the Northern England team at the trials. Training partner Shaun Smith also ran in the under 20’s race where he represented his club Kingston upon Hull AC.
It was a very cold day in Liverpool where the Sefton Park course was wet underfoot and shrouded in fog.
The under 20’s race was contested over a 6700 metres course and a field of 118 athletes battled for supremacy and a chance to win a Great Britain vest.
2016 has seen 19 year old Harry Powell enjoy the most successful year of his athletics career. On the track he won both the 3000 metres and 5000 metres titles at the Northern Championships as well as winning the County 3000 metres championship and the County cross country title.
Harry covered the Sefton Park course in a time of 21:16s and he crossed the finishing line in 24th place.
18 year old Shaun Smith only returned to competitive action in July of this year having been sidelined through injury since the November 2015 Liverpool trials meeting. He has shown some good form recently at the England cross country relay championships and the Northern road relays event and he is looking to continue that progress over the next three months of the 2016/17 cross country season.
Shaun navigated the Liverpool circuit to finish in the middle places and he crossed the finishing line in a time of 22:38s.
