Two Mid Beds youngsters ran well in the South of England AA 3000m championships. Clifton schoolboy Ryan Parker got another bronze at Bedford on Saturday. On a windy day, nobody wanted to take the lead and the full force of the wind. This meant the first f

Two Mid Beds youngsters ran well in the South of England AA 3000m championships.

Clifton schoolboy Ryan Parker got another bronze at Bedford on Saturday.

On a windy day, nobody wanted to take the lead and the full force of the wind. This meant the first few laps were slow as the leading runners were hoping others would overtake and shield them from the wind.

The slow pace continued and Bedford and County athlete Ryan got frustrated and took the lead. He quickened the pace but at the same time was sacrificing himself.

Nearly all the runners had enough energy left to sprint for the finish - six did on the final bend and Ryan had to wait to find out if he had got third.

Samantha Cutler (shown above) from Stotfold was in the under-15 girls' age group and finished fifth with a time of 11:23.08.

This is the first time that she has competed in a 3000m race and did extremely well in a competitive field. She is training hard under the guidance of Alex Stanton and only has three more track races before she enters into the cross-country season.

Since winning the 1500m in the Beds county championships back in May, Sam has had glandular fever and is only just starting to get back to full fitness.