States-bound Williams produces her best display yet for Mansfield Harriers

Bethany Williams was one of 500 entries from across the country at Milton Keynes in one of only two specific junior events staged by the British Milers Academy.

But the highly talented teenager, who is soon to embark on a four-year scholarship to the USA, stole the show with a superb new best time of two minutes, 10.13 seconds in the 800m, which was agonisngly close to her long-term target of running sub-2.10.

Williams was boxed in at the start, but recovered to post a performance that ranks her as the number one in her school year for this distance.

Also running at Milton Keynes was teammate May Roberts, who was making her first appearance non the track for nearly a year. She looked good for the fiorst 1200m of her 1500m race before the lack of racing told and she tired to clock a time just outside five minutes.

Meanwhile Harriers fielded athletes in many open road races over the weekend, with the evergreen Maddy Collinge recording an amazing time for an over-65 of 49.47 minutes in the Woodhall Spa 10K. Three teammates also clocked best times as Ester Sinclair ran 55.18, Michelle Baxter 57.33 and Julie Winter 59.22.

In the Derby Ramathon Half-Marathon, Martin Fickling knocked more than a minute off his previous best when finishing 195th in one hour, 32.11 minutes.