By Rob Cole

Tom Marshall helped the British mixed relay team to pick up another major scalp as they beat both Team Europe and Team America to win the Stewart International Relay Cup at the Great Edinburgh X-Country event.

The Cardiff AAC athlete had anchored the British team to the European title in his last international outing and this time led off the home quartet. He brought his side home in seventh place in a bunch finish to the opening leg.

Marshall handed over to debutant Alex Bell at the end of his 1k leg and she moved the team up to second place behind Team Europe. Adam Clarke stayed in the hunt of leg three and when he handed over to home favourite Laura Muir there was only going to be one result.

The Scottish star sped to the front and led the side home with a 3 min, 1 sec leg. The victory by the Mixed Relay squad allowed the British team to finish second in the overall match.

There were other good performances from the Welsh athletes. In the junior women’s race, Swansea Harrier Cari Hughes was the first Briton across the line in fourth as she built on her ninth place finish at the European championships last month.

First home for the British team in the junior men’s team was Wrexham’s Matthew Willis, who ran a superb race to place third overall. Having been the first British athlete home on his debut at last month’s Europeans he, too, enhanced his growing reputation over the country.

Willis began conservatively but worked his way into the leading group at the end of the first of four long laps. A group of seven, including Tom Mortimer and Jake Heyward was prominent in the early stages, but it was Willis alongside the eventual race winner, Haugen, Oumaiz, Kilrea and Gracia who pushed on from that stage.

As the bell tolled with one lap to go, excitement took hold as Willis pushed to the front of the field, stretching out the quintet which proved to be essential. Willis hung on in the closing stages for third place, one of his best cross country achievements to date.

“I’m really proud with how I did. I started off on the back of the main pack but as people started to drop off, I made sure I was still hanging onto the group of Europeans and Americans,” said Willis.
“Each of the laps it kept whittling down. When the bell went for the last lap it gave me a bit more to surge on. The two Europeans went back passed me at that point so I just had to hang on.

“I hadn’t been expecting to finish as top Brit both times (here and the European Cross) so it has been a real surprise. I would never have expected this after the trials in November.

“For the Europeans I just wanted to finish in the top half but to be the top Briton gave me a lot of confidence for this one.”