St Leonards athlete triumphs in Manchester

Athletics ace Ross Skelton continued his electric form with an impressive victory in Manchester last weekend.
Ross Skelton won the 5,000m B race at the Sportcity Grand Prix in a personal best timeRoss Skelton won the 5,000m B race at the Sportcity Grand Prix in a personal best time
Ross Skelton won the 5,000m B race at the Sportcity Grand Prix in a personal best time

The St Leonards-based talent followed his course record run in the Hastings Runners Five-Mile Race a week previously by winning the 5,000m B race at the Sportcity Grand Prix.

Skelton pulled well clear of the field over the final lap to cross the line in 14 minutes and 20 seconds, smashing his personal best by 12 seconds.

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He said: “It went really well. I knew I was in good shape and looking to run a PB. There was a quality bit of field there and there were guys that had run quicker than me, but if I’m there at the front of the pack with about 400m to go, I know I can win.

“It was another good race. It normally takes about three races to find a little bit of form and I think I’m a little bit more race-fit now. That was my first track race of the year and track races are a lot more tactical (than road races) in some forms.

“The plan was to switch off in the first half of the race, let them do the work and leave it until about 400m to go.”

Skelton, who runs for the Brighton Phoenix club and is coached by Jon Bigg, expects to get into A races off the back of this win and believes there is plenty more to come.

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“Winning the race is great for me because it’s a nice stepping stone so now I can get to do A races and I will be stepping up against the best guys in the country,” he added.

“This race has set me up very nicely for a very good track season hopefully. I think I’ve got the entry standard for the senior men’s British Championships and there’s so much room to improve on.”

Skelton, who celebrated his 23rd birthday last week, is now getting stuck in to a block of training ahead of the Watford Grand Prix on Saturday May 28.

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