Kristian and Olivia lead the way at the English Nationals contest

The event this year returned to the iconic venue of Parliament Hill, with its famed uphill start against a backdrop of the London skyline and a gruelling course through Hampstead Heath.

Standout runs on Saturday came from Kristian Imroth and Olivia Edwards. Kristian finished 14th in his first year in the U17s age group, crossing the line in 20.27, less than a minute behind the winner over the 6km course out of 356 athletes. He was also the first Herts athlete by some distance.

Kristian won the U15s title last year and will surely be a favourite for the U17s title in 2019. His main objective for the season, though, is the upcoming English Schools Championship at Leeds in March, where he will hopefully receive his England vest – to do so he needs to finish in the top eight.

Olivia finished 29th out of 467 runners in the U13s girls’ race over 3km and was just 52 seconds off first place. Like Kristian, she was the first Herts athlete across the line.

Her finish was the best-ever result for an U13s girl from D&T, and she’ll be looking for a similarly strong result at the English Schools event.

Thirteen other D&T runners lined up on the day. Also in the U17s men’s category, Jamie Ayres finished 88th and Angus Saunders was 276th.

Rhys Rowlands, in the U20s men’s section over a gruelling 10km, finished 162nd.

A team of seven ran in the U15s boys’ race over 4.5km. Michael Armstrong led the way home in 88th, followed by Freddie Truman-Williams (167th), Thomas Durrant (206th), Thomas Ashton (260th), Jack Raine (266th), Sam Burnell (275th) and Jamie Bailey (413rd) out of 504 runners.

On the girls’ side, Grace Birdseye, returning from injury, finished 134th in the U20s women’s race over 6km, while Lily Boden (249th) and Jessica Hill (310th) competed in the U15s girls’ event over 4km.