2013 European Cross Country Championships

Good afternoon. Welcome to our final athletics coverage of 2013. We

should go out in style because the cross-country championships have

always been a happy hunting ground for the British team. We are in

friendship Park on the banks of the River Danube in Belgrade. The races

start in ten minutes. Get in touch with us by social media. Joining me

in the studio are Paula Radcliffe and a young athlete who is very much

on the up. Bouncing around on the start line.

Raring to go. She is so strong. Will this be another great day for Jessic

Judd? Under two minutes. What a champion.

Welcome to both of you. What are your reflections on what was an

amazing summer for you? I was so happy with how it went. 2013 will

all be stick in my memory. European Championships and the Diamond

League. I have just finished my A-levels. This has all happened so

quickly. It was brilliant. You were running in Moscow waiting for your

results. Are you at university now? I have deferred my place until next

year. You're surprised all of us, to be honest. How surprised were you? I

was surprised. I did not expect to run our personal best in my first

race over 800. That was surprising. I was happy enough to get picked for

the European Championships. It was surreal. It was a brilliant

experience. I was lucky to have done it. What did you make of it, Paula?

It was a perfect breakthrough season. We saw the Snowball effect

of one race boosting your confidence. She went in with nothing

to lose. She could race against seniors who did not want to get

beaten by this little 18-year-old. It is the tactical awareness which

is exciting for the years to come. Especially in Birmingham. If you

look back at last summer, but was the one which was more special to

you? I think so. People expect me to go out from the front. My parents

were concerned when I was sitting in. I don't know what came over me.

I had some confidence that I was going to be able to push through. I

was shocked. You had hoped to run in Belgrade, but you had a setback?

Your Mac I fell over in training a few weeks ago, so I could not do the

trials. Everything is going OK now and I am trying to get back into it.

It is a setback, but the real aim is next summer.

You have not retired. How are your injuries? I don't no if I ever will

retire. Hopefully there never will be a time when I'm not running as a

distance athlete. I am able to do back-to-back sessions now. I don't

have a timetable for competitions. When I get to the point where I feel

that I can compete at the level I want to, then I will do so. Until

then, I'm just happy that my foot has recovered to enable me to have a

normal life to run around with the kids and train as much as I want to.

Thinking about today, this has always been a strong championships

for the British team. Last year, all 36 members of the British team came

back with medals. There are some strong teams out there. You had an

interesting experience in Budapest last year, Jessica. I did not

expected to be so-called. That was the problem. I got hypothermia. To

win team gold was amazing. I was always good at cross-country when I

was younger. I was happy to be selected. You were not only podium.

Noel! I had worked so hard! In this disappointing. I came round in the

medical tent to the sound of the national anthem. But I got my medal

later in the day. We can see the girls there are freezing. You had

hypothermia. I was crying. I was so upset not to be there. We all ran so

well. There was a great team atmosphere. To be with team members

is what you want. Let's head to the commentary box. Steve Cram is

waiting to describe the women's race. We're looking for filler

Britain to go for three in a row. No one has ever won three in a row. She

has been ill the season. I think Gemma Steel has a great chance. How

strong is the field apart from Fionnuala Britton? It is very

strong. Ana Felix from Portugal is up there. These athletes know each

other well and have exchanged medals over the years. Fionnuala Britton

has another couple of weeks to get more fit, but I expect it to be

tough. I think it will be open. Half a dozen woman will come into this

thinking they could win this. Gemma Steel is in the form of her life.

This is quite straightforward cross-country course? It is. Paula

Radcliffe and myself kind of wins at things like this. We like to see

more mode. This is a typical European event. Lots of laps. You

have to be careful about how you judge your effort. This will suit

the track runners. The real cross-country runners will have to

make their strength tell on a course like this. No hills, now over to

break up the rhythm too much. -- nowhere. Obviously you don't like

the course? It's not that I don't like it, I think it's boring and it

doesn't show the strength and beauty of cross-country running. There are

no hills and hardly any mode. There is the token log to jump over but

that is it. It would be more appealing with a more interesting

course? Absolutely. This is not just a track race transferred onto a flat

park. There are things which test the field. People have different

techniques and they can ensure their strengths. This is not really a

course that tests that. Gemma Steel to look out for. We have the start

list up on the screen, so that means we are nearly ready to go. Paula,

you need to hotfoot it to the commentary box! I will get these

stopwatch on her! The British team led by Gemma Steel will be very

strong. Stephanie Twell is there. The French will be very strong. We

have already mentioned Felix. There is Fionnuala Britton as we just go

down the start line. Inevitably, she is the one that they will be looking

to. Can she possibly make it three in a row? Belete from Belgium might

also figure in this. Anyone of half a dozen woman might fancy their

chances your. Big opportunity. Some shining. Temperatures have picked up

over the last few days. There was snow on Friday when the British

athletes arrive. They were relieved to make it out on Friday because of

the travel disruption yesterday. Hopefully the British women will

perform well. Last year, every single member of the British team

right through the age groups, men and women, one and medal. Either

individual or in the team event. There is a short lap. The women here

have one of those to negotiate. Eight kilometres. Five miles on this

flat course. Almost a track runners Paradise. It has not really cut up.

There was some concern that that might happen on the earlier races,

but it has held firm. The first lap is a chance to feel your way into

it. All these athletes will of had a chance to have a really good look at

the course. There are no hills on this at all. There are a couple of

token logs for them to negotiate. That is all. The early leader is

well-known to European athletics fans. There is the log. I have seen

bigger logs where I live. Not exactly a big barrier. It is still a

good test of injury and is. One which brings together the complete

mix of endurance running. We have marathon exponents in here. We have

tracked specialists. We have the five kilometre and tentacle on that

track runners. And those for whom cross-country is where the shine

best. Grovdal is the early leader. The others know her well but are

happy to let Tir Gofal stop Paula Radcliffe has happily joined me

know. -- happy to let her go. Paula Radcliffe has happily joined me

know. It took me a while to get your. She is pushing on and getting

a clean run at the course. The others are bunching up. It is not

believe the type of course were deemed to be able to get a clear run

at the ground in front of them. Aside from the small logs they have

to jump over, that is the only thing they need to watch out for in terms

of underfoot conditions. The rest of them are just getting a chance to

feel out the course and see where Fionnuala Britton is. This year, she

has come off those difficulties. She had to pull out of the world

championships in Moscow and then went to France and was fairly

comparably beaten by her French competitor. It is a longer course

here. The extra distance will work in Fionnuala Britton's favour. She

is definitely stronger over a longer distance. Grovdal is the early

leader. Julia Bleasdale, great to see her

back. The British team. Full of experience. She has had a fantastic

Olympic aims, of course. Lauren however, she had a great indoor

season last year -- Lauren Howarth. The top four count towards the team

race. They will be plenty of rivalry, even within the British

team, to get into the counting positions. Gemma Steel won the trial

very comfortably. She ran really comfortably in the trial. We pick

the teams from that. We can see Lauren Howarth white behind Gemma

Steel. Steph Twell is right up there as well. And there is the log that

they have two jump over, which is not very high. And it is not really

test them too much. But it is good to see how well the British team are

performing. They are definitely coming into this with a strong shot

at winning the team title and hopefully an individual medal as

well. Grovdal, she is a past champion in the junior ranks here

and she certainly feels that for her, and even pace from the start is

what suits her running and she is sticking to her plan and the others

are realising there is a little bit of a gap that they need to work to

close up. It is Felix at the front of the group with two art of France

on her shoulder. Many of these have won medals in the

past as well. Some of these are having that somebody is having a

problem with typing errors. It should be Grovdal in front. Already

things are spreading out because of what Grovdal is doing. Often in

these races, you will see a fairly big loop in the early stages but it

is spreading out. Gemma Steel looking comfortable. That lead is

diminishing fairly quickly, the Norwegian, the main contenders will

be cutting up in the next half mile or so. That's catching up. The

Norwegians do have a strong pedigree in cross-country running.

Definitely, that gap is closing now and we can see that the main

contenders are coming back in with Fionnuala Britton running on the

shoulders of Gemma Steel and Julia Bleasdale. Grovdal has realised now

that the better tactic is to allow them to come to her and sit back in

that group. It'll be interesting to see what the group do. Once you

chase, you are in a rhythm and you might not want to be the leader.

Felix has been leading the chasing pack and now finds herself leading

the race. Duarte looking pretty good. Steph Twell just off that

leading group but that group has pulled well away from the rest of

the field. As we look a bit further down. Of course, the Irish women are

not as strong as last year. Missing a couple of their top runners. They

did so well last year. But I think the British women starting today

very much the favourites for the team gold medal and let's hope that

Gemma Steel can stay involved with this top four because the gaps are

starting to appear and she really needs to knuckle down. She has been

in good form, the form of her life. She has been racing in the United

States and looked great in the trials. She was pretty dominant air.

Marathons beckoning for Gemma Steel as well. That strength from that

training can come to the four-year. She needs to be patient and stay in

touch. Yes, she may be is a more natural runner than a cross-country

runner. But she just needs to react a little bit quicker to moves when

they are made on the cross-country because you cannot allow yourself

the same gradual reaction as you can when you are racing on the road

sometimes. She is just losing a little bit head to the speed which

would show -- with which Duarte has. She is looking in great condition

this year. She already has a personal best at the half marathon.

It will be interesting to see if she wants to move to the marathon

watching can do there because I think she have the potential.

Duarte has been in fine form this year. Felix, the bronze-medallist

and silver-medallist from the last two years behind Fionnuala Britton.

She is working hard to stay with this group. But the longer she stays

with them, the more of a threat she becomes. It is good to see Julia

Bleasdale there as well. Lauren Howarth just behind the lead group

and then a big gap towards Steph Twell and the chasers. I think

Fionnuala Britton seems to be considering as much energy as

possible in these early stages while ensuring that she stays in touch.

She does not have a hugely fast finish but she did surprise a few

people with her result in the indoor Championships last year in

Gothenburg when she did really well to grab a medal in the 3000 metres.

She does have a turn of speed. At that but had completed -- or they

have completed three laps. When you are running round and you

have more laps to go, the attitude is important. Definitely. I think

that is another factor that we will maybe discuss tomorrow when we are

talking about the cross-country. You think about the strengths of

cross-country and track running and the more you make it laps, the

closer it is to track racing. But it can give you an opportunity to

learn. You do get the chance to learn the better route, the less

sticky mud, the better line up and down the hills, but here it is less

of a factor and it does become more about looking at split times. I saw

Gemma Steel looking at her watch. I'm not sure it is a type of

courseware that can help you. She has been racing so much on the roads

recently. Surely you just race it, you are surrounded by the big

names. It sounds well and good to say, I wonder what I did for that

lap but essentially, you are trying to win a medal. You have two gauge

how you are going, how you are feeling, you pick the right moment.

But is why I love cross-country racing. It is not like track racing

where it is often about splits and various laps where you can break it

down that way. This is pure reason, usually. Exactly. In my mind, there

is not much need to start a stopwatch at the beginning of a

cross-country race because times do not matter and that is one of the

beauties of cross-country. You run to your strengths and when you feel

good, you push the pace and try and do as much damage as you can. It is

about being more in tune with your body and how much you have left. And

mentally judging it right to get to the finish at the right time and

being able to throw in those surges which you are less likely to do on

the track just because you have that lap mark each time which tells you

the lap times. And it gives you more of a uniformity. That lead group is

full of medallists, Gemma Steel is a former Broadlands medallist two

years ago. -- bronze-medallist. Fionnuala Britton tending to win

this title for a third time. Pretty good crowds in Belgrade. What the

short lap does is allow the spectators to get a really good view

of the races. Julia Bleasdale working hard. We have not seen her

for a while. She has had a couple of problems and it is really good to

see her back in the British team and back running cross-country. She is

working hard to try and stay with that group. Yes, she has been

struggling with Achilles problems this year but it is good to see her

back racing and she has not given up. Every time the gap opens up, she

manages to close it and pull yourself back into the group. She

does not look easy or smooth but she is hanging in there. The further it

goes on, the more to her strengths it will play. She is a strength

runner. Duarte is now going to the front. Although she made the move

from the steeplechase up to the 5000 metres last year, she was bitterly

disappointed in Moscow that she was in one of the seats which went out

very slow and she said -- she stepped off the track and not having

qualified, not feeling that she had worked hard. She has gone into his

cross-country season really aiming to do well. She will be aiming to

lead a fairly strong French squad. I think Britain leading the team race

though. I thought the French would be a bit of a threat. They have not

been racing significantly as a group. I think we will just see the

names coming through. Yes, there is a really big gap from that lead

group of seven. Lauren Howarth was in eighth place last time we sure of

-- last time we saw. You mentioned Duarte, she has not yet look in 15

minutes for 5000 metres and I would suggest that even for a top-level

cross-country runner from a TrackBack round, but is OK but you

would expect something a little bit better. Yes, she did only make the

move to 5000 metres this summer and I think she actually qualified for

the World Championships in the race in Paris that Steph Twell

essentially lead everyone out to get the qualifying time and then

unfortunately just misted herself. It was such a slow race in Moscow,

Duarte was not able to do that. She has a British coach. She does have a

cross-country background through that. In the summer, she said when

she started working with him, it was the first time she had been

introduced essentially to true endurance, cross-country sessions.

And things like the two mile repeats. That, I think, is giving

her added strength because before that, yes, she was doing the

steeplechase but I do not think she was doing the injuries that she has

started to do this year. She is certainly demonstrating a different

style of running to what she has done in the past. She would never

have attacked this early on. Gemma Steel is realising she has to cover

that move. It is earlier for Duarte. Britain are dominating at the

minute. Spin in third place at the moment. -- Spain. It is interesting

that Duarte is making this big push and has completely broken up that

group. Belete tried to come with her but I think she is not in great

form. Gemma Steel will have two tried to keep plugging away and

close that gap. Who knows? Duarte might struggle on the last lap. She

is taking herself away from the others. Of the list plenty of danger

behind. -- but there is plenty of danger. Duarte looks comfortable.

Gemma Steel is perhaps a bit more comfortable, but Duarte can be

deceptive. The lead is not getting bigger. I think Duarte looks like it

is hurting her. Her face is tense. The hurdling technique is not great

for Felix, even though the log is small. For me, Sophie looks like she

has put in more miles in training this year. She looks leaner and has

a lot more strength than she has demonstrated in the past. I don't

know. Every time the camera angle changes, it seems that the size of

the gap changes. Grovdal has run a really good race, but looks as

though she is tiring. Belete is definitely drifting backwards in

that group. The others are moving forward. The sound of the bell

signals the fact that there is just 1500 metres to go. Gemma Steel is

about five seconds behind Sophie Duarte of France. The challenge

behind her will come perhaps from Gemma Steel, but Fionnuala Britton

and Felix of Portugal is not far away. Fionnuala Britton looks as

though she is not able to go with Felix who is closing down on Gemma

Steel. The Frenchwoman is looking strong. If anything, that gap is

getting bigger. Gemma Steel worked hard to stay with her, but that is a

good five second gap. And now Felix looks like she will put Gemma Steel

under pressure for the silver. She needs to keep maintaining that

pace. Hopefully she will be able to get information from her team about

how the gap is closing behind her. But Duarte will grow in confidence.

She knows that the gap is building and she is getting closer. I think

Gemma Steel knows that Felix is causing. She needs to maintain

focus. The team race is one which Britain got wrapped up in with Gemma

Steel, Stephanie Twell and the others. Gemma Steel once this silver

medal. Fionnuala Britton is not far away. She is starting to pick up.

Closing the gap. Gemma Steel looks as though she is OK for an

individual medal. She will want to make it silver rather than bronze.

And here is the battle for the back. Lauren Howarth and Stephanie Twell

are there. The top four from each country can't for the team race. The

team race is not sewn up, but I think they are clearly away and

hopefully Lauren and Stephanie can work together to build themselves

are few places up so that their individual results are higher. For

Gemma Steel, it is about trying to hold off Felix. She is worried about

Fionnuala Britton closing on her as well. Finola Britain looks very

tired. They are into the last few hundred metres here. Sophie Duarte

of France has a good clear lead. And it will be a very welcome gold medal

for the Frenchwoman. That a lot of work into this cross-country season.

Gemma Steel eating in again, trying to get rid of the Portuguese athlete

who has finished in the last three for the last couple of years. Finola

Britain at the moment is out of the medals. Sophie Duarte pushed on, not

far after halfway. Gemma Steel just starting to get a little bit of

daylight. Felix maybe not got the finish that we suspected she might

have. Gemma Steel trying to secure the silver medal. Sophie Duarte

France just has one more bend to blunt then she will be able to see

the finish line ahead of her. A couple of hundred metres to go.

Being cheered on by the crowds here. The battle for second place is still

being fought between Gemma Steel and Felix of Portugal. The two of them

locked together. Gemma Steel doing her best. We now Felix can be fast.

But in cross-country it is not just about effort. Gemma Steel is not

giving up easily. Duarte will have a comfortable win. But who will get

second place? Both athletes looking behind them. There is no danger

behind. They have moved right over to the far side. Gemma Steel getting

some daylight. Duarte will get the gold medal for France. A really good

performance. She takes gold. Gemma Steel of Great Britain takes the

silver medal after a real battle with Felix who once again has to

settle for a top three finish, but not the middle she would have

wanted. The early leader from Norway, Grovdal, comes in first. A

welcome return for Julia Bleasdale. Running well for Great Britain.

Second canter home. Then there will be a bit of a scrap for the minor

places. I would suggest Great Britain is looking really good for

the team race. That looks like Lauren Howarth just coming in using

some track pace to get herself ahead of her team-mate Stephanie Twell.

British athletes in the top 15 are our top four. Great Britain will be

confirmed as the winner of the Gold medal for the team race. No joy for

the Irish team with Finola Britain finishing out of the top three. But

she has had lots of difficulties. Before this race, we said it was

between five or six. The would've had chances. Some not performing

quite so well, but I think the likes of the experience we talked about of

Duarte, Felix, Belete and Gemma Steel coming to the fore. Great

Britain continuing with their success at these championships.

Everyone is fighting for their own little bit of personal glory. Great

Britain were dominant in the team race as we would have expected.

Silver medal for Gemma Steel. Gold for France, but from a British point

of view, what a great run from Gemma Steel. Brilliant to come second.

Probably not her most favoured of distance his. She showed great

determination to hold off Felix. Brilliant performance. A couple of

times, it looks like -- it looked like Felix had got her. Amazing

determination from Gemma Steel. It was brilliant, the way she held

her. It looks like she had beaten at one point. When she sprinted back

past, it was brilliant. The thing about Gemma Steel's running style is

she always looks like she's working hard. With a colour mattered to go,

you think probably Felix has got it. She just kept right there. Felix

probably has greater success on the track. You think that Gemma Steel

doesn't work like she is quick, but she has deceptive speed. She knew

that. She is very tough and will take deep and then dig the again.

She has shown that on the road. She has the potential for the future.

Fionnuala Britton coming in fourth. Just short of the fitness she has

shown over the last few years. Her coach knew that she was not in the

same shape as she was last year or there before. She knew she had her

work out. She had raised Sophie Duarte in Dunkirk a few weeks ago,

so she knew she had some work to do to close that gap. Sophie is a much

stronger athlete than she was at these championships last summer --

last year and even on the track in the summer. The British team did

really well. To have four runners in the top 20 is brilliant. The mens

rea is is off in half an hour. Now we will back over the junior men's

and junior women's race. Steve Cram describing the action. These

championships have provided so many medals for Great Britain in the

past. She was happy to sit in the group

early on. Good team backing her up. More than happy to just sit in the

group. Turner from the north-east in her first Great Britain vest. She

waited for a mile before she started testing her competitors. She was

careful early on. When she went to the front, the only athlete who

tried to cover the move was from Slovenia. For a little while, it

looked like she might give a million something to think about. -- Emelia.

She has had a great couple of years, coached by Mick Woods. There

was no doubt about the result once she was away. This is an athlete who

has so much strength. She knows that when choosing a sort of race like

this against athlete in her age group, she can run with authority.

It will be interesting to see how Gorecka can cope as she moves into

running up with more senior athletes. Toner looking like she

might have a chance of getting amongst the medals. Upfront, it was

Gorecka who took the gold medal for a second time. She took silver last

year and won gold in 2011. Utterly dominant when for Gorecka as

expected. The British team clapping. Gorecka leading the team. Lydia

Turner performing well in her first Championships. Great Britain

completely and utterly dominant. She is getting used to this now, on the

track and the country, medals galore. We will all be interested to

see as she moves into the senior ranks how well she does. Totally

dominant for the great British team. Sweden rather surprisingly getting

into the medals. They are not known for their cross-country abilities

but it is good to see them performing well. The gold medal for

the British team. And there they are, holding up the trophy. This was

the junior mens rea is. It was a cracking race. The sort of race you

love to see. Two former Kenyan 's, they had it pretty much their own

way right from the beginning. Great Britain had high hopes. But it was a

real sprint finish. Come a lake, this 1500 metre medal on the track

last summer, he thought he was going to get it but it was Kaya who came

through to win it, a great duel between the two of them. Davies just

missed out on a medal. Coming in fourth place. Fortunately, that --

unfortunately, that meant no medals for Great Britain. It was a good

individual performance for Jonathan Davies but a couple of others not

running as well as we might have hoped that they could. Great Britain

unfortunately just finishing out of the medals. France took the gold,

Russia the silver and Italy the bronze. A great performance from

Great Britain 's junior women. Especially Gorecka signing off from

her junior career. Yes, that was a fantastic performance. She was upset

last year not to win but to come back this year and be so dominant,

it is brilliant and the team as well, I think they have always been

quite strong but they really showed it today. What next for Gorecka? It

is the transition to the senior ranks. Absolutely. It feels as if

she has been a junior for ever. She is properly very excited and excited

about moving into the senior race. I am not sure that the under 23

section is really necessary at European level. These girls can go

from the juniors and compete Copley with the senior women. There is not

really that need for a transition. I think that is what the European

authorities are thinking. What we are seeing in the European

Championships is that so many of the girls could be figuring in the

senior race and I think it is dilutive in the strength of the

senior com petition a little bit. We will take a bit of a look back at

the 20 13th season now. Steve Cram gave us five to watch for the

season. This is how they get on. That's how they got on.

He was described as the future of the event. He signed for the San

Francisco 49ers, choosing a different path and a great career in

the NFL. Jack Green had a very difficult year. But he showed what

was likely to come from him. He will want to put 2013 behind him. Plenty

of injuries but that talent is still there. Johnson Thomson learned so

much alongside Jess Ennis at the Olympic Games. A great long jump

year for her individually and then she went to the World Championships

in Moscow and finished in fifth race, not too far off the medals.

She should have a great platform in 2013. After his breakthrough, Adam

Jimmy Lee had everyone excited about his 2013 season. It did not start to

well but Moscow, he really came the fore, running under 20 seconds for

200 metres, just outside the British record. Perhaps just a taster of

what is to come. And for Jessica Job, it could not have gone any

better, winning the European team champion ships. She followed that up

by winning the trials over 800 metres and running under two minutes

for the first time. Three out of five ain't bad. 60%, Steve, that is

on the borderline. I am claiming 80%. I could not figure that one

out, going to play in the NFL. Good luck to him. And Jack got injured as

well. The other three had outstanding seasons. Yes, the one I

was particularly pleased about, Jessica, that was an easy one, I

knew she would have a great season, but I think Adam was the? . It was

whether or not he could continue to build. We have seen him run so well

over 100 metres but that performance over 200 metres in Moscow was

thrilling and I think everyone is very excited and rightly so about

his prospects going forward. He ran under 20 seconds in the semifinals

but he backed it up with a very strong run in the final. Yes, this

board, you know, Jonathan, it is not just about times, it is about being

a competitor -- this bought. You can go into major championships and

produce your best form it is, not the worried about the big names and

reputations. That is what I like about him. He has a great attitude

and he is a good competitor. You need to have the times, obviously.

You need to be able to content but I think he is someone who has a big

future ahead of him. A big future ahead of him this year. He has a

chance to win at a major champion ships. Hopefully he will have a good

year. Who will be sitting in this chair where Jessica is sitting now

next year? That is difficult. We have had a couple of years with

Olympics and World Championships will stop next year is interesting.

You can have real youngsters who are not on the radar. You have the

Commonwealth Games. I think one of our most exciting athletes Morgan

Lake is someone who might have the opportunity to go to the

Commonwealth Games. Maybe not in terms of winning medals, but people

who might use 2014 is a big stepping stone towards Rio de Janeiro. There

was no Jess Ennis in the World Championships last year. Thompson

Johnson stepped up to the plate. She definitely did. You saw her aims and

her goals change as the competition went on and she saw what she is

capable of. I saw her the following day and she was really disappointed

not to get a medal. At if she had been asked that the start of the

jumping gypsy she was happy with that, she would have been over the

moon. Dad Championships. She is capable of setting her sights

a little higher now. How do you think she will respond to having

Jess Ennis alongside her? Will she feel that she has lost her place in

the spotlight? I think she will get strength from it. She looks up

hugely to Jess Ennis and I think she likes having -- having her there.

The girls to go through so much together, there is a huge

camaraderie and a huge amount of respect amongst them. I think they

do support each other and help each other through it. She has learned a

lot over the years. I think she will relish the fact that she has her

competing alongside Herbert also want to close the gap and be able to

beat here. Also there are some of the changes within UK Athletics.

There was talk about your coach, Jessica, working with a consultant?

Yes, it can only be positive. We will have to wait and see what

happens. You have an official hat now, Paula. Yes, I am an official

mentor and I am helping out. Essentially it is something that I

have probably done for a few years with a certain number of athletes,

just helping out and looking over their training and mentoring. This

is just maybe a little bit more, trying to give back to a sport that

I think has helped the a lot. And help people make that transition if

they are trying to make a transition from the track to the marathon and

looking at the right kind of areas but I think this year is going to be

a kind of settling into those roles situation and seeing what we can do

to help button achieved. The other interesting announce went is that

announcement is there is no replacement for the head coach. What

do you make of that? I think that is definitely something different and

something that they will need to be nicking adjustments towards. Whether

Neil Black will pull things together remains to be seen. The most

important thing is that you have people who really understand the

different areas so you really have someone who understands endurance,

they have to make sure they do the same in the sprints and the other

events. It is a big weekend coming up next weekend for the BBC. Mo

Farah is in the mix for the Sports Personality of the Year. But is

coming up in a weeks time. Virginia Wade has won the most

significant victory. Our sports personality of the year goes to two

people, Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean. Nigel Manson Williams. --

Nigel Mansell wins. Bradley Wiggins. The most iconic trophy in sport.

to catch up with the under 23 races which happened a little earlier on.

to catch up with the under 23 races Steve Cram describes the action.

Again, Great Britain with high hopes. Charlotte Purdue, a welcome

return. Charlotte, hopes. Charlotte Purdue, a welcome

to get to the front and was followed up by a very strong British team.

to get to the front and was followed They are forcing the early pace in

December 23 race. -- under 23 race. There is the tall figure of Terzic.

Hassan possibly could have gone into the senior race and contended that

as well. Charlotte Purdue did her best. The team was packing well

behind her. Britain completely dominant team

wise. It was a question of whether or not Charlotte Purdue could take

the gold medal. And for a while, it looked like Terzic had started to

struggle. But Hassan was always looking the most comfortable.

Charlotte Purdue will always scrap and fight as much as you can. There

was a late surge from Terzic. She is always strong in the last 500

metres. But no doubt about the winner. Hassan Priddy dominant in

the end. It is great to see Charlotte Purdue leading the most

dominating field. In the men's race, it was interesting to see how the

British men were going to fear. Considered to be a pretty open race.

The winner from Norway was not in the sort of shape he was last year.

Dewi Griffiths of Great Britain set a lot of the early pace. Callum

Hawkins, the Scottish athlete, was well in there as well. The British

men were never too far away from the leading group. It was a case of

whether any of the British men could really get in there to content for

an individual medal. Called well, who is based in the USA, was never

far away from the lead once it all settle down. Peter Gagan Hannahs is

the -- Hannas is looking really strong. Hannes took gold for

Belgium. Then there was a real scrap on for the minor medals. Home crowd

really had something to cheer about. No doubt about the gold. You

can CD scrap was going on behalf of it. -- you can see the scrap. Callum

Hawkins was in seven. Dewi Griffiths hung on for 16th place, so Great

Britain took the gold medal in the team race. We were not sure how the

British men would do. No individual medals. That was left to Hannes. His

second gold medal of the season. One on the track and bile in the

cross-country. There is confirmation. Ukraine just pipping

France for the silver medal in the team race. More success for Great

Britain. Turning out to be yet another good day at these European

Cross Country Championships. Earlier, we saw the women's race

medal presentation. Gemma Steel taking a very gritty silver medal

behind Sophie Duarte of France. And there they are winning the team

gold. Very impressive performance from the girls? They definitely went

in as favourites and are expected to bring home that gold. It is good to

see Julia coming back into form. And Stephanie Twell. The damage she did

with however many places she broke her ankle a few years ago and to be

back racing cross-country at full strength is really good. She is

looking to put on a Scottish vest next year. You got English

qualification for the Commonwealth Games? I didn't realise it at the

time. But it is really close. Hopefully I can be selected for

that. It is happening on the 2nd of June. I don't think there are trials

this year. We will just have to see. Hopefully I have done enough. Paula

Radcliffe and I have great memories of Manchester in 2002. I think

Glasgow will be great off the back of London. That was one of the

highlights of my career. It was so special. We were not lucky enough to

be able to experience that in London. A lot of those athletes will

have done and will come to Glasgow expect thing good friends and we

expect some strong performances. Let's look at some previous winners

for the men's race which is due to start soon. The Ukrainian athlete

has moved up to marathon so will not be taking part. The only returning

winner is Bezabeh, who of course was found with a bag of his own blood so

hopefully we will not see him performing so well today. Mo Farah

use that as a preparation for his track career. Is that you can live

outlook for running cross-country? Preparing to get ready for the

summer? I think so. Cross-country makes me tougher. I think it would

make anyone tougher, to be honest! I have has enjoyed doing that. It

gives you some endurance and hopefully will enable you to keep

going through the track season before you get tired. Paula, you are

talking earlier about how you run I feel -- you run by feel in the

cross-country race. There is no lap time. You have people who are doing

it just to keep winter interesting and to train for the summer. Then

there are others who race almost like children and judge their

efforts to get the finish line first. I think cross-country is

about testing people in different areas of the course were you know

you're stronger. Justly one-minute site being held up for the

athletes. The British contingent, you just saw them leaving the tent.

Andy has done well and I hope today is his day. It would be great to see

him get his moment. There hears, Keith Gerrard alongside Andy Vernon.

The Italian team are reasonably strong. I don't think they will

necessarily content. Builder might have some. -- Belgium might have

some successful stop now big names to dominate. It has not been the

sort of event where the Spaniards have targeted in recent years. The

men's race is ten colour matters. We have had a couple of foreigners

right at the very beginning. Not sure if that was any of the main

contenders. Perhaps some Italians. Not the way you want to start of ten

colour matters of cross-country. The French to the four early on. The

Brits sitting nicely in the pack. Hopefully they can negotiate the

first bend without much more pushing and shoving. The men do a couple of

short laps each and then five of the 1500 metre laps to make up the

distance. I think he's short laps will settle themselves in to fuel

their way in through the first 1200 metres or so. A lot of support out

there for the British team wherever they go. Supporters broke their

trips and give the British plenty of support. It is an event we do so

well at, so lots to cheerful stop just settling down through this

first few hundred metres after that little tumble at the beginning.

Thankfully everybody is up and into the running. This is a race which I

don't think there are any real favourites. Belgium have a good

strong team. I hope Great Britain do well here. A lot of experience in

our team. We mentioned Keith Gerrard. Tom Farrell, who ran so

well last year, as well as Frank Tickner. The women have always

dominated cross-country running. In the men, it has been a little bit up

and down in recent years. Once or twice the team have done well. If we

look back to the very early European Cross Country Championships, we had

a lot of success with John Brown. Then Mo Farah several years later in

his footsteps. It would be nice to see some step up now and really make

that move to medal here at the European Cross Country

Championships. Andy Vernon has said that he has pinpointed six guys who

are capable of getting a medal and he puts himself among them. It would

be great to see him do that. I am told that the plan is for Andy

Vernon to sit in and take it easy for the first few laps. He is going

to see how things will settle at the start. Bezabeh is now back after

serving his band. Andy Vernon just tucked into that leading group. No

need to really force the pace. The Turkish athlete has good track

pedigree. A couple of the good names will start getting up there seemed

to cover that. You want to see the juniors dominate and move through

the age groups. We have seen people like Stephanie Twell continue

through and take everyone with them through the age groups. That is what

you want to see. I guess we haven't quite seen that on the men's side.

Perhaps that was in essence by Reid tried to bring the European cost in

a in as an event so that you can see the European countries and

individuals being able to compete. On the men's side, I think it has

been more difficult. Hopefully we will see them come through and be

able to build more. It spills over to the marathon as well. We don't

quite have the strength that they did years ago. Talking about British

junior talent, or athletics fans were saddened to hear about the

death of Mark Sesay. Thoughts are very much with his family. It was a

shock. He will be missed. He was a great talent. He was fun to have

around. One of the real characters of British athletics. In the 1990s,

he was someone who was up there. Perhaps his senior career had not

materialise as we would hope. Very sad to hear of his passing. I have

been having a go at this log, saying it is pretty pointless having it

there, but he did not see it. You do not even have to jump it, it is not

that high at all. Just watch this. He just clips it and goes flat on

his face. I wonder if his spikes actually caught the board on the

side. They seem to have an advertising board lent against it.

It seemed like he dropped his foot a little bit too soon. He has lost a

fair amount of ground. He is back up and running in that group. He was

really pushing the pace on. And when something like that happens to the

lead, you have a decision to make. Bezabeh has decided to keep pushing

on. Abdi has won a couple of good races this season. But a long way to

go and Bezabeh deciding he wants to keep forging on. He will be a big

threat, Charlie, the Frenchman. This is where Andy Vernon needs to be

careful. He is on about 11th place at the moment. Just in that group

chasing. He was probably not expecting this at this early stage.

I think that is a little bit of what we have been talking about, the

rhythm of cross-country is so different. It does tend to ebb and

flow in little bit. You need to be ready to grab opportunities and make

opportunities when some thing like that happens. And that is exactly

what happened there. It just change the format of the race. Some of them

were looking around and others had decided it was an opportunity and

they were taking it and making something of it. Now we are seeing

three away and they are settling back into a rhythm now. Abdi looks

as if he is struggling a little bit to maintain that. I was having a

look at the ground to see had it churned up, we talk about the number

of laps that have been run on this course already today. I think it is

cold out there and it is hovering around freezing. You can see it is

slightly soft on the top but I would not say it is muddy or churned up. I

would not say they are having to deal with a much different course

right now than what the juniors dealt with at the beginning of the

day. Arikan trying to take the lead. Abdi in third place, he won a big

race in Belgium a couple of weeks ago. But you can see that Chadli is

not shore. This is a really early stage to try and win this. He is

coming back from his drugs ban. He did run pretty quickly in the summer

over 5000 metres. Arikan just gets back into the top four. They are not

sure. Arikan making their mind up for them. I think he will suffer for

this, or pay for this a little bit later on. He decided that he wanted

to close the gap. I don't know. I think he has done a pretty smartly.

I am just looking at Andy Vernon beading that chasing group,

hopefully he can keep working and get back to these three because they

do seem to have settled a little bit. Arikan is rocking and rolling.

But he has worked his way gradually back there. He is not letting that

gap to Bezabeh get too big. The French athlete did not feel he had

it to go with Bezabeh. I like what Andy Vernon is doing. I think it is

a wise move. But this is the one they have to worry about, he has

really gone off at the front and is moving away from the others. I have

seen him do this before. I think Arikan will suffer a little later

on. But the key thing is whether the Spaniard is going to be strong

enough to stay out there in front for the rest of the race. But is a

decent gap he has already. I think he looks very smooth. He seems to be

floating over the surface very relaxed. He is that style of runner.

Even when we saw some of his jewels with Mo Farah, he would always look

very relaxed. In Mo Farah 's face, you can see the years working that

much harder. But definitely, he looks comfortable and he is judging

this race pretty well. It is just now a case of whether Andy Vernon

can close the gap. You can see the teams going through, Belgium doing

really well, Spain are there. Tom Farrell for Britain in 12th place.

But Belgium are leading the team race pretty comfortable in. It is

well strung out. The early pace being set up by Arikan, before he

fell over the log, and he has worked hard to get himself back in it. But

they are 30 metres behind Bezabeh. He is looking really strong. There

is the chasing group. If these three can work together, they have to look

at the three ahead of them, that is the first target, get themselves

back involved with the chase for a medal and then if Bezabeh does start

to falter, the ground is starting to cut up slightly. It is not exactly

muddy cross-country but there is some better ground on the left. Yes,

we did see Julia Bleasdale doing that in the women's race as well at

one point. She drifted out to the left. They are looking for firmer,

faster running. I think Andy Vernon is looking for that. He did not want

to see a tough, heavy, hard going course. But they do need to work

together. We can see that grow one has not given up on closing that gap

down towards Bezabeh. Dash-macro one.

It is good to see Tom Farrell so far up there. He came out at the

beginning of the year and had an injury and was pretty disappointed

in the cross-country is over in the US not to perform as well as he

wanted to, so it is good to see him bounce back and perform well today.

He was just outside the medals he -- last year. He ran really well. His

racing over in the United States has not been as impressive as it was

last year. But he seems to be finding some impressive form. But

there are loads of big gaps there. This early pace is perhaps not what

was expected. They are not quite halfway, approaching the halfway

point. This is the battle for silver and bronze. They have two keep that

group insight. They are working hard. It is amazing, once the gaps

start to appear, you say about covering moves, if you get in a

group that moves away, you can work together and it is funny how the

chasers cannot get to you. You have got to be really careful about

letting the race developed in the early stages in such a way that you

cannot get it back. Exactly, I think that is the thing with cross-country

races, you can make a gap and the gap can feel so much bigger because

there are so many turns and obstacles and things in the way. And

it is not like a track or the open road. You need to really be able to

stay on people and to keep within, not within touching distance, but be

able to stay as if there is a little bit of string holding on to the

person in front. It is easier to break those gap is.

Still three laps to go, the best part three laps to in this men's

ace. There is the battle for silver and bronze. Arikan is certainly

doing the best at the moment. Andy Vernon now in seventh place, seeing

the medals just move away from him at the moment. The British men, I

would suggest, it is Belgium leading the team race, Spain well up there

as well, and Great Britain will have to do well to get amongst the medals

because France are packing quite well. There is your second, third

and fourth. The leader, Bezabeh, well ahead of these three. And these

three are quite away in front of the chasing group. Abdi is in bronze

medal position at the moment. chasing group. Abdi is in bronze

plenty of running left in this race. chasing group. Abdi is in bronze

through. But those top three certainly looked as if they are

running strong to me. Yes, I think chart dash-macro to

running strong to me. Yes, I think is struggling to close that gap. --

Chadi. Andy Vernon had done quite a lot of work at the

Chadi. Andy Vernon had done quite a pack of three trying to close that

gap and now he has drifted to the back of that. We are seeing the

Spanish athlete actually moving the best of all and he has the best

chance of moving up. The Belgians are looking very strong. I think it

is Belgium from Spain and possibly France in third position in the team

race. Tom Farrell just going through. It is really important.

Every single place counts. But I think Spain, France, Belgium and

Britain, with Belgium very much leading the team challenge, it is

going to be between those other three teams for silver and bronze.

And the Spanish athlete we saw, that is a big run from him. He has moved

through very quickly, coming from a very long way back. He has already

moved into fourth place. Moving onto the shoulder of Chadi of France.

The local coverage is very much concentrating on Arikan and Abdi. I

am just wondering why we have not seen Bezabeh for a little while. But

the fact that Spain are leading the team race, there is the leader,

Bezabeh, a long way ahead. 50 metres at least. But I think that there is

still a chance for others to come through and maybe have a chance at

picking up the minor medals. Arikan still working hard. Andy Vernon not

too far away. He is in seventh place at the moment. You will definitely

see that the guys as they are chasing, they will gain in

confidence from that start, moving through. That is where on a multiple

lap course, it can get a little bit confusing. The director did not show

Bezabeh ahead for a while because he was so far ahead. When guys have

moved through the field and they start to pick people off, they need

to make sure they have enough information from the coaches to know

that they are not in the lead, they are in second. As a Bay is quite a

way ahead. Arikan knows that he is working on Bezabeh and that is why

he is continuing to keep pushing and to work hard, even though he has a

comfortable gap ahead of Abdi in third. I think he is coming under

pressure from the guys behind him and they are working together as

well. That makes it a tougher task. He is looking strong at the front,

never really been any threat at all where the title was going. We will

not sure what type of form he was bringing to these championships. He

was the winner in 2009, when he got the better of Mo Farah. But he still

has two laps to go. He looks most serene out there in front. Bezabeh,

you can have your opinions and I do not think that any of us, Paula was

talking about his drugs ban, but big controversy in Spanish athletics, he

was part of it, and he has served his ban and he is back. And he looks

to be running as well, if not better, than ever. Just watching

them go through. There is Arikan. Britain have really got to knuckle

down to get a medal. They have a chance of a medal in terms of the

team race. They really have to work for every position. It is good to be

pretty close. Ever possession they can't pull back really counts. --

position. You want to make sure that when you cross the line, you

maintain your position. You don't want that to be taken away from you.

We had an update on the course after these three laps Britain were six

points behind France. Keith Gerrard and Adam Hickey need to work hard to

pick up some places. He was outside the top 20, but looks as though he

is doing a good job of picking up. You just have to be aware of every

other athlete and the teams that are in contention. You are running your

own race, but you would be gutted to learn that you would have had a

medal in your pocket if you had passed one more athlete. That is why

it is important to get information from members of the team on the

course. The candour running totals in their head and they know for you

are in the team standings. The biggest thing is that individually

you're trying to get the best position you can for yourself. That

all adds together to make the team event. If there is one person ahead

of you that you think you can catch, then you will give everything you

can't able to close that gap. Just looking at the splits for Bezabeh,

he has hardly slowed. For: 21. -- 4:21. Spot the track specialist

because times don't matter! That is the first time I have seen him look

behind in this race. He looks very relaxed and like a metronome. Those

gaps are growing and growing. Know there will be confusion as he starts

lapping runners in front of them. We have been given great information

about the team race. Most athletes are on the fifth lap. Spain and

Belgium look as though the gold and silver is between them. Britain and

France battle back out for the bronze medal. Bezabeh of Spain with

a good lead. A really insurmountable lead I would suggest. Probably a

good 20 seconds. He is just 1500 metres from the title that he won in

2009. Big gap between second and the chasers. This is the battle for

bronze. We were talking about single points difference. Andy Vernon is

leading the British. It is really about the French. We would prefer

Charlie to finish in fifth instead of third. Hats off to him. He has

really rallied and fought back to keep himself in contention. They are

working together but still battling each other. That will push them

further ahead of Andy Vernon who is desperately trying to get back.

Arikan is rocking and rolling a little bug looking very strong. No

doubt about the fact that he will win a medal here. Bezabeh is the

leader. A long way ahead. It has not been the most competitive race at

the front, but from a British perspective Andy Vernon, do you

think he missed the chance? Looks as though the medallists are too far

ahead of him as he starts the final lap. I think he has run a good race.

If he had committed more when the gaps first opened up was the stumble

over the log and Bezabeh may be surge, he was slow to react. -- made

the surge. He did not have the confidence to react when he should

have done. Andy Vernon will perhaps have to settle for a top six

position. There is a real scrap for bronze in the team race. All of the

top three runners are ahead of Britain. It will come down to the

fourth position. The second-place winner ahead of Tom Farrell. --

second-place runner. Bezabeh came back this summer and ran pretty well

over 5000 metres. As good as he was before he served his two-year ban.

He is back now and is we taking the title that he won in 2009, ahead of

Mo Farah. Plenty of people will not be particularly enjoying his

performance year-to-date, but it has been a very dominant one. In a year

where perhaps Britain has dominated in distance running, it will be

interesting to see what happens next summer. Mo Farah is concentrating on

the marathon. There will be medals up for grabs in the track

championships in the distance events. This man, on the basis of

what has happened here today, will certainly be a contender. Very, very

easy victory. Went to the front at an early stage after Arikan set a

strong pace. When the Turkish athlete tripped and fell over the

log, he forged on and has not looked back since. At least metaphorically.

So, Bezabeh will win. Spain has such good pedigree. Gold medal for Spain

in the men's European Cross Country Championships. A long way behind for

silver. A real battle going on for bronze. Andy Vernon might still have

a chance. The British athlete is trying to get there. And get bronze?

It will be right to the line! I think Andy Vernon might have got

it! The photo has given it to Andy Vernon, or has it? Impossible to

tell from that angle. 400 metres to go, he was in sixth place. Goodness

me! Did he find something extra of there? Keith Gerrard just crosses

the line. It might be tight. We will have to wait to get confirmation.

Waiting for confirmation. We have our four men in. Have we nicked two

bronze medals? Perhaps Andy Vernon individually and also the team might

have sneaked in. Trying to do the maths and get some confirmation.

Have we just nipped in ahead of the French to take a bronze in the team

race as well? That just shows you. It is never over until it is over.

Medals can be won in the latter stages, even when you think it has

been decided. We hope Britain will get onto the podium. We had sort of

given up hope for the men. What a great finish from Andy Vernon. We

thought he was out of it. I missed that because I was in the left! I

think he will go away very pleased and proud of how he has done -- in

the lift. I think you might have got him on the line. To me, it looks

like he has got it. It is difficult to tell from a camera angle. The

team medal has gone to Great Britain. The women have stolen the

show today. They have been very strong. Medals across-the-board. The

junior women started it off with gold. It has just continued. I think

that is brilliant with the team standings. You would have liked to

have been out there running with the junior women. I love cross-country.

It is fun. It is hard work. It is disappointing I am not there, but

maybe next year. It was a nice way for Gorecka to sign of her junior

career. She goes out on a high. She can really look forward to moving

into the next age group up. I think she will be looking to sneak into

the team for the Commonwealth Games. The other gutsy run was in

the senior women's race from Gemma Steel. I felt that was brilliant.

Just brilliant. She is very tough and will always dig deep and fight

forever is spot. That is what you want to see and a cross-country

race. That is what we saw Andy Vernon doing there. In terms of the

women's performance overall, how does this translate onto our world

stage? We don't expect that we will see the British team go on and

duplicate that success in a world Cross country, but I think we can go

and perform. We have one individual medals in the past. Britain has a

tradition in cross-country running. If it is the right course, then it

is an area when we can win medals. We have had confirmation that Andy

Vernon did take the bronze medal. That is the last athletics action of

2013, so a good way to finish. He is following in the footsteps of John

Brown and Mo Farah. It will be good to see him build on that. He

suffered disappointment with an injury and was not able to compete

in 2012. It is good for him to finish 2013 on a high and build on

that next year. What will his aims be for next summer? Commonwealth

Games and European Championships. 5000 and 10,000 metres. So, that is

it for 2013. Not long to wait until 11th January four the great

Edinburgh run. Then we will head indoors. The international match

from Glasgow will be on 25th January. Then one of the top

athletics meetings on the indoor circuit in Birmingham. That is the

beginning of what 2014 looks like. If it is half as exciting as 2013,

we are in for a treat, ardent we? ! -- aren't we?!

Look at this. She gets it. 9.91, while! She is coming, she has made

it. Mo Farah is going to get there again. Yes, it was a good 2013, but

what a 2014. Let's start by talking about Jess Ennis Hill. Injured, an

injury which proved to be much more troublesome than we initially

thought. Yes, she could get out there and compete but she was not

able to compete at the level that she wants to be at and there was a

risk on competing on an Achilles that was weak. I think she made

absolutely the right calling wresting it. She is back in training

now. She is building back to where she wanted to be last year. Your

coach has been out into the fold, Tony Minner channel has been brought

back. How important do you think it is to have your coach as part of the

setup? I think it is really important. It helps in so many

levels. To have someone who knows what they are talking about and to

help you get through the competitions and the training

schedules and have a point of contact as well, it makes it so much

easier, I think. It was a difficult year for Jess Ennis. Also a

difficult year for Greg Rutherford. We can now go to Steve Cram to talk

about Greg Rutherford. He went to Moscow, perhaps should not have gone

with the benefit of hindsight. This is a big year for him. I think when

you have a year like he had in 2012, you become the Olympic champion and

for some people, they have had a lot of success in their career building

up to that. Jess Ennis would be a good example of that and you have

coped with it a little bit better. I think Greg perhaps struggled to come

to terms with what he had achieved and that had an affect on his

performances in 2013. The long jump, you will know, you have to be on top

form to come back and perform again and again. It became a little bit

more competitive this year. He knew that for the first time in his

career, the spotlight was on him. Maybe it was a year that he has come

to terms with our toll-free can get himself back together now and come

back. I am looking forward to the London Marathon. It is a fantastic

opportunity for Mo Farah to show us what he's capable of. I really

cannot wait. A lot of questions, is he going to be any good at it? I was

talking about it two or three weeks ago. His preparations are going

well. Of the marathon is so unpredictable and I think Paula

knows as well as anybody that anything can happen. He has the

ability but it is an event that can certainly come and bite you if you

are not careful. I think he will run really well but let's not too much

expectation on him. Indeed. Everyone can talk about potential at Marathon

and whether you can make the transition and oversee Mo Farah has

shown Howard standing he is at everything from 1500 metres up to

the half marathon but you never know until you do it. And he does not

know himself. Letting go in and enjoy the first one and feel it a

little bit and find out if the marathon is the distance for him. It

is very difficult to predict how your body will cope. He can go in

with all of the criteria that we think you need to have two make it

in the marathon and not make it. It really is about seeing how he does.

He definitely has a huge arsenal and he has grown up with the London

Marathon as well. He has run the mini marathon for years. It is

something he wants to perform well at and I think it will be exciting.

Let's chat a little about Christine. Maybe she is going to have Perri

shakes Drayton for company. The coach has perhaps said she will not

hurdle again and she will focus on the flat. Maybe that is the impetus

that Christine needs to take forward. I think it will give her

huge impetus. She does not need a huge amount of motivation. She is

very motivated herself. She is an expert at judging races to

perfection. But Perry has shown her talent on the flat. It is

interesting but it is sad that it has come around this way because of

that horrific injury that she is not able to hurdle. I think she is

brilliant. She really helped me after the 800 metres. I was really

upset after my heat and just to have her too hard and that gets you over

it. She is a great leader and a great role model for everyone. And

in terms of your summer? It is very exciting. It is going to be a tough

time but it is exciting. Thank you for joining us. This time next

Sunday, we will be getting ready for sports personality of the year.

Celebrating 60 years, that is on BBC One. All that remains for me to do

on behalf of the team is to wish you a Merry Christmas and a happy New

Year and we look forward to you joining us in 2014 for what we hope

is another brilliant year for athletics.