Herne Hill Harrier Mickie Boyle celebrated his inter-national selection last week by winning the Surrey veterans cross country event by more than two minutes at Petersham last Saturday.

Boyle clocked just over 32 minutes on the muddy hilly course and is approaching the form he exhibited when he collected his first international vest for England for the mara-thon distance some 15 years ago.

With Tony Harran finishing second in the county championships, Herne Hill Harriers had no trouble lifting the team race, as Rob Jacobs who delayed his holiday to Malta by a day to compete finished in sixth place.

Insurance against anything going wrong was provided by 50-year-old Steve Knight in 14th spot.

Steve opted for the over-40 team race in case one of the runners had a disaster, which meant he could not collect his own individual medal for finishing second in the over-50 category.

In the womens event, Claire Pauzers was in the lead when she felt the effects of a virus and had to drop out. Lesley Legget finished 11th, while Liz Souness was in the 30s.