Alex Lennon and Zoe Gilbody triumph at English Schools Champs – AW

Large crowds travelled down to Ardingly Showground for the annual cross-country championships, with English Schools celebrating its 100th anniversary

Alex Lennon and Zoe Gilbody secured wins in the senior races at the 64th boys and 46th girls English Schools Cross Country Championships on Saturday (March 15).

The event, held at Ardingly Showground in East Sussex, attracted big crowds and saw people line up around the edges of most of the course.

Conditions were nigh on perfect for cross-country running and the ground was mostly firm around the undulating course, quite different to the treacherously greasy mud at the English National last month.

The senior boys race finished off the proceedings and Lennon once again stole the show, adding victory at English Schools to his wins at the Inter-Counties Championships (March 8) and National (February 22).

The 16-year-old was second for a large part of the race behind Owen Smith, but made his move in the latter stages and never looked back.

Lennon, representing Surrey, clocked 17:46 (6000m) and won by five seconds from Jack Sanderson, with Smith third in 17:52.

After his victory, Lennon spoke to AW and stated it was tricky to run around Ardingly Showground because of the short sharp hills that suddenly appeared after the long straights.

“Two weeks I told you that Parliament Hill was the toughest course I’ve ever done,” he said. “Now I want to take back that statement because Ardingly today was harder. Every time I was on a little bit of a flat, I was thinking’ this is chill’ and I’m enjoying myself.

Senior boys race (Gary Mitchell)

“Then, all of a sudden and out of nowhere, you get a big incline and you’re thinking ‘this is awful’. I was sitting in the top five and I have to say, Owen Smith was beautiful because he took the entire race on. Luckily, I was able to pick up the pace in the last 600m and I had the glory of taking home ‘the triple’.”

Lennon, who got into running in primary school after his PE teacher told him to do Sutton Schools, has big goals in running and wants to focus on the middle-distances on the track.

“This year we’ve got the European Under-20 Championships [Tampere, Finland] and I want to qualify for that,” Lennon added. “I would also love to break 3:40 in the 1500m as my personal best is 3:48.17. If all goes well, it’s bless.”

Zoe Gilbody (Gary Mitchell)

In equally impressive fashion, Gilbody took victory in the senior girls race at Ardingly Showground, capping off a memorable few months over cross-country.

The 18-year-old, who has now triumphed in the junior, intermediate and senior categories at the English Schools Cross Country Championships, clocked 13:23 (4100m) and won by seven seconds to Isla McGowan, with Katie Pye third in 13:41.

“I can’t believe it,” Gilbody, representing Shropshire, told AW. “I couldn’t feel my legs in the end as I wanted it so much. I was really happy with the way that I ran it and I’d planned to start out more conservatively.

Senior girls race (Gary Mitchell)

“I was second coming into the last field but I thought ‘I’ve done this before’. I knew it would come down a sprint finish. I’ve been doing everything to get this last title and it means so much.”

Back in December, Gilbody placed 11th individually in the under-20 race at the European Cross Country Championships and was part of the British cohort – alongside Innes FitzGerald, Jess Bailey, Eleanor Strevens, Lizzie Wellsted and Isobelle Jones – that secured a team gold in Antalya, Turkey.

Gilbody’s start to the 2025 season has also been impressive, with victory at the British Athletics Cross Challenge in Glasgow and second place at the English Schools Cup in Leeds.

Evan Grime (Gary Mitchell)

The intermediate boys race was won by Evan Grime, who has kicked off 2025 with a bang, both on the track and in cross-country.

Grime, representing Greater Manchester, ran 14:26 (4800m) and took the victory by five seconds to Archie Lane, with Rory Barclay-Watt third in 14:37.

“That felt amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better race in all honesty,” the 16-year-old said. “Coming into it I was a bit ill and thought I needed a good start. I wanted to get through that safely before moving up the field later on. On the second lap, about two miles in, there was a bit of a hill and everyone started to slow down.

Start of intermediate boys race (Gary Mitchell)

“At that point I thought I’d hold my pace and see if anyone goes with me. I looked behind about a minute later and I had a 10-second gap. I held that well and it was job done at the finish. I thought if I could push like I know I can then I was okay.”

Grime’s win at Ardingly Showground comes off the back of an outstanding last few months. Not only did Grime break British under-17 1500m (3:49.47) and 3000m (8:23.76) records, but he was also crowned the national indoor 800m champion for his age group in Sheffield two months ago.

The first race of the day at the English Schools Cross Country Championships saw Kitty Scott take the win in the intermediate girls category.

Kitty Scott (Gary Mitchell)

Scott, who has a triathlon background, clocked 12:27 and took the win by an impressive margin of 11 seconds, with Jasmine Christmas second and then Olivia McGhee third in 12:40.

“I’m really happy as that was very hard,” Scott told AW. “The first lap was okay but it was a bit tricky underfoot. Then the big lap was very hilly and horrible. I enjoyed it most when we got towards the finish line.

“My mum and sister always ran so I just kind of followed them. With triathlon, I couldn’t ride a bike until very late and my dad just stated I had to learn! The week I learnt how to ride I did my first triathlon. All three sports provide really good cross-training and it helps a lot with my strength.”

The teenager has had a fantastic cross-country season overall, with wins at the English Schools Cup and the South of England Championships, alongside second place at the English National.

Leo Blyton out in front (Gary Mitchell)

In the junior races, Leo Blyton and Gabrielle Pinder triumphed, with the pair both securing their victories by a margin of five seconds.

Blyton, representing Oxfordshire, draped the county flag around him after his win. The teenager placed 197th in the junior category at last year’s English Schools Cross Country Championships in Pontefract, making this achievement even more special.

In a pulsating race (2850m), Blyton clocked 8:22, with Harry Cantell second and Theo Creed back in third with 8:29.

Gabrielle Pinder out in front (Gary Mitchell)

Pinder went into the championships off the back of victory at the English National and wins at both the North East Schools’ Inter Counties and Northern Counties Championships.

The teenager, representing Cleveland, ran 9:05 (2850m), with Kara Gorman and Olivia Lee (9:15) making up the podium.

Full results can be found here

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