Shrewsbury runners are setting the pace

The 12-year-old exceeded all expectations to finish eighth in the under-13 competition in Nottingham.

Grace Hough, Shrewsbury AC’s Level 2 endurance coach, was full of praise for the schoolgirl, who is part of the club’s burgeoning pool of gifted young athletes.

“Bethany is an incredibly-talented athlete,” said Hough. “She has blossomed this past cross country season.

“She went to the nationals, not expecting too much. We told her to have a go and see how she got on. She achieved an amazing eighth place and we were thrilled to bits.

“We have junior athletes who are doing exceptionally well. But it’s no surprise, they train hard, turn up every week without fail and it is paying off.”

Trow also tasted success by claiming individual gold in the Shropshire Young Athletes Cross Country League and helping the under-13s to overall victory.

Adam Edwards also topped the podium in the under-15 boys while there were silver medals for Lucy Newall (under-13 girls) and Jude Lins (under-15 boys).

But just as their season was starting to gather pace, progress has halted due to the coronavirus outbreak.

And Hough has revealed her sadness at the absence of weekly training sessions.

“I will miss Monday and Wednesday evenings,” she said. “I’m very fortunate to have a group like mine. They’re a pleasure to coach.

“We have a very positive crowd and a really motivated group. They turn up for every training session, even during the winter when it’s cold and freezing.

“They are very socially motivated and they enjoy each other’s company. We have a real mix of boys and girls, with different abilities, and everyone mixes in together.

“We have a prepared training programme in place. It is different for each athlete depending on what they are training for. I was intending to use Attingham Park as a training base, but that’s been closed so that’s now not an option.”

All athletes will now be required to train alone. But in spite of a lack of competition, Hough has every confidence that her group will put in the hard yards and remain focused.

“We’re not really going to replace that competitive edge,” she said. “Unfortunately, all their competitions have been cancelled and rearranged for the autumn.

“But I have told the group to keep up a certain level of fitness, three to four times a week, steady running.

“So that when we do resume, they don’t have to start again from scratch and get their fitness back.

“It’s quite difficult as they have no goal at the moment, but one thing they do have is time.

“They’re no longer at school so it’s easier for them to train in the day. I’m hoping that mainly they will stay focused and try to keep as fit as they possibly can.”

Tony Scales, a club spokesman, has echoed Hough’s sentiment that Shrewsbury is a hotbed for talented young runners.

“We’ve got some very talented youngsters who do well in a lot of West Midlands competitions,” he said.

“There is some great promise for the future, from the under-10s upwards. It’s all about continuing with training and entering competitions.”

Scales is looking ahead to the future, and doesn’t fear any financial fallout in spite of the running season being suspended.

“It’s an annual subscription, so I doubt there will be any financial implications,” he said. “I don’t think anyone has thought about getting their money back.

“We will carry on. I don’t think the club will suffer financially. We still have our big money-spinner, the Mad Jacks race in Attingham Park to look forward to.

“That’s some way off yet, not until November so we would hope the virus is out of the way by then.”