Flurry Grierson, who was third, with brother Kit

A WHO’S who of distance running descended on Parliament Hill Fields on Saturday for the biggest race day in the cross-country calender.

And right in the mix, as is becoming the norm, was Highgate Harriers senior men’s team, who are fast becoming medal stalwarts at the English National Cross-Country Championships.

They took part in the final event of an action-packed programme, by which time the course had been cut to ribbons and deteriorated into an unforgiving 12km trial of energy-sapping, sticky mud.

But that proved “the perfect conditions” for emerging talent Flurry Grierson. The 22-year-old, who lives in Barnsbury, Islington, led the charge for Highgate as he clocked a time of 44 minutes, 50 seconds to take third place out of a field of 1,783 finishers and earn an individual bronze.

“To be standing next to athletes who have represented Team GB was pretty surreal to be honest,” said Flurry, who grew up in Devon.

“Most people didn’t have my name on their bingo cards to be on the podium. But the conditions were perfect for me – the muddier the better. It was like running through a recently ploughed field.

“My improvement is definitely down to my coach, David Chalfen. I have been training a lot harder recently. Obviously I train every day normally, but recently more and more of those sessions have been really full on.”

Highgate Harriers Senior Men on home turf at Parliament Hill Fields [Paul Maskell]

Joining Flurry in Highgate’s scoring six were Roger Poolman (46:55), who was 33rd; Alexander Lepretre (47:06), who was 36th; Terry Fawden (47:28), who was 47th; Peter Chambers (47:38), who was 51st; and Alex Jackson (47:52), who finished 58th.

Their combined efforts helped lead the club to bronze in the overall team rankings, adding to the silver medal that Highgate secured back in September when the delayed 2024 English National Champ­ion­ships were held in Weston Park, Staffordshire.

“I think this bronze medal is even better than the silver that we picked up last year,” explained senior men’s team captain Rob Wilson, who was unable to compete in Saturday’s showpiece owing to injury.

“This time we were on home soil, which made it all the more special, and Flurry picked up an individual medal, which nobody expected.”

Poolman, Lepretre and Fawden were among the six scorers during both of Highgate’s senior men’s successes at the Nationals. Describing the club’s current run of glory as a “golden era”, Wilson added: “Only nine men in living history have now won medals for Highgate at the National Championships.

“Having the guys coming home after Flurry in quick succession was vital to our success and keeping our overall points low. But our success was about more than the six scorers.

“We had 49 runners competing in the event overall, as well as all the supporters and coaches. Our success is a testament to the collective mindset within the club; all sharing the same goal, all training hard, and all racing hard. Now the challenge is can we go one better and win gold…”