ENGLAND Athletics selected 65 years old Kevin Shelton-Smith, of Doniford, for the British Masters Marathon Championships and the Home Internationals hosted by the Abingdon Marathon, near Oxford - and he came in a brilliant second place.

Selection for the England team followed his age group win at the Milton Keynes marathon in May. Kevin has long been an established athlete and selection to run for England was the icing on the cake after years of top place finishes at every distance from 1 mile to 150 miles and at marathons such as London, Amsterdam, Berlin, Boston, Chicago and New York. Kevin has now run over 60 top level marathons and will aim to impress the selectors again at the London Marathon next year.

At Abingdon, in the wind and the rain, Kevin held a controlled and focussed pace over the 26.2 miles, picking off other runners as the miles passed by, until all his international competitors of his age group were caught.

A win for England was assured as only two England team-mates remained in front. The leader was over 5 minutes ahead. Approaching the River Thames at 23 miles, Kevin moved up to second place and was closing fast on first place through the town centre as his team-mate struggled over the closing stages. However, Kevin had to settle for second place, having reduced the gap to just one minute, finishing in a time of 3 hours, 5 minutes and 26 seconds.

Kevin’s next race will once again be for the Minehead Running Club, this time in the Bideford 10 miles race in November. The West Somerset club is a friendly group, meeting for social runs on Mondays with workouts on Wednesdays, all around the Minehead and Williton area.