Ipswich Harriers' Shaun Webb was crowned the South of England Under-15 champion at Hampstead Heath recently.As usual, this north London course proved daunting, with continual steep up-and-downs combining with some very boggy conditions underfoot.

Ipswich Harriers' Shaun Webb was crowned the South of England Under-15 champion at Hampstead Heath recently.

As usual, this north London course proved daunting, with continual steep up-and-downs combining with some very boggy conditions underfoot.

The mud was often ankle-deep, and this worsened during the day as more than 2,000 competitors trampled around the route.

Webb produced an outstanding run to win the under-15 boys' race by seven seconds. He clocked 17mins 29secs, with Poole AC's Richard Horton second in 17.36.

Bedford's Jack Goodwin was a distant third (18.02), while Harriers' Andrew Tanner was 59th (19.40) in the same race.

Other Ipswich Harriers included Jonny Palmer (91st) and Tom Taylor (93rd) in the under-20 men's event, and Oliver Jones (57th) in the under-13 boys' age group.

The Harriers were fifth team in the under-15 girls' race, thanks to the efforts of Charlotte Christensen (24th in 19.17), Mary Galbraith (29th in 19.27), Sophia Nicklin (81st in 20.58) and Hannah Petterson (88th in 21.11).

West Suffolk AC had 19 runners in the various races throughout the day, while fellow Bury club Saint Edmund Pacers also had a strong presence in both the junior and senior events.

Eames flew the West Suffolk flag in the under-13 boys' race. Fresh from winning the Suffolk County title at Holbrook from earlier in the month, he crossed the line in a superb 13th spot from a field of 216. Adam Cripps was 144th in the same race, while new recruit Jack Anthony stuck to his guns in 209th spot.

Holly Archer had missed the Suffolk County Championships with a bad cold, but she bounced back to record an excellent 21st position in the under- 15 girls' age group, where she was well supported by Emily Barker (34th).

Kayleigh Samuels, returning from illness and so lacking full fitness, struggled in the energy-sapping mud but still managed 117th from 188 finishers.

Dominic Thackery produced easily his best performance to date with 27th in the under-15 boys' section, but Alex Groiss was hampered by a cold in 81st spot.

Simon Dawson, a first year in this age group, had a solid run in 102nd and new member Jake Hughes showed promise with a very respectable 136th. This was good enough to place the West Suffolk AC team 12th from 36 clubs.

Lauren James was 190th in the under-13 girls' event.

Meanwhile, Jemma Clarry led the way for Saint Edmund Pacers by finishing a strong 22nd in the under-20 women's event.

Elin Grose was a promising 89th in the under-13 girls' age group, followed by club-mates Rebecca Laidlaw (168th) and Jessica Gooderham (185th).

Elsewhere, Sam Harrison (134th) and Liam Brophy (194th) tackled the under-13 boys' event, and the duo of Georgia Crabtree (132nd) and Sherilyn Rigby (133rd) were amongst the under-15s.