ATHLETICS ROUND-UP: Alexa, show me how to set two personal best times and parking problems prompted a mad dash from Ruth

Alexa Boole, who competes in the under 17 age category, was one of several athletes to excel setting two new personal bests (PB).

Boole won her 100m race in a time of 13.78, and clocked 28.54 over 200m.

Under 15 star Sienna Slater also got in on the act running a lifetime best 100m time of 13.09.

Elizabeth Taylor was just a fraction of a second outside her 400m record with a 1:00.52.

Senior athlete Nichola Gibson, who trains with Taylor, specialises at the 400m, but tried her hand at a two-lap race and was rewarded with an 800m PB of 2:33.75.

Under 17 Jack Jackson ran a useful 2:12.13 800m.

The Hemmings siblings were also in action at Kettering with 12 year-old Louie running 2:32.53 in the 800m, beating his previous best time by an enormous 20 seconds. And older sisters Evie and Lottie also ran well with Lottie taking part in the 800m and crossing the line in 2:40.97. Evie clocked a decent 5:21.01 1500m.

Under 17 Eliott Long ran a 5:03.77 1500m on his first outing at that distance.

Peterborough based disability athlete Brandon Ballard was ranked sixth overall and second under 20 in the national T20 800m rankings in 2020. Ballard ran his first race of the season at Kettering, improving his 800m PB by half a second with a 2:16.99 finish.

** Luke Phillips ran a 23.66 200m at the Doncaster Open meeting on Saturday.

** Helpston Harrier’s Aaron Scott and Ruth Jones travelled to London’s Battersea Park to take part in a series of graded 5,000m road races. Scott finished 30th in a high quality field with a time of 14:56.9.

Jones clocked 18:49.0 to finish 14th lady, though she had to run further than she’d bargained for. Stuck in heavy traffic on the wrong side of the River Thames, Jones’s husband Brian was left to find a suitable parking place while she sprinted access the Albert Bridge in a successful dash to get to the start line on time!

**Peterborough Nene Valley AC’s James Sadlier was forced to pull out of the Peterborough Marathon with a calf injury last week, but, determined to not let his training go to waste, he decided to give the Boston (Lincolnshire) Marathon a go on Monday.Fortunately his calf held together, and, despite slowing in the last few miles, Sadlier still achieved his goal of going under three hours, finishing 131st in 2:59.42 after a desperate sprint to the line.

Yaxley pair Mike Halcomb and Darren Maddison opted for the half marathon at Boston. Running together the clubmates finished 110th and 111th, both recording a time of 1:32.34. David Marr of Peterborough Nene Valley clocked 1:50.25 in the half marathon.

**Two of the best distance runners to emerge from the local scene in recent years were in action in Manchester on Saturday at the British Milers Club Grand Prix.

The Peterborough Nene Valley AC pair were both in fine early season form with James McCrae 0.22 of a second outside his 1500m personal best (PB) with an impressive 3:48.03 finish. McCrae needs to find another second to qualify for the Olympic trials.

And Alex Hampson clocked 3:51.16, knocking three seconds off his PB set in 2017.