Grace on the pace in snowy Cardiff

The 16-year-old was stepping up an age group to be part of the England under-20 women’s squad competing in the McCain Cross-Country event at Cardiff.

English athletes filled the top six places with the Bexhill College student finishing an excellent fifth, a strong performance which was in line with current form. Grace was 16 seconds behind the fourth placed athlete and knows that she is currently ranked seventh in the country on form.

With the World Cross- Country Championships coming up in the Polish city of Bydgoszcz on March 24, Grace will need to step up to earn another Great Britain vest and compete against the world’s best junior women.

Another local talent, Adam Clarke, was competing for his first claim club Aldershot, Farnham & District to finish a very respectable eighth.