Review by Manx Athletics
Manx athlete Sarah Astin has smashed her England track debut.
She finished second in the women's 3000m in the Loughborough International at the weekend.
The local athlete already had England cross-country vests and British Milers Club road racing to her credit but this was her first one on track for England.
The five-way international match saw competitors from England, Scotland, Wales, GB&NI Juniors and Loughborough University go head-to-head in windy conditions.
Sarah followed her pre-race plan to run with the pack for the majority of the race, and after two kilometres the pace was consistent but not especially fast with at least eight athletes still in contention.
With two laps to go, Beth Kidger of Wales was in front and forced a significant increase in pace which split the field.
With 200 metres left Sarah was in third place behind former European cross-country silver medalist Kate Avery, but as Kidger made her run for home Sarah passed Avery on the final bend.
The race was still on with 50 metres to go, but Kidger just had enough in hand to hold on for the win.
Her time of 9 minutes 21.73 seconds was ten seconds outside her personal best set last month; a solid time considering the very windy conditions.
If you'd like to watch Sarah in Astin action, her race can be viewed here, starting at around 3 hours 58 minutes.
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