The forty-second running of the Youth's English National Cross-Country Championships took place at Stopsley Common, Luton. The race was sponsored by Provincial Insurance Company. The course was 1 small lap and one large lap making a total of four miles.
Early in the race Southern champion Jonathan Dennis (Camberley & District AC) and Steve Brooks (Bingley Harriers) went to the front. Dennis then opened up a ten metre gap with Brooks trying to stay close, these two were followed by a trio consisting of John Kendall (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC), Andrew Juby (GEC Avionics) and Jonathan Brown (Hallamshire Harriers). With one mile to go Dennis led Brooks by 30 metres. Brooks closed on Dennis towards the finish but was unable to catch the victorious Camberley runner. Juby outsprinted Kendall for the bronze medal.
Dennis told Bryan Smyth at Athletics Weekly: "It was a lot harder, this one. I never got far enough away to relax. To be honest, at the end I thought he'd beat me, but luckily, I was a bit quicker over the finish. I was sprinting like hell over the last 200m!"
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