The National Trust property Stowe Park was the setting for the fifty-fifth staging of the Youth's English National Cross-Country Championships. The race was sponsored by sports company View From for the third consecutive year. The course consisted of farmland and included some challenging hills.
Southern champion Mo Farah (Borough of Hounslow AC) set the pace as soon as the starter's pistol was fired. After the first loop Farah was clear and going away from the chasing pack. Antony Ford (Blackpool & Fylde Harriers), Jermaine Mays (Kent AC), Lee Evans (Bristol AC) and Edward Prickett (Reigate Priory (Sovereign) AC) could not match Farah's tempo. At the halfway point Farah has increased his lead with Mays and Ford giving chase. With a mile to run Farah's lead was 250 metres, Frank Tickner (Wells City Harriers) had joined Mays as Prickett faded. Farah won by 53 seconds with Tickner being the stronger to take silver and Mays the bronze.
Farah told Martin Duff at Athletics Weekly: "I went straight to the front, because I wanted to do a really hard run for the World's. It was good for me as I usually do a hill session on Sunday and it was like that. It was hard on the hills and into the wind, but it suits me going down hills."
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