Alison Leonard has been hailed by her coach Arthur Almond after finishing fourth in the elite women’s race at the Middlesbrough Mile.

The Blackburn Harrier clocked 4:48, a second behind winner Susan Scott.

Leonard showed that she could hold her own against the best .

Almond is predicting that Leonard’s times will tumble this summer, and he is not the only one to be impressed as Steve Cram interviewed her for local radio after the race.

With Olympian Jenny Meadows only ninth, the official England team was beaten to the team title by the British Miler’s Club pairing of Leonard and Rachel Ogden.