Basildon AC's Rob Smith warmed up for the weekend's British under-20 championships with second spot in the British Milers Club 1,500m in Solihull.

The highly-rated young distance runner, from Billericay, finished second in the B race in a time of 3:50:88.

Smith, coached by former London Marathon winner Eamonn Martin, was then due to run over 1,500m in Bedford on Saturday as he bidded for the under-20 national title.

Also running in Solihull last week was Rob Denmark, who marked a return to form with fourth spot in the British Milers Club 5,000m.

Basildon AC's former Commonwealth 5,000m champion ran a time of 13:36:00 to finish as second Briton behind third-placed Matt O'Dowd.

It was Denmark's first notable race since the disappointment of his AAA 10,000m defeat earlier this month.

Club-mate Nick Wetheridge, the national half-marathon champion, finished 10th in 13:53:77 over what is a much shorter distance than he normally runs.

Basildon AC's Ellie Childs, another possible contender for the Bedford event, finished 8th in the women's 800m in 2:10:60.

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