Woodstock Harrier Steve Naylor emerged from the biggest road race of his fledgling career with an impressive ninth place at the Alsager 5 in Crewe.

Competing against some of the top road-runners in the UK, Naylor braved the heavy rain and strong winds to produce a battling run, clocking a personal best of 24mins 39secs.

The Alsager 5 is one of the premier five-mile races in the country, but the blustery conditions put paid to really fast times.

The race was won by Sale Harrier Antony Ford, who clocked 23.49.

Naylor was more than satisfied with his performance.

“I had no real expectations for this race,” he said. “The start for the 900-strong field was in a side street no wider than about ten metres, so it was a little bit hairy when the gun went, but I got into my stride quite quickly.

“After about a mile, a few dropped off from the front of the pack and as time passed, the group I was in thinned out.”

Naylor was involved in a battle for eighth place with Birchfield Harrier Biniam Ande.

It was neck-and-neck at the line, but Biniam got the nod ahead of Naylor, despite recording the same time.

Naylor said: “With less than a mile left, I thought I’d shaken him off.

“But he did not give up and pipped me in a sprint finish.”

Former Radley athlete Hatti Dean took victory in the women’s race.

Running for Hallamshire, Dean clocked 27.32 as she saw off the challenge of Lily Partridge (Aldershot, Farnham & District) by 26 seconds.