ZAK MILLER won the English Schools cross-country title earlier this year and is off to Belgrade this week as part of Britain’s team for the European Championships.   Yet until this year the 16-year-old from Manchester was better known for his exploits in the
boxing ring, writes Jason Henderson.
Miller is a five-time North West champion in boxing and in 2010 he won the national title. He reckons he’s ranked about No.3 in the country for his age and weight, but his athletics achievements are quickly overtaking his fighting performances.
Remarkably, Miller doesn’t turn 17 until March, which means he’s more than two years younger than the Euro trials winner in Liverpool last week, Jonny Davies of Reading.
Miller could have run the under-17 men’s race in Liverpool, but instead gambled on taking on older rivals in the under-20 race – and it paid off with fourth place and a guaranteed spot in the GB team for this weekend’s European Championships in Belgrade.
“After the national cross-country relays in Mansfield my time there led me to think I should go for it in Liverpool,” he says. “It was still a bit of a surprise to finish as highly as I did, though.”
Yet Miller is not entirely unknown to the cross-country community. In March he won the English Schools title at Catton Hall despite having a boxing coach, Wayne Heywood at Ashton Albion Boxing Club, but no one to guide his running career.
Now, he is coached by Paul Shaw at Trafford AC and his daily diet of long, steady runs has been improved by the addition of harder, quality sessions.
“I’ve been boxing since about 10 or 11 years of age,” he explains. “I think the training for each sport helps each other. They complement each other.”
But he adds: “My running is going so well that I’m putting it first at the moment.”
Miller also used to play centre midfield for Stockport County but kicked that into touch after seeing team-mates get so easily injured.
“I’d like to be part of the scoring team in Belgrade,” he says. “And then I’ll hopefully have a few more chances to do well in the event due to my age.”
Who knows, Miller could eventually become a “British Benson Masya”. The late Kenyan distance legend won the Bupa Great North Run four times in the 1990s, but he also began his sporting life in the boxing ring.

PS. Zak finished a credible 31st out of over 150 entrants in his race. The GB team just missed out on a team medal, finishing 4th. Zak will be able to compete in this age group for three more years and we look forward to seeing what the future holds!

ELLIE EDWARDS describes competing in the Maccabiah Games in Jerusalem this year as the best experience of her life.

The 16-year-old won the 200m and was third in the 100m in a multi-sport competition that features 9000 Jewish athletes from 72 countries.

“I enjoyed meeting Jewish athletes from all over the world,” the Trafford athlete says. “The opening ceremony was completely sold out with 40,000 people. It was incredibly emotional to walk out as a member of Team GB.”

As the only female athlete in the British team, Ellie was even more determined to perform to her best. She clocked a PB of 12.68 to take bronze in the 100m, before returning the following day to win the 200m in 26.19, just a fraction outside her PB set the month before.

Ellie later returned to win another bronze as part of a  mixed relay team.

Surprised by her success, she explains: “There are so many Jewish people in USA and Israel, they were expected to clean up the medals. I hadn’t expected to win any, especially as I was competing against 18-year-olds.”

Such was the standard across the events, Olympic finalist Steven Solomon from Australia did not even win the men’s 400m. The GB team only won two individual golds in total, one of which went to Ellie, and the teenager also claimed three of Britain’s 31 medals.

The event marked a special milestone in Ellie’s life and she was thrilled to be able to share it with the rest of her family. “I was so pleased that my mum and dad (Francine and Eddie) were there, together with my three sisters and two of my grandparents, as it really was an amazing experience,” says Ellie.

Ellie trains four times a week as part of a mixed sprint group guided by Tom Cullen and Iheani Ihediwa at Longford Park in Manchester.

“Everyone was so proud of my performances in Israel, which meant so much to me,” she says, “and I really want to repay them by staying injury-free and seeing my times plummet.”

Ellie started athletics in Year 3 after she realised she had a talent for running after winning her school’s cross country race and later taking top spot in the Manchester Cross Country Championships, a feat that no other pupil from her school had ever achieved.

Ellie had previously played football for several years, so she knew she had good speed. “Doing athletics gives me a sense of achievement and purpose in my life,” she says. “I enjoy the adrenaline rush and the tempo of sprinting. You need to be focused and strong all the way to the finishing line.

“Unlike distance running you cannot afford any mistakes. It can be incredibly cruel, but getting across that finishing line first or getting a PB makes everything worthwhile.”

Ellie is just starting A-Levels in biology, psychology, history and PE at Manchester High School for Girls, having recently attained eight A* and two A grades in her GCSEs. After she finishes school she hopes to study psychology or train to become a physio. However, Ellie’s biggest aim is to represent her country at a major senior athletics championship.

Having been lucky enough to be in the Olympic Stadium on Super Saturday last year, it is not surprising that Ellie names Mo Farah and Jessica Ennis as her favourite athletes, along with Usain Bolt.

“The Olympics really inspired me,” she says. “I want to get a senior GB vest in future.”