MELISSA Courtney continued her remarkable run of success when securing team bronze for Poole AC with the fastest under-17 leg at the South of England Road Relays.

Africa Mason and Abigail Jones set the scene, clocking 11:11 and 11:19 respectively round the 3km loop at Aldershot’s Rushmoor Arena.

With Poole AC then lying 12th, most anchor leg runners would have saved their best for another day, but Courtney rose to the challenge, repeating the form that has brought gold at the UK Schools Games and the World Biathle Championships within the past three weeks.

Making up nine places, she ran out of road just five seconds behind silver medallists Bedford and County.

Though hosts Aldershot, Farnham and District were out of sight with three of the top five times, Courtney ran faster than any of them – her time of 9:57 pipping even Emilia Gorecka to the gold medal by just a single second.

Twelfth-fastest under-15 Grace Howie led PAC to eighth place, while Emma Butterworth was ninth-fastest under-13, as her trio were placed 11th.

Poole Runners’ Jack Partridge also prospered, clocking the second fastest leg in the under-17 men’s race. PAC’s Richard Horton was also among the top 20, but it was Christchurch-based Frank Bailey who came home with a medal – team silver for Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers.

Poole Runners were fifth over-60 men’s team, with Arthur Johns (seventh) and Ian Barnes (eighth) prominent among the fastest legs and Geoff Scott also in the top 20. Their young club-mate Tom East was fifth fastest under-13 despite running in an incomplete team.

Christine Thomas, who finished in ninth spot, helped the Runners’ veteran women’s team to take seventh place.

Bournemouth AC’s senior men were 15th with Steve Way (18:32) faster for once than Poole Runners’ Williard Chinhanhu (18:49) as they went head-to-head on the opening 6km leg.