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ATHLETICS: Ashton gets off to a flier
Witney Roadrunner Mathew Ashton is finally reaping the reward of his Stateside move after shattering his personal best by 32 seconds in his first outdoor track race of the American season at Stanford University.
Ashton (pictured), who is on a two-year scholarship at New Mexico University in Albuquerque State, where Paula Radcliffe has her training camp, finished the 10k event in 29.12 secs.
Early in the race, Ashton went with the leading group early within the race, but became detached at 5k.
He raced the next 3k alone before he hooked up with two other competitors for the final 2K, beating the pair with a 62-second last lap and covering the last 200m in 29 seconds.
The time would have moved him up to fourth in last year's senior men's UK rankings.
Training at an altitude of between 5,000 to 7,500 feet above sea level, Ashton has taken time to settle into the new regime, but his hard work is paying off with some fast times.
Two weeks ago, Ashton improved his 5k time indoors at Seattle to a very impressive 14 mins.
He is now preparing for his next competition in two weeks when he competes outdoors at Santa Monica in California.
Ashton, who is first claim for Aldershot Farnham and District Athletic Club has been over in the States since August 2007, has the potential to improve his best times for this and other distances.
4:23pm Wednesday 9th April 2008
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