Keith Gerrard the winner of the national cross country championships

The snow and the cold could not deter Keith Gerrard from storming to an impressive victory in the National Cross Country Championships in Sunderland

Newham star Keith Gerrard braved freezing conditions and falling snow in Sunderland at the weekend to brilliantly retain his National senior cross-country title.

The 26-year-old blasted his way back to form in style after the disappointment of his run in the European Championships in Hungary back in December, but he had to work hard to get home.

He was locked in a battle with Steve Vernon of Stockport Harriers and Nelson Hall of Bedford, but as the pace increased, Hall dropped back and it left to the leading pair to battle it out to the line.

Gerrard finally came home in 41 minutes and 21 seconds, clinching victory by just three seconds over Vernon.

The Beagles claimed seventh spot in the six-to-count team race as Gerrard was backed up by his team-mates.

Gavin Smith was the second Beagle home in 22nd spot, clocking 43.21, while Dave Mitchinson managed a time of 44.38 to finish 48th out of the field of well over a thousand runners.

Olly Laws, the Newham star of the Met League cross-country races this winter, was next home in 62nd place in 45.03, while Kairn Stone managed 45.18 to finish 69th.

The final scorer for the team was Eliot Buckner who clocked 48.08 to make 171st place, while there were two other Beagles on parade in the senior race.

Wayne Bell’s time of 49.44 earned him 228th place, while George Choat clocked 57.15 to finish in 565th spot.

Meanwhile, youngster David Kall took part in the junior men’s event where his time of 43.27 was enough for 124th place, though he was nearly 10 minutes behind the winner.