High fives

CLEAN SWEEP . . . Adam Howard celebrates after clinching a fifth schools title.

CROSS COUNTRY:

FIVE was the magic number for rapid runner Adam Howard after he clinched victory in the Oldham Schools Cross-Country Championships.

The 16-year-old Waterhead Academy pupil has now won the competition five times — at Year Seven, Eight and Nine level and the Year 10/11 category twice.

Mum Louise was overjoyed to see her son claim a clean sweep.

She said: “It is unusual for anyone to win the championships in five successive years — he was first in Year 10/11 last year as a 15-year-old, and did it again this time around.

“Adam is good at what he does and it is a fantastic achievement, we are very happy for him.

“It is never easy because there are a lot of talented athletes at all of the schools.”

The triumph came hot on the heels of another success for Howard. He won the Red Rose League under-17s title with a race to spare following three first-place finishes.

Howard won the under-15s league — battled out over 3.9 kilometres — in 2009 and 2010.

This time he led the way in 5km runs in Leigh, Blackburn and Bolton, amassing an unassailable lead in the category.

It allowed Howard to sit out the final race in Rossendale on Saturday, which was a blessing, according to his mother.

She added: “Adam jarred his knee at home the other day. It wasn’t serious but there was no point taking a risk on his fitness at Rossendale when he had already won the title.

“There will be plenty of big competitions to concentrate on as soon as New Year comes around so it is important for Adam to be in the best possible condition. A setback now could prove quite costly further down the road.”