JESSICA Judd has admitted she would one day like to emulate one of her heroes Jo Pavey and step up to racing longer distances on the track.

The 20-year-old middle-distance specialist won a silver medal at the British Indoor Championships in Sheffield last weekend over 3,000m.

That is the furthest the Canvey talent has raced on the track and though she admits her immediate future lies in the 800m and 1,500m, she can see herself one day trying to emulate Pavey who won the European Championships gold medal for the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m at the Commonwealth Games.

“I’d like to up to the 5k eventually and be like Jo Pavey. I think she’s an idol for so many people and I’d definitely like to be able to do what she’s done,” Judd said.

“I think that I don’t ever want to stop running so I think it’s probably what I’ll have to do when I get slower over the 1,500m.

“The desire to be like Jo has been there for a while, ever since her mum wrote me a letter when I broke the English 1,500m schools record.

“Her mum said that I was like Jo, and then it occurred to me that she did the 1,500m as well. So following her and seeing how well she’s done over 5k and 10k is an incentive to anyone.”

Judd was speaking after her third-placed finish at the British Championships on Sunday.

The race was won by Ireland’s Sara Treacy, just ahead of the first Brit Emelia Gorecka.

Judd was third, but second GB athlete and thus picked up the silver medal, something that delighted the former Castle View School pupil who will be racing the 3,000m again at the Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham this weekend.

“It was a really good race,” she said. “I worked as hard as I could out there and just didn’t quite have it at the end, but it’s a lot better than the last time I ran here so I’m very happy.

“That was a very strong field and a hard race. But I still don’t think 3k is my distance and I really want to be running well in the 1,500m.

“But I tried my best and it was quite a slow race at the beginning so I think maybe I got a bit tired with that. I always need one race to get into it so hopefully this weekend will be a bit better.

“I do like this distance but it’s just very different. The BUCS cross-country I raced in last was 6k, and then this was 3k, so it’s a lot of chopping and changing which I’m finding quite tough at the moment. But it’s great to get silver and I couldn’t really have wished to run much better with such a strong field.

“I’ve got nothing to prove here as I’m an 800m and 1500m runner, not a 3k, so to come and be able to do that makes me very happy.”

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CLUTTERBUCK TO PACE MO FARAH IN BIRMINGHAM

THINGS didn’t go to plan for Canvey’s Dale Clutterbuck at the British Indoor Championships.

The 23-year-old middle-distance runner, who has been in terrific form this winter, was hoping to make an impression in the 800m.

But he couldn’t make it out of a tactical heat, finishing in 1m 56.40s.

But Clutterbuck, a student at St Mary’s University, will get another chance to be in the spotlight tomorrow after he was given the opportunity of pacemaking for British distance star Mo Farah at the Indoor Grand Prix in Birmingham.

Farah will race over the rarely run distance of two miles in Birmingham with Clutterbuck pacing him through the early stages.

Elsewhere at the British Championships, Rayleigh’s Liam Yarwood finished eighth in the pole vault in his first ever senior championships.

Yarwood, who has set a PB of 5.05m this winter, had a best clearance of 4.85m in Birmingham.