BEAU MacDonald produced a stunning performance to secure a top 10 finish at the national cross country championships.

Racing a number of older athletes the 12-year-old from Thorpe Bay came eighth at Wollaton Park in Nottingham.

And Beau’s determined display brought back happy memories for his coach Adam Hickey.

“To watch Beau run at the weekend at Wollaton, which is pretty much where I started racing as well, was awesome,” said Hickey.

“Training him has been awesome and the sessions I’ve put on have been progressive so it wasn’t too hard to begin with.

“Beau is a bit older now though so we’re stepping things up and he can deal with it.

His races are getting longer now but I’m really proud of what he’s achieving.

“I was buzzing for him but I had to try not to get too much adrenaline because I was walking over to start my own race when he was running.

But Beau’s top run in Nottingham was the latest in a long line of fine achievements.

“Beau is running for Essex and he’s representing the East of England at the London Marathon in a race which is the last three miles of the course,” explained his father Derek.

“He’s in Liverpool in three weeks times representing Essex and he’s in Loughborough next week where he could get into the England camp from which you can qualify for the worlds and things like that.

“He’s in the right events and he’s doing really well.”

And Beau, who also plays for football for Southend United, exceeded even his own expectations at the weekend.

“There were 524 runners in his race and we were aiming for top 20,” said Derek.

“That’s what he wanted to achieve and that would still have been good.

“To come eighth was fantastic because he was up against a lot of older boys in the under 13s.

“It was the best event we’ve been to as well.

“There were thousands of people and the organisation was brilliant.”

However, Beau is not the only member of the MacDonald family who is starting to impress as his younger brother Remy is now starting to follow in his foot-steps.

“Remy is doing really well now too and he’s also training with Adam,” said Derek.

“Remy raced in the regionals last week and came second.

“There were 150 runners so he did brilliantly.

“He will go on to the nationals next week which will be great and he’s also doing well with his football.

“He’s on trial with Tottenham Hotspur at the moment so we’re here, there and everywhere with them but it’s great. I just don’t know where they get it from!”