SAM FARAH was the star performer on Saturday for the Newham & Essex Beagles in the first race of the London City Runner Metropolitan League. Competing in the men s cross country race at Ruislip, Mo Farah s brother finished second with a time of 26.24. Th

SAM FARAH was the star performer on Saturday for the Newham & Essex Beagles in the first race of the London City Runner Metropolitan League.

Competing in the men's cross country race at Ruislip, Mo Farah's brother finished second with a time of 26.24.

This was the runner's best ever Met League placing, staking a solid claim for inclusion in the club's A team for Saturday's AAA National Six-Stage Road Relay Championships, in Birmingham.

Close behind was team-mate Scott Sterling, who crossed the line in eighth in 27.08.

Sterling finished strongly and built on his good showing at Aldershot where he was the fastest runner in the B team.

In his first ever cross country race, Harun Abdi put in an impressive display, finishing 20th from a field of 329, recording a time of 28.17.

Also running for Beagles in the men's event was Andre Duque finishing 73rd in 30.54, Ben Hellmers 123rd in 32.44 and Jason Crispin 186th in 35.19.

Despite only fielding a team of six, Beagles are fourth in Division Two and team manager Bob Smith said: "As soon as we field 12 in a race, we'll win."

In the women's event, Adele Stach-Kevitz was the Beagles' front runner, crossing the line in 46th with a time of 26.06.

Behind her was Venita Dabhi 27.33 (69th) and Leandra Polius 28.44 (85th).

In the boy's under-13s, J Fodder claimed eighth place in 11.56 and T Seager came 26th in 14.23.

The women's under-17's category saw Neha Dabhi just miss out on a top-10 finish, with a time of 16.41. Afusa Muicabarisa finished the course in 19.48, for 42nd position, and three places behind her was Natalie Pla with a time of 21.03.

The next Met League fixture is on Sunday, November 7 at Woodford Green.