Six athletes who shone in a difficult month

Easy Runner Athlete of the Month for January candidates: January was a difficult month with the cancellation of the South West Cross Country Championships on the opening weekend and then the postponement of the Avon Schools' Championships.

Plenty of other competitions were called off as well, and the snow and ice also made training difficult for all runners, leaving everyone feeling frustrated.

Nonetheless, there was still plenty of action with the delayed county school's event at Blaise Castle throwing up some excellent competition – with six of the medallists all previous winners of the Easy Runner competition – and then the Midland Championships on the final weekend of the month.

Additionally, the indoor season moved up a gear with meetings at Bath and Cardiff, plus the Avon Sports Hall Championships at Bristol Grammar School, a renowned proving ground for new athletics talent.

All of which has served up an interesting short-list for our judges to decide who deserves the prize of a pair of training shoes from Easy Runner, Bristol's No 1 athletics shop in St Michael's Hill.

As always the winner will be revealed in next Saturday's edition of the Evening Post.

REBECCA BARLOW

The 16-year-old Westbury Harrier ran a gutsy race to win the bronze medal at her first attempt in the senior girls' race at the Avon Schools' CCC. She then ended the month with a 33rd place in the Under-20 women's race at the Midland CCC.

VICTORIA KENNY

Unlucky to be up against two of the best girls in the country in Olivia Sadler and Aoife Thorogood, the 14-year-old Clifton College student focused on her own race and beat some very good runners to claim the bronze medal in the inter girls' race at the Avon Schools' Cross Country Championships.

YANNICK BUDD

The 18-year-old sprint hurdler enjoyed a terrific month, twice beating his personal best in the 60m hurdles and, on both occasions, improving the Bristol & West AC club record. Budd clocked 8.79secs at the Bath Open, then improved to 8.69secs to win the event at the Welsh Open Championships.

EMMA SMITH

The 15-year-old Backwell School athlete, who also competes for North Somerset AC, impressed with her victory in the speed bounce to win the Under-15 girls' athlete of the match at the Avon Schools' Sports Hall Championships staged at Bristol Grammar School.

JAMES LAURENCE

Stepping up into the new group, the 14-year-old Worle School student, who is a member of North Somerset AC, claimed a superb hat-trick of wins, in the two-lap race and the standing long and triple jumps, to be named Under-15 boys' athlete of the match at the Avon Schools' Sports Hall Championships.

ZAK TOBIAS

A month of contrasting fortunes for the 15-year-old Bristol & West AC runner, who opened with a decent ninth place in the McCain Cardiff Cross Challenge but was then a below-par eighth in the inter boys' race at the Avon Schools' Championships. Tobias, though, saved his best until last producing the best run of his young life to end the month on a high with a coveted bronze medal in the Under-17 men's race at the Midland CCC.