ST BEDE’S Middle School pupil Natalie Hatfield did the West Midlands at the Mini London Marathon.

The Year 7 student finished 22nd out of 246 runners, in a time of 18 minutes and 34 seconds, setting a new personal best in the process.

She finished first for team West Midlands and beat girls who are a year older and who have previously beaten her.

The West Midlands team was made up of under-13s, U-15s and U-17s boys and girls teams.

They travelled down to London on Saturday and stayed at the Royal Holloway College in Surrey.

She was cheered on by her family, who were on hand to watch Natalie cross the finish line.

Her success tops a positive few months for the youngster.

In February, Natalie took part in a three-mile race which was a trial to represent the region at the Mini London Marathon.

The top-five finishers qualified to represent the area with a sixth place selected at the organisers’ discretion.

Natalie qualified in a fast time of 19mins 24secs, which was impressive as it was the first time she had raced the distance.

The competitors in the Mini London Marathon are made up of six runners from each of the nine regions of England, as well as six each from Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

These runners make up the competitors for the elite British Athletics Road Championships.

In addition, six competitors from each of the 33 boroughs of London compete.