Fresh from his return to the international scene Ben Coldray goes in search of his first senior national medal at the British Athletics Indoor Championships in Sheffield this weekend.
The 23-year-old former King's School student (pictured) from Hucclecote heads north full of confidence after marking his return to the England team in Austria last weekend with an indoor personal best of 3mins 47.55secs.
"I really can't wait for the championships this weekend," said Coldray.
"I think I am ranked third or fourth of those entered so a medal is definitely up for grabs. But first I have to get through the heats on Saturday and with 25 runner entered that won't be easy.
"But hopefully I can get myself into the final on Sunday and then anything could happen. I am feeling really confident."
Coldray's trip to the Austrian city of Linz will have been good preparation for the trials as it was a rough race that was a timely reminder for the Stroud & District AC man that racing on the boards is not for the faint-hearted.
"There were 15 of us in the race and it was all elbows and rough and tumble, a pretty brutal race really," added Coldray.
"I ended up running in lane 2 almost the whole way so while my time of 3:47.55 was an indoor best I was a little disappointed because that is probably worth 3:44/45.
"I definitely feel there is a lot more to come this season."
Coldray will be hoping to prove that this weekend.
Joining Coldray in Sheffield will be fellow county middle distance runner Julia Cooke. The 26-year-old former Pates School student from Bishop's Cleeve will run the women's 1500m and like Coldray goes into the championships full of confidence after setting indoor PBs over 800m (2:06.47) and 1500m (4:22.89) in the last week.
