ANYONE who has followed the progress of Harlow athlete Lee Wood over the past two years will testify that he is getting better and better and better.

There was more evidence of this as the 33-year-old athlete came ninth in the Hackney Half Marathon in a time of 1hr 14 mins and 17 seconds.

Lee said: “

“It was an absolute honour to be in the first row on the starting line of a London Half Marathon event today; never did I think I would be good enough to stand on the start line with international-class athletes, but the more I train the more my confidence is growing.

“A huge PB for me by nearly three minutes at Hackney Half Marathon and a top 10 finish, perfectly executing my race strategy – targeting 3:30/km over the distance and achieving 3:29/km (chip time 74mins 17secs).

“I’m usually very critical of my running, and like to focus more on the opportunities for improvement than what went well, but today I am very pleased with my preparation (thank you to my work friends for making my pre-race day dinner), in-race management, and being able to finish strongly”.

Many have been impressed by the way, in just a couple of years of running, Lee has embraced every aspect of running. Not just getting faster but also elements such as diet and the mechanics of the sport.

He is clearly listening to all the advice he has been receiving.

Lee will now head to Victoria Park to try an improve his 10K time.

As for the Oscar reference in the headline? It was a double celebration for the Wood family as his son Oscar was made Man of the Match for his Bocas team on Sunday.