Merrien's top-three finish guaranteed him a place in the British team

Lee Merrien has won himself a place in the Great Britain team for the European Cross Country Championships.

The Guernsey runner finished third in the national trials in Liverpool on Saturday to book his place at the race in Belgium next month.

"It feels really good. The race went better than I expected," he told BBC Guernsey.

The team will be officially announced on Tuesday, but the top three finishers are guaranteed a place in the side.

"It went really well. To be honest, if I said how I wanted the race to go beforehand, it wouldn't be much different from how it turned out," he added.

Merrien was part of a large lead group which was gradually whittled down as they tackled the tough Gateshead course.

He was in the four-man group which kept away from the pack, and a spurt towards the last few hundred metres saw him secure his top-three place.

Merrien says he is now concentrating on getting ready for the championships in Brussels on Sunday, 14 December.

"I'm going to get some good training in during the next week to 10 days and then ease down towards the championships to make sure I put in a good performance in a British vest," he added

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