As his amazing 14:34 time at the Wimbledon 5000m Festival Night proved, Oliver James is on fire at the moment and he’s producing some of the best times of perhaps any Bournemouth AC athlete in history. Training with a fast group of runners in Southampton, Ollie just seems to keep improving and be continually getting quicker which is no mean feat when you get to the level that he’s at.

For his next big test, Ollie was in action at a British Milers Club event in Bury where he was competing in a Mile race on the track. This was a chance to really see how fast Ollie has become and what he’s truly capable in one, all-out mile burst.

There were two Mile races taking place that day – an A and a B race – and Ollie was in the A race alongside 11 other ferociously fast competitors. The field was of such a high standard that it wasn’t really position in the race that mattered so much, it was time. The time would show him what level he was at.

Mile races aren’t really that commonly run but Ollie would have had some idea of what sort of time he could produce from his previous 1500 metre performances. He’d managed a 3:56.34 at a Watford Harriers Open Graded Meeting in July. That would have put his mile split pace at an incredible 4:13.

The levels he’s reached are truly extraordinary. The question at the Bury Mile was, could he go even faster? It turned out he could… And he did. Registering a time of 4:08.85, Ollie absolutely blitzed it. If he was to run a 1500 metre race at that pace, that would give him a time of roughly 3:51, so that would be decent PB. That was most definitely confirmation of progression for Ollie and that’s what his main focus is on.

Surprisingly, that time only put him in 10th place in the race he was in. Harry Wakerfield of Salford Harriers got the win in 4:01.21 with Andrew Milligan of Harrow taking 2nd in 4:03.71. Sam Stevens of Leicester was 3rd in 4:03.83 and Juan Ignacio Pena Pizarro of Chile took 4th place in 4:04.58.

History was made in the race as well as Evan Grime of Salford Harriers set the fastest mile time ever recorded by 15-year-old when he clocked a time of 4:05.48. That world record was enough to put him in 5th position. There were also quite a few 800m races on at the event and Ted Chamberlain of Holmfirth ran the fastest time of anyone in those, blasting round in 1:49.31.

None of that really mattered to Ollie though. What mattered to him was his own time and what sort of improvements he could make verses his best prior efforts. That 4:08.85 mile time put him 82nd in the British rankings this year for the Mile distance. It also made him 17th best Under 23 in Britain.

The following weekend Ollie went on to record his fastest 3000 metre time yet, getting round in 8:26.52 at a Watford Harriers Open Graded Meeting. That would put his average pace at 4:31 which is phenomenal for a 3k. That puts him 213th in the British rankings this year for that event.

Ollie is now up to 366 in the runbritain National Ladder which is the highest any Bournemouth AC member has been in a very long time. In the Under 23 age group, he’s currently 76th.

It’s great to see Ollie running so well and progressing more and more as he continues his journey. How far that could take him is anyone’s guess. One place he will be going soon though is Aldershot. There he’ll be forming part of a very strong Bournemouth AC side for the Southern Six Stage Road Relays.

Ollie was the fastest member of the squad in both the Southern and National 12 Stage Road Relays earlier in the year and it’s high likely he’ll do that again this time round. It will be interesting to see how high up the field he can finish though if he goes on the first leg again as he will be facing some of the most elite club runners in the country there. No doubt Ollie will rise to the challenge though, as he always does.