Basingstoke & Mid Hants Athletics Club is rapidly gaining recognition on both the national and international fronts, despite not being considered one of the prominent clubs in UK Athletics.

The club's mid and long-distance athletes have been making significant strides, attracting attention and praise in recent times.

Over the past 18 months, the club's endurance coaches have adopted a deliberate strategy to develop athletes across all age groups, ranging from under 15 to senior level.

This approach, although seemingly obvious, stands in contrast to the traditional coaching methods where coaches tend to work independently with their athletes.

Coaches Dave Ragan, Leigh Henderson, Jo Breeds, and Rod Finch consistently collaborate to assign athletes to various groups and training sessions that cater to their individual developmental needs, both physically and psychologically.

Dave Ragan, in particular, has been instrumental in nurturing a group of talented athletes in their early 20s and teenage years.

The club's mid-distance crew currently boasts three athletes making their mark on the international scene.

Among them, Commonwealth bronze medallist Ben Pattison, and Reece Sharman-Newell hold the top two rankings in the country for the 800 meters event.

Dave Ragan's efforts have been duly recognised, as it was recently announced that Reece has earned his first call-up to represent Team GB in the 2023 European U23 Championships, taking place in Finland later this month (July 13-16).

The third international athlete, Gemma Finch, plies her trade professionally with the Atlanta Track Club in the USA and is coached by Atlanta Track Club Elite.

Additionally, the club has seen promising talent emerge at the senior level, with athletes like Maddie Dedman, James Beeks, and Tom Syckelmoore making appearances at or near the national level.

Among the up-and-coming athletes, Daisy Allford, still in the under-15 category, has shown remarkable progress in the 800m event, clocking an impressive time of 2:14, which secured her a spot among the top 14 performers in the country.