VALE Royal Athletics Club’s newest recruit, Katie Brough, declared herself happy after clocking the seventh fastest time over 5,000m by a British runner this season.

The 31-year-old placed seventh on track at the ninth Iberoamericano Meeting in Huelva, south west Spain, timing 15:52.03.

“I wasn’t sure how it would go, but I’m delighted to have run as quickly as I did,” she said afterwards.

She returns to action at the British Milers’ Club (BMC) Grand Prix in Watford at the end of this month, the next stage in her preparation for the annual Sainsbury’s British Championships at Birmingham in July.