Rising star Michael Clark is eyeing his first-ever English Schools Cross Country title in March. In an interview with Vinco, he talks about competing at the World Championships in Florida, his rivalry with Alex Lennon and how he has learned to deal with big-race nerves.

When he lines up at the ESAA Cross Country Championships at Sefton Park on March 14th, Norfolk athlete Michael Clark will have a score to settle. 

Clark finished sixth at the English Schools’ Championships in both 2024 and 2025. This time around, he is after the title. 

“The only logical thing would be to try and win it. I have the fitness to run at my best, and if I do that, then I back myself to go for the win,” he tells Vinco in an interview before the race.

Clark will certainly be among the favourites for the senior race at Sefton Park. The 17-year-old is the reigning English Schools champion over 3000m and has already begun to make waves internationally.

Born in Japan and raised in Hong Kong and Norfolk, Clark has established himself as one of Britain’s most talented young distance runners.

He competed at the European Athletics U20 Championships in Tampere last season and already has his sights set on the World Athletics U20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, later this year. 

The teenager has also impressed on the global stage in cross country, competing in the men’s U20 race at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee, Florida in January. 

It was a race which tested him on many levels, with the 17-year-old having to navigate beaches, alligator-shaped logs and a huge, passionate crowd at WXC 26.

“The thing that made it so different was the fact that there were 10,000 spectators. That completely threw me in at the deep end: there was no other experience I’ve had that comes anything close to it,” he says.

Clark was unfazed, finishing in an impressive 20th place, ahead of Great Britain team mate and long-term rival Alex Lennon. 

The friendly rivalry with Lennon has been a fixture of Clark’s young career so far, and the two young men will lock horns again at Sefton Park next month.

While Clark is chasing his first English Schools cross country title, Lennon returns to the event as reigning champion after winning the senior race in West Sussex last year.

“We are friends regardless of who beats who, but obviously when we step onto the course, we are going to want to beat each other,” says Clark. 

“I couldn’t say I wasn’t upset when he beat me at the Euros and I’m pretty sure he was a bit upset when I beat him at Worlds.

“That’s just how it is with athletes who have both reached the top: Once you’ve won so much, it hurts not to win.”

Clark has beaten Lennon at Sefton Park before, winning the 4.4KXC at the British Athletics Cross Challenge last November. 

He tells Vinco that was a moment of redemption after he was forced to pull out of a race at the same venue the previous year.

“It was the only race I’ve ever dropped out of and that really took a toll on my confidence. I had all these negative thoughts in the back of my mind about not being good enough.”

“To come over the next year and go from a DNF to winning the race meant a lot to me and it made me realise that I’m as good at cross country as I am on the track.”

He adds that competing for England and Great Britain on the biggest stages has helped him learn to control big-race nerves.

“When you are representing your country, you really have to learn how to manage your nerves because that’s going to be key to conserving your energy.”

Clark will be out to keep a cool head once again at the ESAA Championships, where he and Lennon are among the clear favourites in the senior race.

Yet he warns that nothing is set in stone, especially in a race as traditionally unpredictable as English Schools. 

The ESAA unites the best young athletes from all 46 English counties and according to Clark, that is what makes it so special. 

“You get a lot more people who wouldn’t necessarily have qualified for nationals or inter-counties, so you have a lot of unseen talent finally making it to the top.”

The 2026 ESAA Cross Country Championships take place at Liverpool’s Sefton Park on March 14th, and will be available to watch live exclusively on Vinco with a RunnerSpace+ subscription.

You can watch the full interview with Michael Clark here.