Up & Running’s Ellis Cross (centre) on the podium outside Buckingham Palace after winning the Vitality London 10km. Credit: Getty Images
Up & Running staff across the country cheered on Monday, May 2, as one of their own, Ellis Cross, shocked the world as the amateur club runner beat four-time Olympic champion, Sir Mo Farah, in the Vitality London 10,000m race.
Ellis, 25, who works at Up & Running’s store in Surbiton and leads the shop’s weekly Social Run Group (SRG) every Tuesday, was not part of the elite field and wore a bib with number ‘219’, rather than his name after having paid the £37 entrance fee himself.
Having had his Up & Running working hours set up to make room for his training schedule, Cross, who runs for Aldershot, Farnham & District AC in his spare time, beat the Olympian by four seconds, crossing the line near Buckingham Palace in 28 minutes and 40 seconds.
Taking home the biggest prize of his running career so far, Up & Running’s Ellis Cross wanted to take the opportunity to thank his colleagues and friends, and said: “It’s been 24 hours and I still can’t quite believe it. Winning a race is one thing but beating your idol in front of huge crowds in London is something I will never forget.
“I’m so grateful for everyone’s kind messages and words of support, especially those of my colleagues at Up & Running who have helped manage my working hours around my training and the brilliant people that join our SRG sessions in Surbiton, there’s too many to thank!”
Up & Running’s weekly SRG sessions are free and held at its stores across the country for all running abilities.
Surbiton Store Manager, Dan Cheeseman, was full of admiration for the young runner, he said: “Everyone at Up & Running is so thrilled for Ellis and his win at the London Vitality 10km. He’s trained so hard for this and continues to work to motivate others every day, especially those members of our SRG group who run from the Surbiton shop every Tuesday.
“We’ve always worked with Ellis to support his craft and training, working his hours at the store around his training needs and we’ve recently been able to allow him some extended time away to train in the French Pyrenees for four weeks. Ellis does great work in our community helping runners of all ages and abilities from youngsters right through to seasoned veterans and this incredible achievement couldn’t have happened to a nicer lad.”
Up & Running have 28 shops across the UK soon to be 29 and are actively recruiting new team members – for full details see www.upandrunning.co.uk/careers.
Up & Running are committed to supporting their staff in following their passions and providing adequate support to the next-generation of budding future runners.
