BUYING a pair of ill-fitting running shoes was a happy accident for Brian Cole - it led to him winning his first England vest.

The 31-year-old marine from Darwen has been one of East Lancashire's top performers in the London Marathon for several years, and this April seemed likely to be no exception.

For the first ten miles he was on target for a sub 2 hour 30 minute time, but then his feet began to go numb, forcing him out the 11-mile mark.

A medical examination revealed no injury, just tight shoes!

Not wanting to waste his distance training, Brian looked around for another race, and the answer was in his information pack from the marathon, namely the AAA's 50 kilometre Ultra Distance Road Championships.

Competing over a seven-lap course at Sutton Park, Cole completed the 31 miles in 3:11:33 placing second and beating nearly the entire England team.

Team manager Norman Wilson immediately short-listed him for the squad, but wanted to see more and asked Brian to run the Marlborough Downs Challenge, a 33-mile trek over the Cotswolds held on the last day in May.

Not knowing the route, Brian tracked the leader most of the way before winning comfortably in 4:52:32.

That has confirmed his England place in the Celtic Trophy, a match between the Home Countries over a 100 kilometre road course in Edinburgh.

Four athletes from each country will race on July 6 and the first three will be selected for the Great Britain World Championship Team. Brian's personal target is to beat seven hours.

Although it will be the first time he has represented his country in athletics, he has been honoured in the winter biathlon, which incorporates shooting and cross country skiing.

In 1998, he was named as the reserve for the Winter Olympics in Nagano, and was even presented with the official tracksuit, although he didn't get to Japan.

He has also competed in the World Championships twice and the European Championships four times.

After becoming the British Champion for 10 kilometre cross country skiing in 2000, he was selected for the 2002 Olympic squad, but unfortunately the team didn't qualify for the Salt Lake City games.

Until recently, Cole spent his winters competing in European Cup skiing events, but now funding for the Royal Navy Team has been withdrawn.

Lance Corporal Cole nowadays works in a recruitment office in Stoke, ensuring that he has plenty of time to train, and although he is away during the week, he still lives in Darwen.