ANGUS Maclean is reverting to the cross-country route to bring his middle distance times down next summer.

After focussing on the indoor circuit last winter, the 22-year-old 1500 metres ace from Curdridge is switching back to great outdoors which, the previous year, had taken him all the way to his first senior vest at the World Cross-Country Championships.

Now back at Southampton University after taking a year out from his degree in medicine, the trainee doctor again finished runner-up to New Forest Runners' Lee Rodriguez in the second meeting of the Hampshire Cross-Country League at Goodwood last Saturday.

He is not yet running at his fastest, but coach Rod Lock says his talented, young charge has plenty of time to shape up for another World Cross-Country tilt in Switzerland in March.

Lock said: "Angus needed a rest after a busy summer on the track and has only been training properly again since mid-October.

"Lee (Rodriguez) is extremely fit because he's been doing the mileage and he's running extremely well.

But Angus halved the deficit on him at Goodwood and we're hoping he'll improve further next Sunday (November 17) at the European Trials in Margate. It's a smoother and flatter course which should suit him better and, although we don't expect to make the European team, it'll be a good marker to see where we are in terms of the country."

After making Britain's World Cross-Country team, Maclean excelled himself with an outdoor run of 3.39.88 at Watford in June, 2001, which still stands as his 1500m personal best.

Lock said: "Last winter he ran indoors and didn't improve his best during the summer, so this time we're going back to the cross-country route. It's a great way of building strength.

"Angus doesn't need to be fully fit yet. Once you reach maximum fitness you can only hold it for four to six weeks and the two peaks we want to reach are for the World Cross-Country in March and the major track championships next August.

"If he were to reach his peak all the time, it would be a very flat one."

With Maclean at the fore, Team Solent's men finished a superb second overall behind Aldershot, Farnham & District at Goodwood.

"We're only in Division 3 because we haven't been so strong in the past, but we're getting good teams out now and are making quite an impression," said Lock.

The next meeting in the Hampshire series is hosted by Reading AC at Prospect Park on Saturday, November 30.

ANGUS MACLEAN: Back to the great outdoors.