Hartlepool Burn Road Harrier Keith Hutchinson competes in European Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Spain.

Hutchinson is set to compete in the European Masters Athletics Indoor Championships in Madrid.

The 38-year-old takes on Europe’s best athletes over 800m, his first race is the heats on early Wednesday afternoon.

Success here would lead to the semi-final later that evening, with the final timetabled for Thursday evening.

Harriers’ spokeswoman Jane Wistow said: “Keith has had a fantastic season and this is the culmination of a lot of hard work and dedication to his training plan.

“Keith has a season’s best of 2:01:98 over the 800m distance and currently ranks fifth in the UK in the Vet35 Male category.

“He achieved this in January this year at the Northern Athletics Senior Championships in Sheffield.

“His talent extends across other distances too. He is ranked first in the UK over 600m with a time of 1:24:63 at the Sale Harriers Open Series at Manchester and third in the UK over both 300m (38.4 at Jarrow in the North East Masters League) and 1000m (2:52:81 at Sheffield Indoor Stadium).

“It is hoped Keith will dip under two minutes for the 800m during his time in Madrid, a time he is definitely capable of in the right conditions.