DURSLEY AC star Garry Hughes will experience the race of his life on Sunday as he competes in the Junior Mens World Duathlon Championships.

The youngster, one of the club's top distance runners, will travel to Geel in Belgium tonight before preparing himself for the event on Sunday morning, which could provide a major highlight in an already blossoming career.

Hughes, 18, hails from Eastington but has been a member of Dursley and District Athletic Club for eight years. A prodigious running talent, he has starred for the club in a number of distance races but has really shone in triathlon, for which the sky may very well be the limit in terms of his success.

Hughes, who is also a member of Gloucester Triathlon Club, is a natural at the running/biking/swimming event, but has also shown promise in the running/biking world of duathlon, and his progress in this sport has been noted with his place at the championships.

Hughes' coach, Fred Yearsley, explained: "Garry has been with me since he was very young, and running is his strongest asset. He is good on the bike, but not so hot on the swimming right now. He's got great determination and works ever so hard on his running and cycling and just needs his swimming to improve a little to be a top triathlete. Because of this, duathlon has become a strong event for him."

Already one of the county's top distance runners at any age, Hughes recently claimed second place in the 3K at the Millfield School British Mileage Club's Junior Mens meeting, completing the distance in an awesome eight minutes, forty one seconds.

Hughes, who is a student at Gloucester's Hartpury College, has been on a structured training programme this year in an effort to claim a place on the World Potential Training Plan, a lottery funded scheme for athletes that Hughes is in the process of getting into as a triathlete.

The youngster has shown immense promise in triathlon this year and finished third in the Eaton Triathlon earlier in the season, despite emerging from the lake fifth from last.

Yearsley said of his potential: "In triathlon, I think he can reach national level. Duathlon is a non-Olympic event and has no lottery funding because of this, so I think Garry may look beyond duathlon and onto triathlon in the end. "I think he has a great future, he has the right mental attitude. Running is his main sport, but we will be looking at triathlon for him at a national level in the future."

In between his last minute preparations, Hughes told the Gazette: "It's great to do it. I hope to finish in the top ten at least and enjoy the experience. "Representing Great Britain is a great honour. I'm think I'm stronger at duathlon really, because my swimming is not as strong. But I like a mixed training programme, and enjoy the variety of it."

Success on Sunday could prove to be the next big step in an exciting athletics story for Hughes, who will triumphantly swap the colours of Dursley AC for a Great Britain vest as he aims to cement his place as a top duathlete.