LUKE Gunn says his last-minute decision to run at the BMC Grand Prix in Solihull was one of the best he ever made as he moved to within four seconds of the Olympic qualification time.

The 3000m steeplechaser was set to rest at the weekend as he continued to recuperate from a long-haul flight back from Florida.

But the 23-year-old surprised everyone by turning up in Solihull and running 8mins 28.48secs, shaving almost three seconds of his previous personal best, to claim third spot in a fiercely competitive race.

“I'd been telling people all week that I wasn't running,” said Gunn, who has just returned from a two-years sports scholarship in the USA.

“Everyone will think it was some kind of secret race but I literally only decided to do it on the day – it turned out to be one of the best decisions I've ever made.

“I actually entered it when I was in America but when I came back, I had no intention of racing. In the week leading up to it I didn't feel like I'd overcome the jetlag and needed another week to get over it.

“Even the day before, I'd been training but in the evening I didn't feel too bad.

“At 9am on the day of the race I rang up my coach, we had a chat and decided to go for it. I was going to train on the day anyway so I was just treating it as a run out.

“It took all the pressure off because, in my head, I wasn't running that week. When people know you're running, they all wish you good luck and ask how you got on.

“It's a bit like when you take your driving test.

“But I wasn't looking for a time, I was just free to race. It felt a bit rock starrish as well – just turning up unannounced!”

The Derby AC runner has always maintained that the right standard of race would see him reach the Olympic A time of 8.24.60 and the weekend's performance backs him up.

Saturday's competition saw the country's best steeplechasers all out to prove a point with Gunn's big three rivals – Andrew Lemoncello, Stuart Stokes and Adam Bowden – all in action.

Just over two seconds separated Lemoncello in first from Bowden in fourth.

“They had a Kenyan pacemaker who won silver at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne – not a bad standard to have setting the pace really!” said Gunn.

“It was aggressive right from the start but I just sat right off on the tail.

“Coming down the home straight, I could have reached out and touched Lemoncello's jersey. I could see the clock ticking from 3.24 to 3.25 – I was that close.”

He added: “With 200m to go, I thought I might be able to win it but I slightly misjudged the last jump and got cut up. That was it then. But it was very encouraging. It's a big, big confidence boost.”

Gunn's performance has convinced him he still has time to beat 8.24.60 but his focus now is purely on the Beijing Trials in Birmingham on Sunday, July 13.

He needs a top two finish at the trials to stand any chance of booking his place in China, regardless of whether he has the qualification time, and has decided not to race again before the big one in a bid to stay fresh.

It is a contrasting strategy to his steeplechase rivals, some of whom have already raced again this week to try and get the time.

“I'm trying to outsmart them,” he said.

“We're just concentrating on the trial now. I'm working on my speed but I want to be fresh for the trials. The temptation was to try and get the time before the race – but if you get it and don't finish in the top two at the trials, you don't go anyway.”

Ideally, Gunn would like to get a top two finish and the qualification time from next Sunday's run but says he is a little bit wiser following the American College finals last month.

In that race, he targeted both the win and the time in a run that was more tactical than fast.

Caught in two minds, Gunn tried to force his competitors into a fast race by leading from the front and ended up dropping down to third with a time of 8.34.41.

“That's exactly what I'm thinking, I've learned from that,” he said.

“I don't know if the race will actually be the pace I need to get the time.

“I think it will be tactical and I'm not going to go out there blazing away from the start trying to chase the time.

“The important thing is to get in the top two and I think I can do it.”