In the virtual world of racing, athletes haven’t been holding back from getting stuck in. With the choice of ‘races’ to do being very limited, this means that more people of varying abilities, all the way up to Olympic level runners, have also been taking to virtual race to add some competition to their solo time trials.

Here is a round-up of a few virtual events as well as a few milestones that this week signifies.

Podium 5k kicks off 1st round

The Podium 5k team recently kicked off their virtual racing season and have already had some rapid times recorded. The likes of Adam Hickey proved that chocolate Easter eggs really can be a good source of fuel. After his daily morning dose of chocolate, Hickey headed out onto the roads of Southend to get his 5k time trial done.

After his phenomenal time, my only question is, is chocolate performance enhancing as I think we should all be eating more of it! The GB athlete clocked 13:58 on an out and back route which included a dead turn.

Fuelled by Easter Eggs and probably delighted just to have both shoes stay on his feet. Photo: Zach Bridgeland

Currently just behind Hickey in 14:10 is Ex Olympian Nick McCormick who actually joined the party on the real podium course as the course is a tried and tested 5k route. Kian Davis sits in third place with 14:37

For the ladies one of our NHS superheroes, Elsey Whyman-Davis, stormed to the top of the virtual leaderboard. The athlete holds an official best time of 16:16 for the distance, and clocked 15:47 for the virtual event! An impressive run from the Cornish doctor!

In current second place sits Eleanor Bolton, recent Euro Cross GB runner, with a solid 16:32. This too is both a track and road PB for Bolton. GB marathoner, Aly Dixon, also decided to join in for Round one. After five 60 mile weeks including only one tempo run, Dixon ran an impressive 17:31 for third place, just one second off the time she was aiming for. (Was she aiming for 17:32? – Ed.

Scottish Virtual Road Relay

The Scottish Road Relays continued on the buzz of camaraderie with their 6 stage 5k time trials. Stephanie Pennycook of Fife solo ran herself to a first-place finish with an excellent 16:33. This effort is only just 11 seconds off her PO10 recorded best time.

In second was Virginie Barrand in 16:58 with the fastest leg for Metro Aberdeen. Continuing with the trend, this is a whole 34 seconds quicker than her pb. The third female place went to GB runner and recent Scottish Cross Country Champion, Mhairi Maclennan. The Inverness athlete ran 17:04.

In the men’s virtual event, it was Anthony Addison who secured himself the top spot on the leaderboard. Addison ran 14:36 to lead his team to victory, but clocking a time just 10 seconds slower (14:46) than Addison was Alastair Hay of Central.

The third fastest male time was then clocked by Joe Ewing of Edinburgh with a strong 14:50, some rapid performances. Ewing’s best time which he set on the roads is 15:25, so it’s a first time under 15 minutes for Ewing.

Photo: Bill Dale/IOM Easter Festival

Isle of Man Easter Festival of Runnin

This weekend also saw the closing of the Isle of Man Easter Running Festival. The event saw a mixture of more traditional races, such as 5k and 10k, and more, lets say interesting races, such as a pint race and chunder mile. If you want to know why the yearly festival is the “perfect mix of beer and running” then check this article out.

The fastest time clocked in the Port Erin 10k was by Andy Norman with an impressive 32:01. Next was James Hoad with a solid 32:26. Norman’s clubmate, Simon O’Meara, secured the third fastest time in 34:33.

The women too produced some speedy times with Natalie Wangler stopping her watch on the fastest time. Wangler ran 36:54 to place her ahead of Grace Ranford. Ranford, the U20 athlete ran 40:52. Ranford finished just ahead of Rebecca Frake who ran 41:15.

The Douglas 5km saw the same two men run to the top of the leaderboard. Andy Norman once again stopped his watch on the fastest time. He ran an impressive 15:17 to secure a convincing win. As in the 10km, Norman was followed by James Hoad who clocked 15:54. Simon O’Meara too came in 3rd but was joined by Rian McCawley in the exact same time of 16:28.

Sophie Collins had a strong run in the women’s category. She secured herself the fastest woman’s spot in 18:49 ahead of Meike Freudenreich in 19:06. The U20 athlete Grace Ranford once again made it into the top three with a sub-20 time of 19:48.

There weren’t many takers for the Chunder Mile, but the win was secured by Nick Holliday in 5:31. Andy Norman entered into the Pint Race and as in the other races, he took home the win in 4:11. If only he could have stepped up to compete the Chunder Mile he might have had the IOM Grand Slam.

RunThrough Virtual Rankings

RunThrough have also joined the virtual party by putting all their races online too. The current fastest time in the 5k event has been run by Ben Green in the Run Media City event. Green clocked a sub-16 time of 15:55. It was in the RunThrough VeloPark 10k that Graeme Eyre ran the fastest time. Eyre stopped his watch on 30:53, a very impressive clocking!

Over the longer half marathon distance, Alex Brighton was the quickest runner with 1:13:52. Longer again, in the full marathon, it was Neil Shorten who took the virtual race ‘win’ in 2:41:36.

Now you’ve heard about what has been going on this weekend, what about the monumental races and events on this weekend in years prior.

Blast from the past.

Whilst the London Marathon won’t be there to bring us joy next weekend, we can still celebrate some previous successes from the event.

On the 21st of April in 1993, Eamonn Martin won over the hearts of the entire nation as he became the last British male to win the London Marathon. The 34-year old at the time had been battling against sponsors who deemed him too old to be worthy of backing.

Martin also welcomed his third child into his family just three days prior to the race and his wife remained in hospital on the day of the marathon. In response to the doubt that mounted against him due to belief that he was ‘too old’ and ‘too heavy’ to take on the marathon distance, he said he wanted to be “the fastest old git on the day” and that he was.

It was in 100 yards of sprinting that he was able to open up a 30yard gap and hold his own until he crossed the line in a time of 2:10:50.

Photo: London Marathon

A special day for Paula

It was on the 13th April 2003 that marathon queen, Paula Radcliffe, took the win at the London Marathon for the second year in a row, however she did something in 2003 that she didn’t manage to do in 2002.

Paula Radcliffe broke the world record at the time (unfortunately it has now been beaten) in an outstanding 2:15:25, almost 2 minutes faster than her own world record set in Chicago the year before. This time still puts Paula at the top of the UK all-time list, over 7.5 minutes ahead of Mara Yamauchi.

The marathon record marked the peak of Radcliffe’s career and no female British athlete has ever clocked a time near to it. To date only one woman, Brigid Kosgei, has beaten it although some quick half marathon performances by others suggest more might in the future.

1906 Boston winner was the youngest

This week in sports history had a few outstanding and crazy race wins. On April 16th 1906, the 10th Boston Marathon took place where Tim Ford, only 18 years of age, secured the win as the youngest winner! Ford clocked 2:45:45, which in today’s world is over 22 minutes slower than the fastest woman and almost 40 minutes slower than last year’s winner Lawrence Cherono from Kenya.

It was also 123 years ago on Sunday that the first ever Boston Marathon occurred back in 1897. The Boston Marathon was inspired by the success of the 1896 summer Olympics and is now considered the oldest marathon still taking place.

It was also seven years ago, in 2013, that the devastating and horrific Boston Marathon Bombings happened. The 15th of April, the day on which this occurred is now an official and permanent holiday known as “One Boston Day” which is dedicated to conducting random acts of kindness and helping one another out.

Whilst Wednesday of this week was spent by the majority of us at home, this too is something we are all doing to help each other and our fantastic NHS to fight coronavirus.

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Now what on earth are we going to write about next weekend? Leave it with us, we’ll come up with something. Or tweet some ideas at us, that always helps.

Your fastest male and female parkrun athletes of all time are…. unnecessary drum roll…. Andy Baddeley (13:48) and Charlotte Arter (15:49).

So Andy Baddeley, a 1500m Olympian and 13:20.99 5000m runner, is still the quickest of all time, way back from 2012 at the home of parkrun, Bushy Park. Little interesting fact to go alongside is that the 3:49 miler also has a double-first in Engineering from Cambridge University. Speedy and smart.

Your ladies parkrun world record holder is none the than Charlotte Arter. The GB distance star was at the rapido Cardiff parkrun in south Wales, and has run a handful of times that would have made this top ten. According to Wikipedia the Welsh star is originally from Cumbria, but is now the Welsh record holder for half marathon with a 69:40 at Barcelona Half last year.

The runners up

Alex Yee is a runner that always gets people excited, possibly linked to the fact my laptop tries to autocorrect to “Alex Yeehaw”. When he ran 14:05 a couple of years ago at Dulwich parkrun it was the second quickest all time and people loved it. Then the triathlon pro went one better and ran 13:57 at the same park. Could Yee break Baddeley’s record in the future?

When Dr. Jess Piasecki ran 15:51 and captained GB at the World XC Champs you might have felt that the Stockport Harrier could have relaxed for the rest of 2019, content in the knowledge that the year had been smashed, but the Exercise physiologist went on to run one of the performances of the year, winning Florence Marathon in 2:25:29, the third fastest British marathoner of all time.

Completing the podium

When Adam Clarke goes for a run at parkrun you now it’s going to be speedy. Another effort from Dulwich and the 2019 Armagh International winner (in 13:52 no less) probably lists his 14:00 parkrun on a similar level of achievement… or maybe slightly less than his simply staggering 13:39 5000m PB. Who knows?

The third fastest lady was also at Cardiff parkrun and Jenny Nesbitt is actually one of our Fast10 for 2020. Clocking 15:54 already in 2020, Nesbitt is clearly in great form and also had a road 10k best of 32:42 from Valencia in January this year. Another one who might challenge her training partner Arter’s parkrun best in the future.

A shout out must go to Clara Evans, training partner of Arter and Nesbitt, for posting the only time in this top ten that didn’t even come with the sweet joy of being first finisher on the day. On 1st February this year the seventh quickest UK parkrun all time was second on the day to Arter’s world best.

The fastest events?

142 men have broken 15 minutes at parkrun as of last weekend, which is pretty much on par with a good year at Armagh 5k international, whereas 137 ladies have broken 17 minutes, which feels like our equivalent result in the round up each week, with the time difference for fastest in each category the same as well (15:49 & 13:48 both just over 70 seconds quicker).

In a veritable who’s who of speedy parkruns, which event features most as well? Unsurprisingly Cardiff and Dulwich pop up repeatedly and the old school Bushy Park still has enough marks in the rankings to feature as the quickest with six, but it’s only a matter of time before the others surpass the home of parkrun.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Bushy ’12
Andy Baddeley, 13:48, Harrow
2) parkrun: Dulwich ’18
Alex Yee, 13:57, Kent AC
3) parkrun: Dulwich ’19
Adam Clarke, 14:00, Aldershot,Farnham & District
4) parkrun: Llanelli Coast ’18
Dewi Griffiths, 14:12, Swansea
5) parkrun: Southend ’16
Adam Hickey, 14:15, Southend
6=) parkrun: Pegwell Bay ’18
Chris Olley, 14:17, Tonbridge AC
6=) parkrun: Bakewell ’19
Andrew Heyes, 14:17, Hallamshire
8) parkrun: Bushy ’10
Mark Draper, 14:20, Bedford & County
9) parkrun: Exmouth ’18
Jake Smith, 14:21, Cardiff AC
10=) parkrun: Bushy ’10
Benedict Whitby, 14:24, Windsor, Slough, Eton & Hounslow
10=) parkrun: Cardiff ’15
Ieuan Thomas, 14:24, Cardiff

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Cardiff ’20
Charlotte Arter, 15:49, Cardiff AC
2) parkrun: Long Eaton ’19
Jess Piasecki, 15:51, Stockport
3) parkrun: Cardiff ’20
Jenny Nesbitt, 15:54, Cardiff AC
4) parkrun: St Albans ’13
Hannah Walker, 15:55, Birchfield Harriers
5=) parkrun: Bushy ’11
Justina Heslop, 15:58, Clapham Chasers
5=) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum ’19
Hayley Carruthers, 15:58, Birchfield Harriers
7) parkrun: Cardiff ’20
Clara Evans, 16:04, Cardiff AC
8) parkrun: Bushy ’13
Julia Bleasdale, 16:05, Hillingdon
9) parkrun: Dulwich ’19
Steph Davis, 16:08, Clapham Chasers
10) parkrun: Bushy ’12
Gemma Turtle, 16:09, Gloucester

If you would like to run faster at parkrun, top tips to help runners of all abilities can be found here.

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Reekie makes it three in a row

Away from the challenges of Storm Ciara, the golden girl of the indoor season, Jemma Reekie, proved her newfound strength once again in New York at the Milrose Games. In the space of a week, Reekie added to her indoor 800m national record and set not only a British indoor record for the mile, but also a British record for the 1500m.

Finishing 3rd in the Wannamaker Women’s Mile, she stopped the clock on 4:17.88 just behind Germany’s Konstanze Klosterhalfen and American record setter, Elle Purrier. In the women’s 1500m, Reekie set another British record and a PB of 4:00.5, improving on the best of her training partner Laura Muir. Astonishing running from the Scottish athlete!

Chris O’Hare featured in the Wannamaker men’s mile where he was first to cross the line in an impressive 3:55.61 ahead of the Australian athlete, Olli Hoare. In the women’s 800m race, Shelayna Oskan-Clarke finished fifth in a strong 2:06.22.

Konstanze Klosterhalfen missed the European mile record by 0.12 with 4:17.26 in New York last night.

And @JemmaReekie sets her second and third British indoor records of 2020!

: https://t.co/i4aZmbMyI5pic.twitter.com/JGeSRC7Spq

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) February 9, 2020

Copeland kicks again

At the PSD Bank Indoor Meeting in Dortmund once again Piers Copeland produced his stunning finishing kick to take victory in the 1500m in a high class field 3:40.25 kicking past Kenyan Kumari Taki (3:40.28) and Timo Benitz (3:40.33). Melissa Courtney-Bryant was a dominant winner of the 3000m running 8:49.78 beating Luiza Gega (8:52.59) and Roseline Chepngetich (8:53.63) into 2nd and 3rd.

@PiersCopeland1 so proud!! Crazy last lap to clinch it at the end! pic.twitter.com/ZkUPAWc5k5

— Chelsie Walters (@walterschelsie1) February 9, 2020

Also indoors, at the International Gugl Meeting in Linz, some impressive times were run. In the men’s 3000m, GB’s Phil Seseman ran a cracking race to come in 4th place in 7:58.09. Just behind Seseman in 5th place was Adam Clarke in 8:05.34. In 10th place, in a solid 8:35.67 was Ricky Harvie of Aldershot & Farnham.

At the BMC Sheffield Open mid week Adam Craig put in a fine solo run to win the 3000m in 8:00.28 ahead of Rory Leonard (8:27.30) and Elliot Palmer (8:37.20). The women’s 1500m was won by Ejiro Okoro in 4:34.94 just edging out Mena Scatchard (4:34.96) with Isabel Rodriguez (4:37.31) in third.

Daniel Cheeseman won the men’s 1500m in 3:53.32 in a tight race with Mark Bostock (3:53.62) and John Ashcroft (3:53.75). Nicholas Landeau was a comfortable winner in the men’s 800m running 1:52.55 to beat Jack Benstead (1:55.55) and Ryan Elston (1:56.38) into 2nd and 3rd respectively. In the mixed 800m races under 17 Keira Brady-Jones was the fastest woman clocking 2:11.64 with Issy Cotham running 2:12.36 and Victoria Lightbody 2:14.93.

Holt wins Belgium Cross Cup

In Belgium, plenty of British athletes took part in the Belgium Cross Cup in marginally more enjoyable conditions. Kate Holt put in another fine displace to win the seniors women’s race in 22:41. British athletes inside the top 20 were Izzy Fry was 4th (22:56), Stephanie Barnes 5th (23:03), Eleanor Bolton 7th (23:09), Sarah Astin 9th (23:20), Lauren Hall 11th (23:28), Carlone Lambert 14th (23:49), Amelia Petit 18th (23:55) and Emily Wicks 20th (23:59).

In the men’s senior race Adam Hickey finished 2nd in 30:12, three seconds behind winner Lahsene Bouchikhi. Again there were more fine performances from British athletes running inside the top 20 – Ellis Cross 6th (30:53), Jack Millar 11th (31:15), Jonathan Escalante-Phillips 12th (31:19), Daniel Haworth 18th (31:49), Cameron Bell 19th (31:55) and Zak Mahamed 20th (31:59).

It was a British 1-2-3 in the junior women’s race which was won by Shannon Flockhart in 16:15 ahead of Alexandra Millard (16:21) and Phoebe Anderson (16:24), Lauren O’Neil was 7th. The junior men managed a 1-2-3-4! Matthew Stonier took the victory in 21:02 with Oliver Newman 2nd (21:04), Tomer Tarragano 3rd (21:05) and Charlie Brisley 4th (21:08).

In the Great British mud

In the Hampshire League, this year’s Southern Cross Country Champion, Jess Gibbon was in fine form once again. The Reading athlete pushed away from the rest of the field early on in the race. On a surprisingly dry yet deceptively challenging course, the athlete was able to put her fitness to the test. Gibbon finished with an impressive lead, setting up a dominant Reading victory. Teammate, Naomi Mitchell put her marathon strength to work over the 6k course and came in second. Mitchell was followed by Anna Boniface who gave a gutsy performance throughout as she continues her recent progress.

It was Southampton who came out on top in the men’s race with Jonathon Roberts securing the win. The second male to cross the finish line, just 20 seconds behind Roberts, was Alex Pointon of Aldershot. Reading AC fought to stay in the medal positions in the men’s event and it was Daniel Thorne who made it happen. Thorne secure himself third.

Before the storm set in on Sunday, plenty of athletes took to the British fields to take part in their league cross country races. England international athlete, Owen Hind, took home his first ever win in the highly competitive Surrey Cross Country League. The Kent athlete crossed the line 14 seconds ahead of fellow teammate Max Nicholls. The third male across the line was Hercules Wimbledon’s Jonathon Cornish with a strong performance.

It wouldn’t be me if I didn’t get a couple of photos as well as race. @owen_hind on way to XC victory at Lloyd Park yesterday pic.twitter.com/LupULan08F

— James Rhodes (@James_Athletics) February 9, 2020

For the women, it was Isabel Brinsden who secured herself a Surrey League victory, improving on her second and third place finishes before Christmas. The Epsom athlete had a strong 23 second lead on Jackie Skinner of Fulham. The third woman home was Thames Harrier, Natalie Seymour.

The Metropolitan League saw some high-quality runners taking part in the final race of the league season. Elizabeth Janes (Herts) earned herself the position at the top of the podium ahead of Nina Griffiths (Highgate). In third place was U20 athlete Khahisa Mhlanga (Herts Phoenix) with a strong run.

In the senior men’s race, Dylan Evans of Shaftesbury Barnet took home the gold medal. Just 7 seconds behind Evans was Alexander Lepretre (Highgate), closely followed by Seyfu Jamaal of London Heathside.

In the Midlands Women’s League, the victory title was taken by Loughborough athlete Sophie Tarver after a strong 17th place finish at BUCS XC last weekend. Just behind Tarver in second place was teammate Giorgia Chattwood, also a Loughborough student. Chattwood also competed in BUCS last weekend and secured the silver medal in the Women’s short race. Rounding off the women’s podium was Molly Browne (BRAT), improving on her sixth-place finish in the league race back in January.

The Mid Lancs League saw Emily Japp of Blackpool Wyre & Flyde AC take home the victory with an impressive win. In second place was Annabel Ralph (Blackburn Harriers) followed by Finty Royle of Chorley AC.

The men’s event was a much closer race. Alasdair Russell (Kendal AAC) was the first finisher with dominant margin of 20 seconds. Second and third place battled to the line with Rob Danson (Wesham RR) taking 2nd ahead of Ross Campbell of Barrow & Furness St.

The Manchester Area Cross Country League women’s event was won by Sale Harriers Manchester athlete, Sophie Wood. Wood took the win from Vicki Cronin (Trafford AC) who came in second followed by Ruth Jones in third. For the men, it was Salford Harrier, Chris Livesey in first place, Nicholas Barry (Sale Harriers Manchester) in second, and Livesey’s teammate Carl Hardman in third.

The Chiltern League men’s race winner was Ben Alcock (Bedford and County AC) followed by Richard Slade (Chiltern Harriers) and George Wheeler (MK Distance Project) was in third. In the women’s event, it was Melanie Wilkins (Wycombe Phoenix) who took the win ahead of teammate Alexandra Cook. Rounding off the women’s podium was Elle Roche of Marshall Milton Keynes AC.

The senior men’s race in the Birmingham & District Invitation Cross Country League was won by Omar Ahmed (Birchfield Harriers) in a relatively race with Joe Wilkinson was in second (Loughborough Students) and Thomas Mortimer (Loughborough Students) was in third.

Congratulations to our senior men on retaining their Birmingham League Cross Country title pic.twitter.com/PLqnGQwI59

— Birchfield Harriers (@Birchfield1877) February 8, 2020

Back on the road

In the Exeter Half Marathon, Chris Rimmer of the Tavistock Run Project was the first senior male home in 1:11:43. Finn Arentz was second home in 1:12.40 followed by Donald Brooks in 1:13.05.

For the women, Samantha Mare dominated in a strong time of 1:21.59. In second place was Victoria Hill (SWRR) in 1:25.45 and in third place was Amy Carey-Jones (SWRR) in 1:26.38.

Alassan Farah won Victoria Park 10km in 34:40 in a tight race with Thomas Lawson (34:48) and Chris Taylor (34:52). The winning woman was Joanna Furtado in 39:07 seeing off the challenge of Leah Ward-Bower (39:48) with Natalie Whitty third in 40:50. The Victoria Park Half Marathon saw Aaron Tomasz win by over 5 minutes in 70:46 with Rachel Humphrys the winning woman in 81:52.

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Wightman breaks British 1000m Record

Across the world in America, Jake Wightman put his name in the British record books this weekend at the Boston New Balance Indoor Grand Prix.

Wightman competed over the 1,000m distance, crossing the line in second place with a record-breaking time of 2:17.51. The record had been standing since Matt Yates ran 2:27.86 in 1992. Wightman was pipped on the line by USA’s Bryce Hoppel by a 10th of a second!

Also at the Indoor Grand Prix, in the Leonard Memorial Men’s Mile, Chris O’Hare came out on top. O’Hare clocked an impressive 3:59.62 to take the win from New Zealand’s Nick Willis.

1000m Congrats to the win, the PB and becoming the 3rd fastest American in history @brycehoppel (2:17.41) and big @jakeswightman for breaking the British Record @jakeswightman (2:17.51) @NBIndoorGP pic.twitter.com/FMWwqD4hPa

— Global Athletics (@gamupdates) January 26, 2020

A different sort of indoor running.

Hungary’s Zoltán Csécsei set a new world record last week by running 286.8km in 24hrs on a treadmill. Csécsei, who was 2nd at the historic Spartathlon and top 10 at the world 24hr Championships in 2019, takes a big leap in performance and will likely enter his next 24hr race brimming with confidence. He’ll at least know he can cope with boredom better than most.

Good old English mud

This weekend, athletes took to the home of cross country to compete in the ever testing and challenging conditions at Parliament hill. Thousands of athletes ran through the mud in the South of England Cross Country Championships.

Taking home the win in the senior women’s race, after a strong race running for England in Seville last weekend, was Reading AC’s Jess Gibbon. Gibbon had a solid 20 second lead on Tonbridge AC’s Nicole Taylor. After battling with an injury, Taylor made her return in fine form to prove her strength and determination. Completing the podium was Herts Phoenix AC’s Elizabeth Janes, just one second behind Taylor.

Adam Hickey (Southend AC) won the challenging 15km men’s race after an impressive third place finish at the equally testing Run Stirling event. The GB athlete took the win by a clear margin from Alex Lepretre (Highgate) who finished second. The final medal winner was Dylan Evans of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers.

Credit: Daniel Lewis

The Midland Cross Country Championships saw some fast names out in force in Loughborough. Gemma Steel (Charnwood), bronze medallist at the European Cross Country Champs in 2013, was crowned champion, retaining her title. Steel was shortly followed by Cloe Hubbard (Newark AC) who improved on her finishing position from last year by four places. In third place was Steel’s clubmate, Juliet Potter.

In the men’s race, it was Omar Ahmed of Birchfield Harriers who took home the victorious winning title after a second-place finish last year. The second male across the line was triathlete Ben Dijkstra (Leicester Coritanian AC) ahead of Kadar Omar Abdullahi, Ahmed’s clubmate.

In the Northern Cross Country Championships, Jess Judd, winner of the Euro trials in Liverpool, ran a fantastic race to cross the line first. The Blackburn Harrier athlete had a 25 second lead. It was Georgia Taylor-Brown of Sale Harriers Manchester who earned herself the silver medal ahead of Mhairi Maclennan of Preston Harriers.

Gateshead Harrier Calum Johnson secured himself the position at the top of the podium in the men’s race. It was Joe Steward from East Cheshire Harriers who narrowly landed himself the silver medal just 16 seconds behind Johnson. With just one second between second and third, it was Linton Taylor of Leeds City AC who took home the bronze medal.

In the warmth and ‘comfort’ of the indoor track was the Welsh Indoor Senior Championships. The men’s 1500m win went to Swansea’s Jonathon Hopkins in 3:52.17, his fastest time in three years. In the women’s event, over the same distance, Kate Seary took home the win in a solid 4:37.50.

Back on the road

This year’s winner at the Farnborough Winter Half was Casper Hojsgaard Jensen. Jensen won in a strong 1:10:38, taking the gold medal from West 4 athlete, Chris Mason. Mason was not far behind in 1:10:52, a 32 second lifetime best. In third was Russell Murphy (AFD), also with a personal best time of 1:13:04.

Tracey Barlow gave a strong performance to earn herself a convincing win. Barlow crossed the finish line in 1:15:39, just over a minute and a half lead. It was the Swansea and Welsh athlete, Sophie Harris who came in second in 1:17:15, nearly 3 minutes faster than her previous best time! A close 6 seconds behind was Heather Noone (Woodbridge) with another huge PB of 1:17:22.

Tracy Barlow with Race Director Mike Gratton. Credit: Vashti Macdonald-Clink

The BAM Nuttall Freethorpe Ten saw some speedy times clocked by both the men and women. Ash Harrell of City of Norwich made his 10 mile debut a good one, clocking 50:13 for the win. Harrell was followed by Alan Darby (Ely) in 53:29, a solid 32 second lifetime best. To complete the podium, Michael Eccles of Bure Valley crossed the line in 54:15.

For the women, Danielle Nimmock, also of City of Norwich was first home in 58:56. Charlotte Rose was second in 1:01:03 ahead of Amy Beck in 1:03:29.

Lily Partridge was out racing in Seville Half Marathon and we await official results….

In the IEKAC Pentland Homes Canterbury 10 Miler, plenty of runners took to the roads. It was Abel Tsegay (Invicta East Kent) who secured himself the position at the top of the podium with a winning streak for 5 years consecutively. Tsegay stopped the clock at 52:29, a 3-minute lead. The first female finisher was Helen Gaunt (Tonbridge) in 1:03:56, just 9 seconds off her PB time.

At this weekend’s RunThrough Brixton 10k event, Andrew Inglis of Cambridge Harriers took home the win in 33:49. The first woman to cross the line was Emmie Le Merchand in 41:00.

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Next Sunday Kenenisa Bekele intends to bounce back once again at the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON, a race he won in thrilling fashion three years ago with a personal best of 2:03:03.

Gladys Cherono aims to win a fourth Berlin title which would make her the sole record winner of the event.

While fellow-Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot had to cancel her start due to an Achilles tendon problem there are still five women on the start list with personal bests of sub 2:22. Four men feature personal records of sub 2:05, all of them from Ethiopia.

A number of athletes will attempt to achieve the Olympic qualifying times of 2:11:30 and 2:29:30 for men and women respectively on the fast Berlin course.

Organisers recorded a record entry number of 46,983 runners from 150 nations. Along with races in Tokyo, Boston, London, Chicago and New York, the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. For the first time the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON will be the final event in this year’s series.

Bekele’s rivals for the win

After a series of disappointing results it remains to be seen in what sort of form Kenenisa Bekele is on Sunday. It is likely that his strongest rivals will be fellow-Ethiopians. Birhanu Legese took the title in Tokyo in March with 2:04:48. In 2018 he made a spectacular debut with 2:04:15 in Dubai where he was sixth.

Two more of the Berlin entries were in action in Dubai 2018 and ran their personal bests there: Leul Gebrselassie was the runner-up in 2:04:02 while Sisay Lemma clocked 2:04:08 in fifth position.

While Felix Kandie, who has a PB of 2:06:03, is the fastest Kenyan on the start list two fellow countrymen could be in for a surprise: Training partners Abel Kipchumba and Bethwel Yegon showed very good form in the build-up to their marathon debuts in Berlin.

Potential women’s winners

After victories in 2015 and 2017 Gladys Cherono achieved her third triumph in the BMW BERLIN-MARATHON last year with a course record of 2:18:11. The Kenyan may well have to run another sub 2:20 to win title number four because there is a group of runners who have the potential to achieve such a time as well.

One Ethiopian on the start list who has already achieved a sub 2:20 time: Mare Dibaba, who won the world marathon title in 2015 and one year later took the bronze medal at the Rio Olympics, has a personal record of 2:19:52.

Another prominent Ethiopian athlete on the start list is Meseret Defar. She is the double Olympic 5,000 m champion (2004 und 2012). Meseret Defar has the potential to run much faster than her current PB of 2:23:33.

British Hopes

There are plenty of fast Brits on the startline, some experienced over the marathon and others testing themselves over the distance for the first time.

Scott Overall (2:10:55), Jonny Mellor (2:12:57) and Tracy Barlow (2:30:42) bring excellent personal bests to Germany and it will be exciting to see how they fare this weekend in the European capital. Barlow was in excellent form at the Southern Road Relays this weekend just past, representing her club as a final warm up for the marathon.

Former national cross country champion Adam Hickey is an exciting debutant over 26.2 miles and the Southend AC brings a 64:41 half marathon PB to the table. Maybe the strength of the the XC star will show in the latter stages of the race. Jonathan Thewlis of Notts AC ran 2:23 in Berlin last year but will be looking to replicate the performance that saw him clock 2:17:58 for 25th at the London Marathon back in 2017.

Elsey Whyman-Davis is on the start-list and has been going from strength to strength after starting work with coach Helen Clitheroe, but the hardworking medic has informed Fast Running she will be targeting a different marathon later in the autumn.

Ryan Burling ran 2:20:10 at Frankfurt last year and will be likely aiming to get under that 2:20 barrier this time round. The Isle of Man athlete spoke to Fast Running about his hard and fast approach to training 18 months ago and he is not a fan of the slow, easy miles.We have since heard that Ryan is on the injury bench, so hopefully he’s back in action soon.

Talented Matt Clowes loves to race and we love to see him race well. After gutting out a 2:43 at London Marathon last year, you’d hope the 63:26 half marathoner has a better day at the office this year. On the 15th of September the Cardiff AC star ran 65:08 to win the Bristol Half so is clearly in fast shape.

Knowle & Dorridge club bragging rights

Darren B. John and Steven Whatmore of Knowle and Porridge (we know it’s Dorridge but the autocorrect is very insistent) are both racing in Berlin this weekend after the traditional Kenilworth Half prep where John ran 82:06 and Whatmore 80:06.

The latter is looking to go quicker than his 2:53:17 from Manchester Marathon earlier this year and that half suggests he has the potential to PB.

parkrun regular John, who has already raced six times in September, wants to go quicker than 2:54:21 from Manchester in 2017 and, like Tracy Barlow, represented his club at the road relays last weekend.

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The FASTFriday 10,000m race has gone from strength to strength and is rapidly becoming a favourite in the UK distance running calendar. This year the race also hosts the men’s and women’s England 10,000m Championships to cap a night of six races including a fast 5,000m.

Men’s England Championship Race

Intercounties XC champion Adam Hickey once again goes head to head with Cambridge & Coleridge’s Jack Gray. The two both set PBs at Ipswich Twlight 5km and at Brighton 10km. In both races just a handful of seconds split the two athletes with Hickey running the 10km in 28:53 and Gray 28:57. 

Last year’s England 10,000m Champion Ollie Lockley defends his title after a fine run at the recent Vitality 10km. The 29:15 10,000m man is joined on the start line by 13:56 5km runner Joshua Grace and Owen Hind who recently set a 5,000m PB of 13:58 at Oordegen in Belgium. 

GB trail runner Tom Evans (PB 29:44) and Danish pastry expert Ben Savill (30:45) are amongst a number of Allison Benton coached athletes competing across the 6 races. England 10km athlete Will Mycroft and England marathon runner Aaron Scott are ones to look out for. 

Photo: Roger Maidment/FASTFriday

Women’s England Championship Race

A full and competitive women’s field assembled has been assembled allowing for a separate women’s England 10,000m Championship race. That might sound nothing much to shout about but it’s something we have not seen in recent years in an England 10,000m Championship and is testament to the hard work of Race Director Barny Foot. 

Phoebe Law has the leading road 10km PB of the field with 33:11 set at last year’s Brighton Marathon 10km. The Mick Woods coached athlete finished 2018 leading the under 23 10km racings. Nicole Taylor of Tonbridge AC is in great form finishing third at Ipswich Twilight 5km with a new PB of 15:57 and recently beat Law over 3,000m.

GB marathon runner Tracy Barlow has a road 10km PB of 33:31 and is competing over 10,000m on the track for the first time. A strong challenge is expect to come from Dani Nimmock who has a PB of 33:41 on the roads set at Brighton Marathon 10km. Nimmock was recently selected to represent Great Britain at the World 50km Championships this Autumn.

Naomi Taschimowitz is another athlete likely to be in the mix. With a 5,000m set last year of 15:54 the Shaftesbury Barnet athlete certainly has the speed to make her competitors wary. 

An interesting name to look out for is Lucy Charles-Barclay – currently the UK’s leading Ironman triathlete. Charles-Barclay finish second in the last years World Ironman Championships and was a recent winner of the Ironman African Championships. 

A Night of Action

In total six races are planned including a fast 5,000m race featuring some excellent club talent including John Sanderson, Ben Savill, Alex Pointon and Ben Johnson. “I can’t believe the standard of athlete’s heading to Walthamstow” says Barny Foot, the humble and engaging race director who has grown the even from small beginnings to now hosting the England 10,000m Championships. 

Getting going from the ground up

Foot explains how the event has grown from humble beginnings “I watched the YouTube video of the very first Highgate. I thought that would be really good fun, but I’ll never be good enough to run in it so I needed to set up another event that I could run in”. 

Foot highlighted the role of Ben Pochee, Race Director of Night of the 10,000m PB’s, played in getting things going “I met Ben at an Indoor Meet at Lee Valley and introduced myself and said I would like to do this. So I met him for a coffee and it went from there. Initially we had two 10,000m races. Our lap counting that first night was dreadful, but people just seemed to really enjoy it. One year the electricity didn’t work!”

The event is another example of how individuals and clubs at a grass roots level can work together to create dynamic and exciting competitive opportunities “the support I have had from the wider club network in particular Hercules Wimbledon and Highgate has been remarkable.”

Developing year on year 

“My plan initially was to blow it out of all proportions” says Foot “we’d get a group of club runners together, get their name on their vest in front of a crowd and get them feeling like Sebastian Coe, but once you get one or 2 names along others inevitably follow”. Despite the teething problems runners kept coming back and the race has grown year on year “Ben has taken his race to such a high level it’s our responsibility to follow it”. 

On the relationship with England Athletics and the championship race Foot said “It’s a good mutual benefit because it adds value back into their title and at the same time definitely adds value back on to our event.”

The event takes place at Walthamstow Track with the first race at 18:30 more details here – https://www.orionharriers.com/fastfriday-07-06-2019/

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British Athletics has named a strong full team of 24 athletes for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark on Saturday, March 30.

Winner of the trials Jenny Nesbitt, who earns her first British vest on the cross country circuit since 2016, is joined by 2018 European Cross senior team silver medallists Jess Piasecki and Kate Avery in the senior women’s team.

Third at the trials, Mhairi MacLennan, along with English National champion Emily Hosker-Thornhill and under-20 team gold medallist from Tilburg, Amelia Quirk complete the team.

Ross Millington who took senior team silver in December’s Euro Cross, will be flanked by under-23 team silver medallists from Tilburg, Oliver Fox, Mahamed Mahamed and Patrick Dever, the latter achieving an individual fifth-place finish in Tilburg.

Adam Hickey earns a first British vest since the 2015 Euro Cross in Hyères, France, following his trial win at Prestwold Hall, with Luke Traynor completing the team.

Photo: JHM Sport

Under-20 team gold medallist from Tilburg, Inter Counties and 2018/19 Cross Challenge champion Grace Brock spearheads the junior women’s selections, along with under-17 English National Championships winner, Olivia Mason.

Charlotte Alexander earns another British vest following on from her run in the Great Stirling XCountry, while Becky Briggs, Eloise Walker and Amelia Samuels all earn their first British vests.

Inter-Counties champion Matt Willis leads the junior men’s selections, alongside new English under-20 cross champion Rory Leonard, and under-20 European Mountain Running Championship team gold medallist from 2018, Euan Brennan.

Under-20 Cross Challenge champion Zakariya Mahamed achieves his first British vest, as do Benjamin West and Josh Cowperthwaite.

“I’m really excited that we are able to have selected a full team for the World Cross Country Championships that we feel can challenge some of the world’s best Cross Country runners on a tough course in Aarhus,” said Team leader Rob Denmark.

“We have opted to select full teams in the senior races as we feel it will enhance our bid for a top six team finish and given the nature of the course, will give Great Britain & Northern Ireland the best possible chance of doing so.

“Additionally, we feel that the course in Aarhus will provide another perfect development opportunity for our Under-20 athletes moving into the summer track season and a fundamental development area as they progress through the age groups.”

Meanwhile, Ireland also named its team on Tuesday (March 12) and it can be found here.

British team for the World Cross Country Championships

Senior Men: Patrick Dever, Oliver Fox, Adam Hickey, Mahamed Mahamed, Ross Millington and Luke Traynor.

Senior Women: Kate Avery, Emily Hosker-Thornhill, Mhairi MacLennan, Jenny Nesbitt, Jessica Piasecki and Amelia Quirk.

Junior Men: Euan Brennan, Josh Cowperthwaite, Rory Leonard, Zakariya Mahamed, Benjamin West and Matt Willis.

Junior Women: Charlotte Alexander, Becky Briggs, Grace Brock, Olivia Mason, Amelia Samuels and Eloise Walker.

Further information and a video preview of the World Cross Country Championships course in Aarhus can be found here.

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Jenny Nesbitt and Adam Hickey won the senior battles at the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships at Loughborough’s Prestwold Hall on Saturday (March 9).

In tough conditions, Nesbitt produced a superb final loop to run down Jess Piasecki and claim victory in the senior women’s race.

Hickey meanwhile required a sprint finish to deny Euro Cross trials winner Ross Millington the victory, earning auto-selection to a British team for the first time since 2015.

Nesbitt, running for Worcestershire, chased down the Greater Manchester athlete’s near seven-second lead on the final loop of the 10km course to cut the tape first in 37:52.

Piasecki held off the challenge of Mhairi MacLennan to take the second automatic qualification spot in 38:05, one second ahead of the Scotland East athlete.

Photo: JHM Sport

North East’s Kate Avery finished in fourth place to secure the overall Cross Challenge title from Piasecki by six points. The latter tied with MacLennan and Emily Hosker-Thornhill on the same points tally, but Piasecki’s performance on the day earned her second in the standings.

After a solid winter of training, Nesbitt feels she has proved to herself she deserves to be on the world stage and that her performance is testament to the work she has put in over the winter.

“It was really tough out there but that is the sort of cross country that I enjoy because it’s a case of who can grind it out the longest and be patient and it comes down to getting it right on the day and I did that,” said the Welsh Cross Country champion. “I think that has been the first time I’ve come off and I’ve thought ‘I’ve done that race well today’.

Photo: Stephen Lee

“It means an awful lot to have achieved an automatic qualifying spot for the World Cross Country Championships because it’s been a long time in coming. I was disappointed not to make the team in Liverpool and today then became the goal and the focus.”

It came down to a sprint finish in the senior men’s 10km race as Greater Manchester’s Millington and Hickey, running for Essex, were shoulder-to-shoulder until the home straight, when Hickey kicked clear for victory.

Photo: JHM Sport

The duo had been at the fore from the off, alongside Wells City’s Oliver Fox and Lancashire’s Patrick Dever, only to pull away to secure the win by one second in 32:44.

Hampshire’s Mahamed Mahamed finished in fifth place, but did enough to secure his second consecutive Cross Challenge title, edging Hickey by just one point.

For Hickey, his performance gives him the chance to run in a British vest again for the first time since 2015 and he feels it is justice to the work that he has done in training to get him to this point.

“I kept trying to cover all the moves within the race and I found myself feeling good until I was in the closing stages with Ross and as soon as I was top two, I couldn’t come away with coming home in second place, I had to go for it,” said the 2017 English National champion. “To gain automatic selection for the world cross team is great and I knew I had to come here and secure my place in the top two.

Photo: Stephen Lee

“I rolled my ankle on two occasions before Christmas which hampered me for the Europeans and since then almost all my runs have been on the road in training, but it just shows that the long runs after work and in the dark are all worth it with a performance like that.”

Yorkshire took the overall senior women’s team title, led by the efforts of Claire Duck’s 10th place finish, with the senior men’s team title heading the way of Middlesex, with Abdishakur Abdulle the top finisher in 14th.

Willis and Brock take under-20 victories 

North Wales’s Matt Willis led the Under-20 men auto-qualifiers home with a blistering performance in blustery conditions that saw him home with more than a 100m lead, stopping the clock in 29:26.

The polished performance in the opening race of the day helped Willis to his second victory of the season, having claimed a win in Milton Keynes in his first outing.

The Wrexham athlete was followed home by English National champion Rory Leonard, who held off the challenge of fellow North East runner Josh Cowperthwaite, recording times of 29:38 and 29:43 respectively to take the remaining automatic qualifying spots.

The women’s equivalent saw Grace Brock stamp her authority on the Prestwold Hall course and secure her auto-selection for world cross, and secure back-to-back Cross Challenge titles in the process.

Cornwall’s Brock had to bide her time in a cagey opening to the race, before making a move just after the half way stage to open up a healthy lead from Amelia Samuels, running for Staffordshire, stopping the clock in 21:19, seven seconds clear of Samuels.

Photo: JHM Sport

The third automatic qualification spot in a sprint finish went the way of North West’s Olivia Mason, who held off Scotland East’s Eloise Walker by a two-second margin, clocking 21:37.

For Brock will earn her third British vest in four months when she heads out to Aarhus and achieving selection for the team caps a perfect winter for her.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t going for the win just to solidify that title but to get auto selection for the world cross is just amazing,” she said. “Two weeks ago I went off too hard and paid for it at the end in the English Nationals and I wanted to measure it more. I got my lead on the downhill section and tried to stretch that out.

“It’s amazing to get another British vest, this was my main goal and to follow Euro Cross with World Cross is just amazing and this whole winter season has been a dream come true.”

Walker helped Scotland East to the Under-20 team title, with Yorkshire claiming the men’s team title, led by the efforts of sixth place Euan Brennan.

British Athletics intends to select full teams, up to six per team, for the World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark on March 30. The team will be selected on Monday before being officially named on Tuesday.

Away from the trial races

It was North East’s Sam Charlton who stormed to victory in 18:48 in the Under-17 Boys race. Finishing in second place, Hamish Armitt took the overall Cross Challenge title, while Kent took the team title with three runners inside the top 10 contributing to their score.

North East’s India Pentland took her first victory of the series with a solid 19:38 showing on the course, beating Tia Wilson of Bedfordshire by 12 seconds.

Shannon Flockhart took third and the overall Cross Challenge title, whilst Esther Rowe-Towle led Yorkshire to team victory with a fourth-place finish.

Louis Small won the Under-15 boys Inter-Counties crown, with Fraser Sproul taking the overall Cross Challenge title after following him home seven seconds behind Small’s 13:04.

Wiltshire’s Bea Wood took victory in the women’s equivalent from Bethany Cook, the latter five seconds behind Wood’s 14:17 showing. North East claimed the team title, led by the charge from Ines Curran.

There were Under-13 wins for Suffolk duo Ben Peck and Ruby Vinton. Surrey and Kent tied for the girls team title but Surrey’s positions on the day saw them take the win, as Yorkshire took the boys title.

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A host of England’s top cross country runners descend on Harewood House Estate near Leeds in West Yorkshire on Saturday (February 23) for the Saucony English National Championships.

The venue hosted the Northern Championships last year and the large sparse area will mean only two laps are needed for the senior men’s 12km race.

This year’s championships is the 131st edition of the senior men’s event, while the senior women race the for the 86th time, with 8027 runners entered across the 10 races.

The figure is down on last year’s record figure of 9565 at Parliament Hill, but it’s the second highest figure for a Northern venue since 2000, and just 63 down on the number that entered the Roundhay Park, Leeds event in 2010.

Defending champion Adam Hickey is among the entries in the senior men’s race, along with area champions Emile Cairess, Henry Pearce and Jack Gray.

Pearce got the better of Southend’s Hickey at this year’s South of England Championships, and will be in contention for a first national medal, while his club Tonbridge, will have hopes of Pearce leading them to back-to-back team golds.

Photo: Nigel Bramley

Cairess is in superb form and followed up his victory at the Northern Championships with gold at the BUCS cross country in a close photo finish.

Joining the Leeds City youngster from the North of England is second and third at Pontefract Park, Morpeth’s Carl Avery and Liverpool’s Dejene Gezimu.

The Midlands’ podium three are all expected to race, with Cambridge and Coleridge’s Gray joined by Birchfield Harriers’ Omar Ahmed and Coventry Godiva’s Mohamed Daud Mohamed.

Former champion Jonny Hay is also among the entries, along with Belgrave Harriers’ Nick Goolab, Southampton’s Alex Tueten, Stockport Harriers’ Jack Morris and Sale Harriers’ Nigel Martin, while Leeds City boasts a strong team with Cairess, Graham Rush, Philip Sesemann and Ollie Lockley among their ranks.

In the senior women’s race, defending champion Phoebe Law is named among the entries, but hasn’t raced since October’s Cardiff Cross Challenge, and is not expected to race.

South of England champion Pippa Woolven will have hopes of adding another cross country gold to her collection this weekend. Also expected to challenge for medals is Southern runner-up, City of Norwich’s Iona Lake, who won national bronze last year.

Photo: Nigel Bramley

City of Stoke’s Kate Holt is another area champion set to race, with Bournville Harriers’ Nicola Sykes and Bristol and West’s Charlotte Taylor-Green joining her from the Midlands’ podium on Saturday.

2017 national champion Jess Judd finished third at the Northern Championships and will aim to transfer the speed she demonstrated on the Armagh roads last week onto the country.

Photo: Pete Brown

Alex Bell, who is sharing her journey this year on Fast Running, finished fourth at Pontefract Park and joins the Blackburn runner on Saturday, while Aldershot’s Louise Small will hope third time’s a charm after taking silver for the last two years.

Small has just returned from Utah where she spent time learning to cross country ski, and the alternative aerobic training could turn out to be the secret to gold.

Aldershot club mates Emily Hosker Thornhill and Emelia Gorecka are also among the big name entries, along with Charnwood’s Gemma Steel. Hopefully, all three are on the start line at 1.35pm on Saturday.

Kendal’s Sarah Tunstall will take a break from the mountains to compete at Harewood House, while Leeds City and Tonbridge are well represented with top athletes Claire Duck, Emma Clayton, Lucy Crookes, Nicole Taylor, Elle Baker and Lucy Reid named in their teams.

With four athletes to score for the team honours, both clubs will fancy their chances, but defending gold medalists Sale Harriers along with South of England champions Thames Hare and Hounds, Aldershot and Cambridge and Coleridge can be expected to be in the mix.

Junior Championships

Ben Dijkstra, who finished runner-up two years ago in Nottingham, is a leading contender after his Midlands win over Thomas Mortimer.

Stroud and District’s Mortimer took under-20 men’s bronze in 2018 and will also have his eyes on the top prize, while Lachlan Wellington steps up from the under-17 ranks after silver last year.

Northern champion Rory Leonard is also among the top entries going for junior men’s honours. The Morpeth youngster has enjoyed a great cross country season and knows the Harewood House course well after winning Northern under-17 gold there last year.

Photo: JHMSport

In the under-20 women’s race, Aldershot’s Niamh Brown won silver last year and is among the leading entries in the junior women’s race.

Grace Brock finished runner-up in the under-17 championships last year and makes the step up to the under-20 ranks on Saturday.

The in-form Amelia Quirk won gold ahead of the Cornwall athlete at the South of England Championships and can be expected to challenge for the top prize, while Northern champion Eleanor Bolton and Midland’s Amelia Samuels are also among the entries.

The action starts at 11.00am with the under-17 women’s championships before the senior men’s 12km event concludes the day’s 10 races at 3.00pm.

RELATED: George Routledge and his love of the English National

Timetable

11.00am: Under-17 women – 5km
11.25am: Under-15 boys – 4km
11.45am: Under-13 girls – 3km
12.05pm: Under-17 men – 6km
12.30pm: Under-13 boys – 3km
12.45pm: Under-15 girls – 4km
1.05pm: Junior women – 6km
1.35pm: Senior women – 8km
2.20pm: Junior men – 10km
3.00pm: Senior men – 12km

Meanwhile, national cross country championships also take place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland this weekend. A preview of the Scottish action at Falkirk can be found here, while the Welsh preview can be found here.

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As previously announced on Fast Running, Emelia Gorecka and Kate Avery are among the British challengers, while Fionnoula McCormack leads the Irish hopes at the Northern Ireland International Cross Country on Saturday (January 19).

The cross country fixture will travel to a new venue at the Billy Neill Centre of Excellence in Dundonald this weekend following a 10 year period at the Greenmount Campus in Antrim.

It’s the 42nd staging of the event that hosts the only IAAF cross country permit race in the UK annually, providing a perfect opportunity for the top British and Irish athletes to test themselves against the world’s best.

As well as the incorporating the next British Cross Challenge fixture, the senior, U23, U20 and U17 races will include the Celtic International, and for the first time, the Home Countries International will be contested in the U20 and senior races following a move from the usual March date.

Previous winners in Northern Ireland include Paul Tergat, Paula Radcliffe and Steve Ovett. More recently, the 2018 senior races were won by 2018 Diamond League winner Timothy Cheruiyot and 2018 Commonwealth Games 5000m Silver medallist Margaret Chelimo Kipkemoi.

Top drawer women’s race

The women’s race win is likely to be contested by Kenyan’s Pauline Kamulu who was the fastest women in the world over 10,000m for 2018 with 30:41 and Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei who has a road best for the distance of 30:51.

Hawi Feysa is the African 5000m champion and along with the 2017 African U20 5000m Champion Mekerem Mamo will mount an Ethiopian challenge.

McCormack is the Irish favourite at this event and has won here on two occasions. The 34 year old from Wicklow has had a year long break from racing following childbirth, but was the 2011 and 2012 European Cross Country champion and has been acknowledged as one of Ireland’s top cross country runners of all time.

Gorecka is an interesting addition to the women’s field and could be a real threat despite only making one outing on the country in 2018 and not having raced since September.

The Aldershot Farnham & District AC Athlete has lots of good history on the mud however as a previous European U23 cross country champion, and a former multiple English and Inter-Counties champion.

Gemma Steel will also race and like McCormack is a former European Cross Country champion with her title coming in 2014, while Avery was the runner up in 2014 and currently leads the Cross Challenge standings. The Shildon AC Athlete will lead the England team here.

Emily Hosker Thornhill was eighth at the Great Stirling XCountry last weekend and is in the England team alongside Amy Griffiths who led the GB U23 team to bronze at the European championships.

Hampshire County Champion Louise Small is the final member of a strong England women’s team. Fionnuala Ross, who is sharing her journey this year on Fast Running, leads the Northern Ireland team after representing Ireland at the European Cross Country Championships at the end of 2018.

Mhairi MacLennan is the standout entry in the Scotland team and is another athlete who has performed solidly in the early season fixtures. The Edinburgh University athlete warmed up for this fixture by taking the Scottish Inter-District Title last weekend.

Fast racing expected in men’s race

The men’s race on Saturday will feature the Kenyan duo of Paul Tanui and Richard Yator along with Bahrain’s Birhanu Balew, Ethiopia’s Chalo Beyo and Ibrahim Ezzaydouny of Morocco.

Tanui was the Olympic silver medallist over 10,000m in Rio last August and Yator is a former world U18 champion over 3000m who has dipped under 13 minutes for 5000m in the past. He was also the second fastest man in the world over 10,000m in 2018 with a mark of 27:14 set in Yokohama.

Balew’s Cross Country pedigree was proved with a top 30 finish at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Kampala back in 2017. Beyo was the African 3,000m steeplechase champion in 2016 and should also be on hand to force the pace.

The England team will feature 2017 BUCS Champion Alex Teuten, and current English National Champion Adam Hickey, while Sam Stabler is also set to make his comeback to racing.

Photo: Zach Bridgeland

Kris Jones, who was recently announced in the Fast 10: class of 2019, is a late withdrawal, leaving Charlie Hulson to lead the Welsh contingent a week after finishing 13th at the Great Stirling XCountry.

Sergiu Ciobanu and Irish marathon champion Mick Clohisey will lead Ireland in the men’s race, while Northern Ireland’s Mark McKinstry will lead the hosts on Saturday. The full Northern Ireland team can be found here.

U20 races

Matthew Willis will feature in the U20 men’s race and likely to move to the top of the series standings with a solid run in Dundonald. Southampton AC’s Zakariya Muhamed currently sits third overall behind Willis and absent series leader Jake Heyward.

Grace Brock took maximum Challenge points at the season opener in Cardiff and will lead the England U20 Team backed up by the pre-Christmas U17 second placer Maya Todd-McIntyre.

Scotland’s team will feature Anna Macfadyen who was the fourth British scorer in Tilburg and fifth at the trials in Liverpool.

Action in Dundonald will begin with the girls U13 race at 10.55 and culminates with the senior men taking their turn in the International race over 10km at 14.50.

All of the latest news on the Northern Ireland International Cross Country can be found here.

Timetable

10:55: Girls U13 race – 2km
11:10: Boys U13 race – 2km
11:30: Girls U15 race – 3km
11:55: Boys U15 race – 3km
12:20: Open mixed race – 4km
12:50: Girls U17 race and women’s U20 (IAAF junior women) – 4km
13:20: Primary school girls race – 1.2km
13:35: Boys U17 race and men’s U20 (IAAF junior men) – 6km
14:00: Primary school boys race – 1.2km
14:15: Senior international women – 8km
14:50: Senior international men – 10km

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