This weekend was quite possibly one of the biggest weekends in the marathon calendar. Many athletes fled to Valencia in search of quick times, and in some cases, Olympic qualifying times, at one of the quickest marathons in the world and an IAAF Gold Label event, The Valencia Marathon.

The women’s race was stacked with competition as the GB women came out in full force. It was Clapham Chaser’s Steph Davis that had the race of her life, finishing a fantastic 13^th in the women’s elite field in 2:27:40. Davis smashed the Olympic qualifying time by nearly 2 minutes, putting herself in contention for those three marathon spots at Tokyo.

“’The focus was to have a fun run in the sun.” said the marathoner, “I felt in good shape and hoped to PB but did not expect to run that time at all! It’s still sinking in!’. Hopefully you’re still smiling for a long while with that one Steph. 

Steph Davis at 25km. Photo: Tom Craggs

Second brit across the line in 19^th place, after pulling out in Frankfurt, was Hayley Carruthers. Carruthers secured herself a marathon personal best of 2:32:42, improving on her time from the London Marathon back in April. Shortly behind Carruthers in 21^st position with a cracking time of 2:33:24 was Preston’s Eleanor Davis. After a strong year with personal bests over road 3k, 10k, and half marathon, Davis now adds a marathon best for the year.

Fourth Brit with yet another strong performance in Valencia was Elinor Kirk. Kirk secured herself a finishing time of 2:34:36, a PB by just under 2-minutes! With yet another impressive performance over the marathon distance was Georgina Schwiening (Cambridge Runners) with a time of 2:35:22, another PB of the day by over 2 minutes. 

Shortly behind Schwiening in 29^th place was Emma Mitchell with a strong 2:36:47. The Northern Irish athlete made her debut performance in the event and proved her strength after an impressive run at the Valencia Half in October. Unfortunately, after a tough year battling against injury, Lily Partridge pulled out at around the 25km mark after having gone through half way in 74:09. 

Fast running’s own marathoner, Gill Bland also headed to Valencia to complete the 26.2-mile distance. After a tough race, Bland had a strong finish and crossed the line in 2:55:31. 

Olympic qualifying time for Pollock

The men’s race did not disappoint either with some speedy marathon times secured. There was an outstanding run from Paul Pollock with an impressive Olympic qualifying time of 2:10:25. This will not be Pollock’s first Olympics after he finished 32^nd in Rio.

Liverpool athlete, Charlie Hulson had a strong debut performance crossing the line in 40^th position with a time of 2:14:23. Just 16 seconds behind Hulson was Andrew Davies with a lifetime best and UK40 record of 2:14:46, a 25 second best time.

Ben Johnson also gave a big PB performance after just missing sub 2:20 in London to finish with a time of 2:17:34. Other men contributing to the strong British and Irish field were Gary O’hanlon (2:20:07), Lloyd Biddell (2:20:49), Kev Quinn (2:22:12), Karl Welborn (2:22:57), Ben Shearer (2:23:23), Jo Turner (2:23:37), Paul Piper (2:23:43), George King (2:24:00), and Nick Bowker (2:24:16). 

Charlie Hulson with a fine debut. Credit: Tom Craggs

Barlow finishes 3rd in the 10km

The men’s world record fell in the Valencia 10km with Joshua Cheptegei running a stunning 26:38. Josh Grace (AFD) had a PB run, securing himself an 8^th place finish in a rapid time of 28:59! Tom Craggs coached athlete, Tracy Barlow had a powerful race, securing herself a 3^rd place finish over the 10k-distance with a time of 33:44. Some confusion with chips means we don’t have the full rankings just yet.

Fast 10k running at home too

At another 10k event, the Wesham 10k, athletes took to the roads in the North West over a slightly undulating course, running around the lanes of Salwick and Lea Town.

The winner of the entire event was Chris Livesey of Salford Harriers in 31:54, just eight seconds outside of his seasons best. Next was Wesham Road Runner, Robert Danson, in 32:03, followed by Matthew Laior (Ribble Valley Harriers) in 32:44. For the women it was Toni McIntosh (Ayr Seaforth) who ran a strong race to finish first, clocking 37:13. Second place went to Catherine Carrdus (Lytham St Annes) in 40:46 followed by Sue Coulthurst.

Wesham 10km. Credit: Dave Biggs

At another of the Sri Chimnoy London Marathon Events race was the Grizzly Bear 10k. These races provide yet another opportunity for athletes in search of pure racing without all the added extras. Podium finishers are presented with a piece of fruit and cereal bar, proving it is all about the element of racing in a fast environment.

All of the top three women came across the road in under 39 minutes. The winning fruit went to Rebecca Piggott of London Heathside who ran a solid 36:19, a 25-second personal best. Second female home in a time of 38:08 was Matilde Lomba and in third was Evangelista Divetain (London Heathside) in 38:20. 

In the men’s race it was Alix Ramsie who landed himself the top place on the podium. Ramsie of South London Harriers crossed the line in 32:28 in what was a close race. Only 4 seconds later, Tom Goulding of Birtley AC finished the race. It was Serpentine Andrea Fraquelli who rounded off the men’s podium with a finishing time of 32:36. Impressive running! 

British Ultra running in good health

Over the much larger 100km distance, the 100km Ultra Trail Cape Town race occurred. Salomon runner Beth Pascall secured herself an impressive win with an even more impressive top 10 overall finish. A sub 11 hour finish, less than an hour behind US men’s winner Cody Reed, meant a course record for the medic, who caps off an excellent 2019 that included top five positions at Western States and the UTMB. 

Over the impressive 300km distance, the Algarviana Ultra Trail race took place in Portugal. Paul Giblin was the well-deserved winner and beat the previous record by around three hours with a time of 38 hours and 6 minutes.

Paul Giblin training in the Swiss Alps in 2018. Photo: Robbie Britton

The modest athlete was taken outside of his mountainous comfort zone and tested with some flatter patches of running but did not disappoint. Despite stomach problems early on he kept relaxed and had an incredible race. 

It was Scotland-based athlete, Patricia De Carvalho, who was the winner of the women’s race in her 3^rd time doing the event. Carvalho finished in a time of 64 hours 47 minutes.

High standards at Podium 5k as usual

Over the shorter, but speedier 5k distance was the Podium 5k road race. The podium race’s offer the perfect, true racing experience without the added frills, but with a tried and tested fast course. The podium 5k race series is the perfect opportunity for athletes to test their fitness and chase after PB times.

This weekend’s runners were faced with chilly, yet speedy conditions. It was Andy Smith who was first male across the line in a rapid 14:52 for Pudsey & Bramley AC. In a close finish it was Matthew Crehan (St Helens & Sutton) who landed the silver medal in 14:54. Preston Harriers’ Kian Davis took the bronze medal position in 15:08. 

Ciara Mageean (Team NB Mcr), European Bronze medalist in 2016 and 2019, did the women proud with a speedy, sub-16, 15:48 finishing time. The second female finisher with a time of 16:52 from Manchester Harriers was Rachael Franklin. Completing the top three women was Leeds City’s Alice Leake in 17:25. 

Andy Smith & Ciara Meagaan Photo: Podium 5k Twitter.

Also over the 5km distance was the Croft Circuit 5km. It was North Belfast Harrier’s Andrew Milligan who was the first male to cross the line in 15:06. The U23 athlete ran himself to an impressive 21 second personal best. Closely behind Milligan in 15:20 was Joe Armstrong of Morpeth Harriers & AC, another U23 athlete. Completing the top 3 male finishing positions was David Green in an extremely close 15:23. The race boasted a total of 6 men running under 16-minutes.

Following on from an impressive win for England at the Rennes 10k last month, Danielle Hodgkinson of Wallsend ran a cracking 16.30 for a first-place finish for the women and an incredible 11^th overall. Second woman across the finish line was Gateshead Harriers & AC’s Gillian Manford in 18:08 followed by Georgia Campbell in 18:09. A very close race! 

73rd year for Victory 5 miler

In its 73^rd year was the Victory 5-mile race. Matt Bergin landed himself the win in a time of 23:40, a close 5-seconds outside of his personal best. In second place was U20 athlete, Henry McLuckie with a time of 24:18 for his first ever 5-mile race. Third place was secured by Joe Wade in 24:31. 

The winner for the women was Tonbridge AC’s Lucy Reid. Reid matched her personal best of 27:05 exactly. Following shortly was Maisie Trafford of Arena 80 in 27:35. The final woman on the podium was AFD’s Emily Wicks in 28:02 who came 65^th in the World Cross Country Championships back in 2013. 

Over the 5-mile distance again, but this time through the mud, was the Midlands 5-mile cross country championships. It was Gemma Steel who took home gold for the women. We’ll include more results if we can find them.

Festive marathoning in Nottingham

Also over the marathon distance this weekend, was the Nottingham Christmas Marathon. The overall win went to Loughborough Student, James Ford, in a finishing time of 2:42:37. The second finisher was Ben Harris of Retford AC in 2:44:16.

An impressive third overall and first woman was Johanna O’Regan of St Neots Riverside Runners in 2:45:24, just 3-minutes outside of her lifetime best set earlier this year in Manchester. It was fellow clubmate Caroline Brooks who secured herself the silver woman’s medal in 2:49:32, in a solid 5^th place overall. 

As part of the same event was the shorter distance 10k race. Euan Wilson ran an impressive race, finishing in a time of 33:07 for first place. 1^st female finisher, in third place overall was Johanna Gurney. Gurney stopped the clock on 34:24. 

The RunThrough Lee Valley Velo Park Race saw athletes race over various distances including that of 10-miles. Victory for the men went to Stephen Fabes in 57:44 and it was Sally Svenlen who ran herself to the top of the women’s podium in 1:12:09. In the half marathon event, Ben Toye secured himself the gold medal in 1:15:41 whereas Katie Brown obtained the woman’s first-place finishing position in 1:23:52. 

There were some extremely noteworthy performances in the mud as well as on the road. In the Alton Sports Hampshire Cross Country League, Aldershot & Farnham District AC dominated the men’s race, however it was Reading AC that secured the women’s team gold. Jess Gibbon ran a storming race to secure herself the position at the top of the podium with a 32-second lead followed by AFD’s own Steph Twell. Third through the mud was Annabel Gummow of Winchester. The men’s results are yet to be uploaded. 

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The post 10k WR & marathoners shine in the sun in Valencia – weekend roundup appeared first on Fast Running.

Luke Traynor won the České Budějovice Half Marathon and you can read all about it here, while a report on Andrew Davies and his fellow British veterans at the World Masters Mountain Running Championships can be found here. On the track, a number of British middle-distance athletes were in action in Belgium and the Netherlands.

In the UK, 10k and half marathons were the flavour of the weekend on the roads in Alloa, Derby, Worthing and Woodhall Spa. While Cardiff hosted the combined British Athletics League and UK Women’s Athletics League fixture and a report can be found here.

Alloa Half Marathon, Scotland

Mike Christoforou, fresh from a victory at the Edinburgh 10k, ran a four-minute PB to win the Alloa Half Marathon in 68:12. Could it be down to the training sessions recently shared with Fast Running?

Alastair Hay of Central AC (70:28) and Paul Sorrie of Shettleston Harriers (73:15) completed the men’s podium.

In the women’s race, Hungarian 2:39 marathoner Fanni Gyurko of Central AC won by almost two minutes in 80:21 and was followed home by Falkirk Victoria’s Claire Moffett in 82:20. Sheena Logan of Fife AC was third in 85:18.

V50 Willie Rennie, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, ran a fine 1:25:21.

Asda Foundation Derby Half

Steven Bayton was the first across the line in Derby clocking a winning time of 68:33. The 2:19 marathoner was three and a half minutes clear of second place Dave Archer of Hallamshire (72:07) and Andy Harding of Belper Ten Twenty (73:47).

Sally-Ann Walker of Tipton was the first woman in a personal best 1:31:15. Lisa Giampalma also ran a PB of 1:31:37 to beat Geraldine Tutty (1:32:00) as the first three women all finished within 45 seconds of each other.

Worthing 10k

It was another victory for the Allison Benton Training (ABT) group with footballer turned distance runner James Westlake setting a new course record at the Worthing 10k with a fantastic PB of 30:31.

Another great performance from @08Westlake, winning the Worthing 10k this morning in a new course record and PB of 30.32. Well done Westy! @ABTrainingGroup @CrawleyAthletic @BonifaceMassage pic.twitter.com/GDO9SoTgGp

— ABTrainingGroup (@ABTrainingGroup) June 3, 2018

The Crawley runner recently saw some “bants” with club 10k record holder Tim Hutchings about the Sussex club’s record and it is good to see the young athlete moving in the right direction. There is apparently a betting school open on who will be the first within the successful training group to break 30 minutes, and Westlake is the current favourite.

Serpentine’s Andy Greenleaf was second in 30:58 and Jonathan Cornish of Hercules Wimbledon was third in 31:14.

The ladies winner was Elspeth Turner of Horsham Blue Star Harriers. The V50 ran an excellent 37:22 to hold off Rebecca Bunting of London Hearthside (37:50) and Emma Gill of Brighton and Hove AC (39:21).

Woodhall Spa 10k

Matthew Bowser of Lincoln Wellington, who has previously run sub 30 minutes for 10k was the winner of the day in 30:42. Bowser has impressive PBs across an array of distances from 800m (1:49), 1500m (3:43) and a 14:03 for 5000m.

Fellow Lincoln Wellington club mate William Strangway ran 31:32 and Mark Sands of Skegness and District RC was third with 34:03.

Chloe Hubbard of Newark Athletics ran 37:24 for the victory in the women’s race, followed home by Sophie Wallis, another Lincoln Wellington runner, in 38:50. Emily Foran of Seaford Strides was well under 40 minutes in 39:05 to take third place.

GAA Miler Meet, Glasgow

European U20 1500m champion Jemma Reekie delivered a PB performance of 2:02.62 to win the women’s main 800m race, while James Bowness won the men’s race in 1:50.16 from Sol Sweeney.

Photo: Bobby Gavin

Mhairi Maclennan, the Lindsays cross country champion, and Fife AC’s Logan Rees, won the main 3000m races in 9:34.03 and 8:16.34 respectively.

IAAF World Challenge Meeting, Hengelo, Netherlands

Andrew Osagie ran his quickest 800m since 2013 to finish fourth in the men’s race in 1:45.09, while Elliot Giles clocked 1:45.84 to finish ninth and Guy Learmonth was 11th in 1:46.32.

Sarah McDonald, Melissa Courtney and Katie Snowdon were in action in the women’s mile race that was won by USA’s Jenny Simpson in 4:25.71.

McDonald ran a PB of 4.27.12 to finish an impressive fourth, while Commonwealth 1500m champion Courtney was fifth in 4:27.29 and Snowdon 12th in 4:29.56.

My of Melissa Courtney, Katie Snowden & Sarah McDonald at @FBKGamesHengelo today! pic.twitter.com/VDJwhJMPx2

— James Rhodes (@James_Athletics) June 3, 2018

Memorial Leon Buyle, Oordegem, Belgium

In the men’s 800m Jamie Webb ran under 1:46 for the first time to take the victory in 1:45.73, while Daniel Rowden finished second with a PB of 1:45.83. Both athletes achieved the qualifying standard for the European Championships.

Mike Wilsmore also ran a PB in the men’s 1500m to finish second in 3:40.92.

Madeira Sky Race, Madeira

Fresh from a superb fourth place at the World Trail Ultra Championships, British ultra runner Jon Albon, based in Bergen, Norway, took the victory in the competitive Skyrunning world series race on the Portuguese island of Madeira.

In his typical style Albon came from behind to surge ahead in the latter stages, winning in 5:47:57 from Sweden’s Andre Jonsson (5:54:43) and Russian Dmitry Mityaev (5:56:20).

The obstacle course world champion also has impressive marathon speed, twice winning the Bergen City marathon, not a flat course, with a PB of 2:26:20. The runner comes into his own when there are obstacles en route, be them man-made or physical in the form of rocks and mountains.

The women’s race was won by recent World Trail Champion Ragna Debats of the Netherlands. Anyone who feels they cannot be a world-class mountain runner if not born in the mountains should look to Debats for inspiration.

parkrun, UK wide

After briefly enjoying a lead on Mo Farah at last Monday’s London 10,000, John Beattie was the fastest at parkrun on Saturday. The Newham & Essex Beagles runner clocked 14:57 at the Clumber Park event.

Junior athlete Holly Page clinched the top women’s spot with a big parkrun best 16:52 at Dulwich event. A round-up of the 10 fastest times at parkrun this week can be found here.

Who was the quickest at parkrun yesterday? …while a 63 year-old starred at the @cleeparkrun.

Here is this week's top 10 https://t.co/UOu1M0DMMm #parkrunhttps://t.co/IhOnIo9eZ5

— Fast Running (@FastRunning_) June 3, 2018

The post British runners impress across the UK and Europe – weekend round-up appeared first on Fast Running.

Andrew Davies was crowned as the World Master 35 champion at the 18th WMRA World Masters Mountain Running Championships on Saturday (June 2).

The event took place on the Ratitovec Mountain within the Julian Alps Mountain Range near Lake Bled in Slovenia. The Master 35 race took place over 10.8km and included a 1,184m elevation gain.

The Stockport Harrier has always had an infinity for running on the mountains and finished ninth at the WMRA World Long distance Mountain Running Challenge in Slovenia back in 2016.

The Welshman notably competed for Great Britain & Northern Ireland in the marathon at the IAAF World Championships in London last summer and competed at his second Commonwealth Games marathon in the heat of the Gold Coast this April.

Davies’ performance helped Great Britain improve on their team bronze medal from 2017 and to be crowned as champions this time. Ben Mounsey was the next Briton home in fifth followed by Craig Freshwater who finished a credible 16th.

Photo: Prijavim

Other success came with a silver medal for Jill Stephen in the Master Women 35 category as the Scottish athlete from Hunters Bog Trotters repeated her second place finish from 12 months ago.

Colin Donnelly finished second in the Master 55 race and helped his team to clinch gold followed by Stewart Whitlie who was third and with Guy Woods in sixth.

The Master 70 team also secured a podium finish claiming silver medals led home by the individual silver medallist, James Patterson.

The post Andrew Davies wins gold as GB veterans celebrate mountain success appeared first on Fast Running.