Usually we see slower times on weekends like the National 12 stage road relays, but no one told runners like Naomi Taschimowitz and Andrew Heyes. There was actually three runners under 15 minutes for the men and two under 17 minutes for the women.

Hallamshire Harrier Heyes ran 14:18 at Bakewell parkrun, not too far ahead of third placed runner Jonas Raess who finished in 14:32. Raes ran a time usually quick enough to grab the top spot but had to settle for third this week.

Naomi Taschimowitz of Shaftesbury Barnet and UCL (but needing to update her parkrun profile from Taunton AC) posted a speedy 16:44 at Hackney Marshes parkrun. Already this year has seen a seventh at the National XC and third at Southerns.

My Life Films

Adam Clarke broke the course record with 14:31 at Richmond parkrun this morning and all for a good cause. Clarke was part of a large group of runners celebrating the firth anniversary of the charity My Life Films.

In their own words My Life Films  “create FREE biographical films for people living with dementia by capturing their unique story in a film to help celebrate and remember their lives. The films help to improve the quality of life of the person with dementia and act as an innovative care tool during all stages of the disease.” You can donate to this fantastic cause here.

Danielle Nimmick from City of Norwich AC featured for the second week running, going from second to third fastest with a 16:59 at the Gunpowder event. Given that Nimmock plays a key role in preparing the London Marathon Expo and it might be a little busy right now, it is good to see the marathoner finding time to get to parkrun and run so well.

The quick race between Andrew Heyes and Jonas Raess means that Bakewell parkrun was the quickest of the bunch this week. Given that the picturesque event is run entirely on the Mensal Trail the chaps must have been flying.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Bakewell
Andrew Heyes, 14:18, Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield AC
2) parkrun: Richmond
Adam Clarke, 14:31, My Life Films
3) parkrun: Bakewell
Jonas Raess, 14:32
4) parkrun: Clapham Common
Andrew Penney, 15:10, Hercules Wimbledon
5) parkrun: Yeovil Montacute
Ian Leith, 15:13, Brighton Phoenix
6) parkrun: Peterborough
Edgars Sumskis, 15:14, Newham & Essex Beagles AC
7) parkrun: Woodley
Robert Corney, 15:17
8) parkrun: Edinburgh
Andrew Douglas, 15:21, Inverclyde AC
9) parkrun: Daventry
Joshua Schofield, 15:26, Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC
10) parkrun: Long Eaton
Tom Mahon, 15:28, Wreake and Soar Valley AC

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun:Hackney Marshes
Naomi Taschimowitz, 16:44, Taunton AC
2) parkrun: Gunpowder
Danielle Nimmock, 16:59, City of Norwich AC
3) parkrun: Greenock
Gema Rankin, 17:17, Kilbarchan AAC
4) parkrun: Perth
Sarah Coutts, 17:57, Pitreavie AAC
5) parkrun: Brueton
Jane Evans, 18:09, Knowle and Dorridge Running Club
6) parkrun: Lee-on-the-Solent
Rebecca Margaret Lord, 18:11, Stubbington Green Runners
7) parkrun: Bedford
Tia Wilson, 18:11, Bedford & County AC
8) parkrun: Bushy
Mara Yamauchi, 18:12, Thames Hare & Hounds
9) parkrun: Druridge Bay
Charlotte Dannatt, 18:13, Camberley & District AC
10=) parkrun: Albert, Middlesborough
Sharon Bulman, 18:15, New Marske Harriers AC
10=) parkrun: Brockwell, Herne Hill
Philippa Williams, 18:15, Elswick Harriers

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

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post 10 fastest UK parkrun times on Saturday 6th April (2019) appeared first on Fast Running.

The 2019 IAAF World Indoor Tour, a series of the six finest indoor meetings on the planet, kicks off with the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix in Boston on Saturday (January 26).

Staged over the course of 26 action-packed days, the series includes stops in Karlsruhe, Torun, Madrid and Birmingham, before reaching its final destination Düsseldorf on February 20.

The series winners will be crowned in the German city, where they will also be awarded prize bonuses of US$20,000 and wildcard entries for the 2020 World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China.

2019 marks the series’ third edition, but it’s already showing its widespread appeal. The Karlsruhe, Birmingham and Dusseldorf fixtures have sold out well in advance, the Polish meeting is on target to host yet another sell-out crowd of 5200 at Torun Arena, and Madrid is on target for a near-capacity crowd.

British and Irish distance interests in Boston

British distance runners have had great success over in the US, none more than Chris O’Hare in recent years. The 3:52 miler won the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games last February amongst a whole host of other top-class performances in 2018. The British 1500m champion will race over 3000m in Boston.

Other British runners on the same startline will be Andy Butchart returning from injury and Andrew Heyes. Both could feature in the sharp end of the race but the man to beat will likely be Edward Cheserek. The Kenyan born athlete has been in the US since high school and is the most successful NCAA athlete in history.

In the women’s mile, Great Britain’s Hannah England and Ireland’s Ciara Mageean will both feature against strong domestic and international runners with the likes of Emma Coburn and Cory McGee toeing the line. England is a world medallist and Olympian who is also chair of British Athletics Athlete’s Commission, working hard to get the best for her fellow athletes in the future.

The men’s mile could be interesting with young Scottish athlete Josh Kerr competing, alongside one of America’s most promising college track stars, Justyn Knight, and the Beer Mile world record holder Corey Bellemore – who may be hampered by the lack of beer drinking with this event. New Zealander Nick Willis is in the mix too.

In the men’s 800m Guy Learmouth will be racing, amongst others, Boris Berian. If you’re not aware of Berian’s story it’s worth investigating how the Olympian and World Champ went from serving fast food to running fast for a living.

Who else is hitting the boards?

While many of the fields are still t0 be finalised, several are shaping up nicely.

World indoor champion Yomif Kejelcha, Olympic medallists Clayton Murphy and Hagos Gebrhiwet and IAAF Rising Star award winner Sydney McLaughlin are just a few of the stars who will help get the series underway on the US east coast.

Karlsruhe will feature Cuba’s rising long jump sensation Juan Miguel Echevarria, world and Olympic pole vault champion Ekaterini Stefanidi in the pole vault, and European high jump champion Mateusz Przybylko.

Echevarria returns to action in Torun four days later on a slate that includes double European champion Laura Muir, world indoor champions Pawel Maslak and Andrew Pozzi and three world champions in the pole vault: Sam Kendricks, Shawn Barber and Pawel Wojciechowski.

Later in the series, Muir is also set to compete in Birmingham among a host of world indoor medallists.

RELATED: Laura Muir set for return to the Arena Birmingham

A strong men’s 60m showdown will include world indoor silver medallist and Asian indoor record holder Su Bingtian taking on Reece Prescod, the European 100m silver medallist, and twice European indoor 60m champion Richard Kilty.

Meanwhile, some of the featured showdowns in Dusseldorf include Pozzi taking on Olympic silver medallist Orlando Ortega in the 60m hurdles, Stefanidi facing 2015 world champion Yarisley Silva in the pole vault, and the Ingebrigtsen brothers, double European champion Jakob, European silver medallist Henrik and 2017 world bronze medallist Filip in the 1500m.

Disciplines and scoring

The tour will feature 11 point-scoring disciplines (those that were not part of this year’s tour programme), five for men – 400m, 1500m, 60m hurdles, high jump, long jump – and six for women – 60m, 800m, 3000m/5000m, pole vault, triple jump and shot put.

Each athlete’s best three results will count towards their point score and the athlete with the most points in each discipline at the end of the tour will be declared the winner at the finale in Dusseldorf.

New competition order rule introduced in jumping and throwing events

The series will also introduce a rule change this year in the jumping and throwing events. In addition to the re-order in reverse ranking after the first three rounds, another re-order will be added after the fifth round.

2019 IAAF World Indoor Tour

January 26 – Boston
February 2 – Karlsruhe
February 6 – Torun
February 8 – Madrid
February 16 – Birmingham
February 20 – Dusseldorf

RELATED: Indoors: not just for the elites

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patron. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post IAAF World Indoor Tour kicks off this weekend appeared first on Fast Running.

Dewi Griffiths recorded the third fastest parkrun of all time after running 14:12 to top the UK and the world parkrun rankings this weekend. Only Alex Yee (14:05) and Andy Baddeley (13:48) have ever run quicker over a parkrun course.

The Welshman was celebrating the 100th event at Llanelli Coast parkrun in Wales. He delivered a super quick performance and got involved in the parkrun community spirit too.

Hayley Carruthers, who recently clocked a big 2:36 marathon personal best in Toronto, ran 16:24 with the help of some wind blocking from Dan Robinson at the Walsall Arboretum parkrun to record the quickest women’s time in the world.

The Rotherham Harrier continues to excel after a breakthrough 2018. Carruthers’ parkrun performance is hopefully this is a sign for a fast 5k or 5000m performance in the near future as she does not have a PB for the distance in a formal race.

Andrew Heyes ran 14:18 at the Bakewell event to take the men’s number two spot in the world. Heyes time also ranked him seventh on the all time RunBritain parkrun rankings. On all but six weekends in parkrun’s history, Heyes’ time would have been the quickest.

Mark Kirwan was the fastest man in Ireland and third in the world among the men after running 15:13 at the Marlay parkrun in Dublin.

Kirwan ran 2:17:37 at the Dublin Marathon in October and has twice topped the Irish rankings since so must have bounced back well from the longer distance.

Annie Bothma, a 22 year old South Africa, ran 17:01 at the Greenpoint parkrun in Cape Town to rank third among the women on Saturday. The barefoot runner has a fascinating story involving hypopituitarism, Amercian collegiate running and a road accident, so it is excellent to see the young runner posting a quick time. For more information on the inspiring athlete, her website can be found here.

Elsewhere in the world’s top 10, Young Emma Waudby of Pocklington Runners, has shown great improvement since joining the club and the local parkrun. The 15-17 age group athlete has great potential and is an example of parkrun producing runners capable of perfuming at the sharp end of British distance running in the future.

In the men’s top 10, Grigoriy Andreyev of Russia went a bit quicker than last week, 11 seconds in fact, to jump to fifth in the rankings. The Russian International marathoner must have got the parkrun love from his wife Juliya, who is a regular at the same event in Moscow.

With the fantastic running of Griffiths, Heyes, Carrthers and Waudby it is no surprise that the UK is the quickest nation this week. Bushy and St. Andrew’s parkrun both feature twice.

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Llanelli Coast
Dewi Griffiths, 14:12, Swansea Harriers AC
2) parkrun: Bakewell
Andrew Heyes, 14:18, Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield AC
3) parkrun: Marlay, Ireland
Mark Kirwan, 15:13, Raheny Shamrock AC
4) parkrun: St. Andrews, UK
Andrew Douglas, 15:25, Belgrave Harriers
5) parkrun: Ufa Botanichesky Sad, Russia
Grigoriy Andreyev, 15:29
6) parkrun: Bushy, UK
Andrius Jaksevicius, 15:30, Belgrave Harriers
7) parkrun: Brede Valley, South Africa
Ashwell Clooco, 15:31, Worcester AC
8) parkrun: Belfast Victoria, UK
Connall McClean, 15:34, St. Malachy’s AC
9) parkrun: Bushy, UK
Euan Campbell, 15:36
10) parkrun: Long Eaton, UK
Aston Perrin, 15:37, Long Eaton RC

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum, UK
Hayley Carruthers, 16:24, Birchfield Harriers
2) parkrun: Heslington, UK
Emma Waudby, 16:51, Pocklington Runners
3) parkrun: Greenpoint, South Africa 
Annie Bothma, 17:01, Helderberg Harriers
4) parkrun: Southwark, UK
Lucy Reid, 17:09, Tonbridge AC
5) parkrun: Dulwich, UK
Chloe Bradley, 17:22, Doncaster AC
6) parkrun: Lake Mac, Australia 
Hayley Gustard, 17:24, Macca’s Mob
7) parkrun: Torrens, Australia
Tamara Quinn, 17:25
8) parkrun: Woodley, UK
Kirsty Walker, 17:26, Reading AC
9) parkrun: St. Andrews, UK
Anna Hedley, 17:32, Fife AC
10) parkrun: Stevenage, UK
Annabel Gummow, 17:39, Winchester & District AC

If you enjoy running at parkrun but want to develop and get a bit faster then find a running club near you. Clubs have all the social aspects of parkrun and cater for all levels to help you progress. More information can be found here.

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

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patreon. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post 10 fastest parkrun times in the world on Saturday 17th November (2018) appeared first on Fast Running.

Welsh international Dewi Griffiths took to Llanelli Coast parkrun this weekend to take over a minute off of the course record for the event with 14:12. The Swansea Harrier ran 62:55 at the Cardiff half marathon in October and is hopefully building strong into the cross country season.

In what is possibly our quickest second place ever Andrew Heyes of Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield AC ran 14:18 at Bakewell parkrun. It was another course record on the parkrun debut of the Team New Balance Manchester athlete. Just two weeks on from 12th in 30:18 at the Leeds Abbey Dash, the 13:46 5000m man looks to be in fine shape.

Recent England international Hayley Carruthers has bounced back well from her personal best at the Toronto Waterfront marathon for England and ran 16:24 at the Walsall Arboretum parkrun. The 2:36 marathoner took 20 seconds off her own personal parkrun best and her own course record for the event.

The power of racing may have played a part as the Birchfield Harrier was third overall with both Daniel Robinson (16:21) and Pravesh Patel (16:22) just ahead. Twitter tells us that Robinson was mostly acting as a wind block though.

Young stars of parkrun

Emma Waudby of Pocklington runners has featured before in our UK and World top 10 but this week’s 16:51 is a top class effort for the youngster in the 15-17 age group. It relates to over 90% on the age gradings, but what is surprising is that Waudby doesn’t have a single result of Power of 10 or elsewhere. She’s just a dedicated parkrunner who’s got quicker and quicker over the years.

A time of 16:51 for 5000m would rank in the top five for U20 for 2018, although it is a rarer distance raced at the younger age. Heslington parkrun looks like a legitimate course too with Strava files like Richard Purser’s and Isaac Myer’s coming up good for distance. (Congrats on the PB Isaac).

Pocklington Runners’ Emma Simmons said that “Emma’s performance at Heslington this morning was fantastic and we’re all very proud of her at Pocklington Runners!” The club secretary continued that “Emma is a junior athlete who enjoys running and just happens to be very good at it. She started attending both Pocklington Runners club nights and Heslington parkrun earlier this year”.

Third place woman was Lucy Reid, who has been running really well of late. Two weeks ago Reid helped her club Tonbridge AC to XC relay gold with an excellent leg two and the last week took an excellent sixth place at the Milton Keynes Cross. 

Fourth place was 10 year old Pearl Dowling, but we imagine that a jump from 43:21 to 17:16 is a bit much, especially as the age grading would be 119.69%. If Pearl really did just blow the U10 age rankings apart then please get in touch at team@fastrunning.com and we’ll add her back in, but keep up the hard work Pearl regardless!

As we were a bit gung-ho with getting the results up this week we missed two late additions to the men’s top ten. Third place was Andrew Douglas, who’s coach we spoke to just recently. Douglas ran 15:25 at Edinburgh parkrun.

Fourth place in the men’s rankings was a close fought affair at Bushy park with Andrius Jaksevicius just six seconds ahead of Euan Campbell.

The other addition is Connall McClean of St. Malachi’s AC. Like Emma Waudby McClean is also in the 15-17 age bracket and the young runner was first finisher at the Belfast Victoria in a splendid time of 15:34. Two excellent performances from young parkrunners and hopefully more to see from them in the future.

In sign of good times all 10 of the women’s rankings come in at or under 18 minutes. To get into the men’s list you’d have to run under 15:42, which is probably a sign that there were no big club relays or cross countries this weekend.

Just outside the top 10 in 11th place was Fast 10’s Anna Boniface. Great to see the Reading AC back in regular and fast action!

Men’s top 10

1) parkrun: Llanelli Coast
Dewi Griffiths, 14:12, Swansea Harriers AC
2) parkrun: Bakewell
Andrew Heyes, 14:18, Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield AC
3) parkrun: St. Andrews
Andrew Douglas, 15:25, Belgrave Harriers
4) parkrun: Bushy
Andrius Jaksevicius, 15:30, Belgrave Harriers
5) parkrun: Belfast Victoria
Connall McClean, 15:34, St. Malachy’s AC
6) parkrun: Bushy
Euan Campbell, 15:36
7) parkrun: Long Eaton
Aston Perrin, 15:37, Long Eaton RC
8) parkrun: Sheffield Hallam
Dominic Brown, 15:38, Tonbridge AC
9) parkrun: Exmouth
Callum Crawford, 15:40, Exeter Harriers
10=) parkrun: Worsley Woods
Jonothan Kay, 15:41, Bolton United Harriers & AC
10=) parkrun: Sale Water
Callum Rowlinson, 15:41, Sale Harriers Manchester
12) parkrun: Southampton
Aiden Lennan, 15:42

N.B. 12 Aiden Lennan is included as we initially published without two of the runners ahead and it seems unfair to remove Aiden due to our mistake.

Women’s top 10

1) parkrun: Walsall Arboretum
Hayley Carruthers, 16:24, Birchfield Harriers
2) parkrun: Heslington
Emma Waudby, 16:51, Pocklington Runners
3) parkrun: Southwark
Lucy Reid, 17:09, Tonbridge AC
4) parkrun: Dulwich
Chloe Bradley, 17:22, Doncaster AC
5) parkrun: Woodley
Kirsty Walker, 17:26, Reading AC
6) parkrun: St. Andrews
Anna Hedley, 17:32, Fife AC
7) parkrun: Stevenage
Annabel Gummow, 17:39, Winchester & District AC
8) parkrun: Exmouth
Ami Yetton, 17:51, Plymouth Harriers
9) parkrun: Delamere
Holly Weedall, 17:53, Vale Royal AC
10) parkrun: Newcastle 
Philippa Williams, 18:00, Elswick Harriers

If you enjoy running at parkrun but want to develop and get a bit faster then find a running club near you. Clubs have all the social aspects of parkrun and cater for all levels to help you progress. More information can be found here.

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

RELATED: 7 ways to run faster at parkrun

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us and become a patreon. For as little as the price of a monthly magazine you can support Fast Running – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

The post 10 fastest UK parkrun times on Saturday 17th November (2018) appeared first on Fast Running.

Taking place at Sportcity in Manchester, Jess Judd, winner of 5000m gold at the BUCS Championships last weekend in Bedford, will once line-up over the longer distance.

Among those the 1500m specialist is expected to face are recently crowned English 5k road champion Stevie Stockton.

It will be the Leeds City athlete’s first competitive track race since 2014, while club mate Claire Duck will also among those challenging at the front, before she turns her attention to competing for GB in the European team cup at the Highgate Harriers’ Night of 10,000m PBs next weekend.

Other notable entries include Northern cross country champion Mhairi MacLennan, Kate Holt and Elsey Davis.

The men’s race features Graham Rush, Phil Sesemann, Bradley Goater, Jack Morris, Sol Sweeney and Carl Avery, fresh from a 5k road PB at the England 5k Championships.

Andrew Heyes will face Jonny Hay in the men’s 1500m race, with Tom Cook and John Ashcroft also notable entries.

Cari Hughes, who won 1500m gold at the BUCS Championships, is among leading women in the 1500m event. With Stacey Smith, Claire Tarplee, Ella McNiven, Emily Dudgeon, Ireland’s teenage star Sarah Healy and Swedish athlete and member of Team New Balance Manchester Anna Silvander also on the start list it should be a great race.

The 800m events also feature BUCS gold medalists. In the men’s race, Daniel Rowden is among the entries, while in the women’s event Mari Smith, who clocked a PB 2:03.71 in Bedford, will face Jemma Reekie and Amy Griffiths.

The full timetable can be found here and the action will be streamed live from 4:30pm on Vinco.

The post Runners get set for BMC Grand Prix opener in Manchester appeared first on Fast Running.

After winning 3000m silver yesterday to fellow Dundee Hawkill athlete Laura Muir and also advancing from the 1500m heats, McColgan was back to contest the 1500m gold today (Febuary 18).

The 27-year-old showed no signs of weariness and finished a commanding performance with a great kick over the final 200m to win in 4:13:94.

Having already earned the qualifying time with a personal best in Madrid earlier this month, McColgan’s win today in the Arena Birmingham secures her place for the 1500m at next month’s World Indoors.

The European indoor bronze medalist hopes to compete in the 3000m, however, that decision now lies in the hands of selectors.

Katie Snowden clinching silver in 4:15.68 and Stacey Smith bronze in 4:16.00.

Andrew Heyes won a first British title in a gruelling men’s 3000m final taking the win in a personal best 7:54.81.

With the race leaders interchanging throughout, Heyes took control in the closing stages and opened up a lead that he held right to the line.

Unfortunately, the 27-year-old’s winning was outside the 7:52.00 qualifying mark for the World Indoors next month in Birmingham.

It was personal bests for the top three with Philip Sesemann silver in 7:55.71 and Lewis Moses bronze in 7:56.00.

Elliot Giles followed up his 1:47.61 indoor best last week in Toruń by winning the gold in men’s 800m final today. Giles clocked 1:49.91 to finish ahead of Jamie Webb in 1:50.41. Andrew Osagie was just 0.04 seconds behind for bronze in 1:50.46.

European indoor silver medalist Shelayna Oskan-Clarke clocked an indoor personal best to win the women’s 800m gold.

Oskan-Clarke’s 2:00:06 clocking secures the automatic place for the World Indoors next month, while Mhairi Hendry’s 2:01.30 for second is an impressive straight 800m PB and under the standard for the World Indoors.

Adelle Tracey finished third in 2:04.61.

20-year-old Lee Thompson won the men’s 400m gold with a world indoor qualifying performance of 46.23, while Eilidh Doyle secured her place on the British team by winning the women’s 400m title in 51.84.

Fellow Scot and 200m national indoor record holder Zoey Clark also put herself into contention for the World Indoors running the standard with a personal best 52.12 for silver.

Elsewhere, Tom Bosworth improved his own British 5000m race walk record with a fantastic 18:28.70 to win gold, while Bethan Davies set a Welsh best 21:25.37 in the women’s 5000m event.

Laura Muir and Jake Wightman were among the winners on the first day of the British Indoor Championships. You can catch up on Saturday’s action here.

The post Eilish McColgan and Andrew Heyes clinch British gold in Birmingham appeared first on Fast Running.

Swansea Harrier Ockenden, who finished first European and clinched full Cross Challenge points at the Antrim International last Saturday (January 6) has been added to the British senior women’s team alongside Louise Damen for the cross country showdown with Europe and the USA this weekend in Edinburgh’s Holyrood Park.

Damen competed at the Great Edinburgh XCountry in 2016 finishing 23rd. The duo have been added following the withdrawals of Amy Griffiths and Elle Vernon due to injury.

Andrew Heyes, who last competed in Edinburgh in 2015 and Jack Martin are replacements on the men’s team following the withdrawals of Dewi Griffiths and GB debutant at the European Cross Country Championships, Sam Stabler.

Heyes, who opened his indoor season with third over 3000m at the BMC indoor GP, said in a tweet: “Pretty decent start to 2018. Engaged, solid 3000m opener indoors, and back in the red white and blue of GB at Edinburgh this coming weekend!”

The British team of 34 athletes will face Europe and the USA in Edinburgh in senior and under-20 races, as well as a mixed relay event.

The European team that includes Ireland’s Fionnuala McCormack and the USA team, can be found here.

Updated Great Britain team for Edinburgh XC.

Senior Men
Ben Connor, Patrick Dever, Nick Goolab, Mahamed Mahamed, Chris Olley, Alex Teuten, Andy Vernon, Andrew Heyes and Jack Martin.

Senior Women
Katie Bingle, Philippa Bowden, Emelia Gorecka, Jess Judd, Harriet Knowles-Jones, Phoebe Law, Mhairi MacLennan, Verity Ockenden and Louise Damen.

Mixed Relay
Alex Bell, Adam Clarke, Tom Marshall and Laura Muir.

U20 Men
Jake Heyward, Ricky Lutakome, Tom Mortimer, Hugh Sadler, Lachlan Wellington and Matthew Willis.

U20 Women
Phoebe Barker, Niamh Brown, Cari Hughes, Khahisa Mhlanga, Eloise Walker and Erin Wallace.

The post Ockenden and Heyes among GB team updates for Great Edinburgh XCountry appeared first on Fast Running.

McColgan took nine seconds off her own course record en route to winning the women’s race in 32:23, finishing second overall. It concludes a fantastic year for the Olympian, who finished tenth in the 5000m final at the Wolrd Championships in London this summer.

The Scottish athlete set multiple personal bests on road and track during 2017. In recent weeks the GB international ran impressively at the Machester Road Race (USA) and won the Leeds Abbey Dash in course record 32:05.

Local athlete Heyes from Hallamshire was a clear winner in the men’s race. The Team New Balance Manchester runner broke the tape in 29:40 to better Mohammed Abu-Rezeq’s 29:57 course record.

Second male but third finisher overall was Steve Franklin (Totley AC) in 32:34 and third male was Andrew Challenger also with 32:34. It is worth mentioning that although finishing with a gun time of 34:28 and in 15th position, Abu-Rezeq actually ran a chip time of 30:16, indicating the Altrincham athlete must have missed the start.

Behind McColgan, the second female was Calli Thackery (Hallamshire) who finished in 35:16. Sheffield Running Club’s Sarah Lowery in third clocking 36:25.

Elsewhere this weekend

Jack Morris and Kirsty Longley won the Stockport 10, while Matt Sharp and Lucy Reid won in Portsmouth at the Victory 5. Elsewhere, Carl Hardman and Emily Kearney won the third match of the Manchester Cross Country League.

In Europe, Steph Twell finished third at the Course de l’Escalade in Switzerland. Round-ups can be found below.

Stockport 10, Stockport, Sunday, December 3

On the undulating course that starts and finishes in Woodbank Park, home to Stockport Harriers, it was very apt that Jack Morris of the home club crossed the line first in a time of 51:11.

Morris who has previously placed second in 2014 at the Stockport 10, knows the course well as does clubmate Jack Nixon who finished second clocking 51:46. In third place it was Gareth Raven in 53:22. The Sale Harriers runner also finished runner-up at the Manchester Area Cross Country League yesterday.

In the women’s race Kirsty Longley of Liverpool, Pembroke and Sefton took the win in 59:13. Longley beat Veleska Wills to the win. The Derby AC athlete clocked 61.04 for second, with Carla Stansfield (City of Hull AC) third in 61.38.

Victory 5, Portsmouth, Sunday, December 3

On the South Coast, Matt Sharp won the Victory 5-mile race in a time of 23:58. The Enfield Haringey AC finished ahead of Joe Wade of Aldershot Farnham & District in second with 24:47. While Chris Powner of Winchester took third in 25:13.

Lucy Reid of Tonbridge AC won the women’s race in 27:34. Laura Brenton of Southampton AC finished second in 27:48 and Beth Kidger (Brighton Phoenix) was third with 27:53.

Manchester Area Cross Country League, Manchester, Saturday, December 2

At that the same venue that hosted the annual University Cross Country relays four weeks ago, the Manchester University fields staged the third match of the Manchester Cross Country League.

Carl Hardman held off the challenge of Gareth Raven of Sale Harriers in the closing stages to take the victory in 32:58 with Raven one second behind.

Most recently Hardman of Salford Harriers ran 2:19:35 at the Berlin Marathon. This was his first race back after a short break following the marathon. Matt Barnes finished third in 33:11 and fourth was Andy Norman of Altrincham AC in 33:18.

Wirral AC’s Emily Kearney was the winner of the women’s race in 25:48. Kearney who is currently studying at SCAD Atlanta in America looked strong having already competed in six cross country races so far this season.

Macclesfield Harrier Sarah Stockman finished second in 25:55 with Anne Kenchington, who won the previous fixture at Boggart Hole Clough settling for third.

In the team results, Sale Harriers won the senior men’s match followed by Salford Harriers. The women’s match was won by the University of Manchester team.

40th Course de l’Escalade, Geneva, Switzerland, Saturday, December 2

GB international Steph Twell clocked 24:02 to finish an impressive third at the 40th edition of the popular Swiss road race. The women’s race was won by Helen Bekele in 23:49 two seconds ahead of Kenyan Maggie Masai with 23:51 over the 4.8km course.

Twell, who finished 9th at the GB Trials in Liverpool last week, now has her sights on Slovakia, where the Scot will represent Britain for the ninth time at the European Cross-country Championships.

Other British results came from Stephanie Barnes (Bristol and West AC) in 12th with 25:39.

Local athlete Julien Wanders won the men’s race 7.3km race in 20:58. The 21-year-old who spends a lot of time training in Iten ran the race in a Kenyan singlet and explained afterwards “I am from Geneva, I am Swiss but I am also Kenyan.”

The top British runners were Dan Studley (Bristol and West AC) who showed a great return to form to finish ninth and just behind Swiss international Abraham Tadesse. Studley finished in a time of 21:57, one place in front of Liverpool’s Jonny Mellor with 21:59. Irishman Daire Bermingham was 25th clocking 22:45.

Completing the podium was Fredrick Kipkosgei Kiptoo of Kenya in 21:07 with Abel Sikowo of Uganda taking the third spot with 21:37.

Over in Japan, there was a new European Marathon record set by Norwegian Sondre Nordstad Moen on Sunday (December 3). The 26-year-old clocked 2:05:48 at the Fukuoka Marathon to become the first European to break the 2:06 barrier. A report can be found here.

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