Pre race energies 

Everyone likes to get obsessive about the weather and what they eat the night before their race, and with high stakes like the trials, of course this was no different. 

Clara Edwards, laughs ‘us runners really are a funny bunch’, ‘ it was so funny seeing all the athletes arrive with their cooking paraphernalia in the lobby. I saw microwaves, I took a toaster for my breakfast, the only thing that didn’t get bought was a kitchen sink!’ .

Reading AC’s Naomi Mitchell recalls that “everyone was in really good spirits and excited to race. We were all trying to gauge the weather on our warm up loop to see how windy it was going to be” and Rosie Edwards found “the energy around the race was so positive and I think every athlete was grateful to be there. It felt different to all other marathons. There was a positive atmosphere and gratitude.”

The level of attrition from this lead pack was possibly higher than usual on the slightly lonely looped route in Kew. Credit: Nigel Bramley

Going in confident

The only one already with a qualifying time, Steph Davis had been waiting a long time to run this race and had plenty of time to think about what might happen.

But rather than focussing on the magnitude of the task the Clapham Chaser made sure she just had a “pre-race chat with my coach and played through different scenarios in my mind so that in the moments before the start I was only focussing on the warmup and the final bits of preparation”.

That said, she did “change outfit about three times” thanks to the very mixed forecast.

Of course this was no normal race situation and for marathon debutante Becky Briggs there was not only the first time nerves but also the fact that “the concept of a start line felt so unfamiliar” and they had to do “our warmup strides with a mask on”.

Imagine racing the trials in the middle of a pandemic as your first marathon – and as the youngest competitor!

Running into the wind

What might not have been completely clear from the online coverage was that while the course was indeed a fast one, and the potentially sharp corners had been carefully smoothed out, there was quite a headwind on the longest straight section of the route. 

As we now know, the race ranged from textbook, to tantalising, to unexpectedly wonderful, to frustratingly awful for the women taking part. Understandably some didn’t want to think about it again because it was all a bit too raw, but others were able to share some of the positives and negatives of the day.

Elite marathoners are not immune to stomach and nutrition issues and that does seem to have been a common theme of this race.

Some just had to battle with the trials of being female – Charlotte Taylor-Green had bad stomach issues due to being on her period but refuses to be upset by it “you can’t control everything – my body and health is priority and I did what I had to for me… I want to continue running for a long time, there’s no rush”. 

Clara Evans, Naomi Mitchell and Becs Gentry working together with their pace group. Credit: Nigel Bramley

Not every plan works out as you want

For Naomi Mitchell the day didn’t pan out as she hoped either, “early on I had some frustrating stomach cramps but was finding the pace easy. I decided to drop back and let my stomach settle but…the wind meant I couldn’t get back into a rhythm and ended up slowing”. 

Youngster Becky Briggs had an impressive start and kept going with the pacers for as long as possible. Many commented at the time on her gutsy attitude and it was only at half way that she took the decision to drop back a bit after realising that the pace was too intense.

Unfortunately it was too late and the damage was done “it was like I hit a wall, I didn’t take nearly enough fuel in the first half and really paid the price for that”.

Becky Briggs tackling hard solo miles in the second half. Photo: Nigel Bramley

It’s an easy mistake to make when everything is feeling good and Becky told us that she nearly gave in at 21 miles (which she’d completed at 2:32 pace). “My mind and body were really fighting each other but I was determined to get to the end“.

One wonders whether a bit more of an atmosphere might have helped her out at this point and Bekcy agrees “it would have made a huge difference. All the marshalls there did a great job, but nothing beats a roaring crowd all the way round. There were some really lonely parts of Kew”.

Instead she battled on with just the covid-safe crew doing their best to help out, “around 10k to go was really bad, my vision had blurred and I was stumbling around but I kept telling myself ‘Becky you do not give up, that is not who you are’ “. And she did, completing the race in 2:38:58 after walk-running the last 5 miles.

Training the gut for race day too

Sarah Inglis, one of the pre-race favourites had a similarly gruelling trudge to the end, but she doesn’t think even a crowded mass-marathon would have helped her ““I had a similar experience in Arizona (her debut of 2:29:41) with no crowds. I don’t think it made much of a difference.. If it had been my first race I’d have said never again”.

She puts her experience down to not training enough with the gels she planned to use “the first bit felt easy and within myself but I felt sick from miles 16-18 and I couldn’t take any bottles or fuel and my pace just dropped off…I tried self talk, mantras, everything but the negative talk became overwhelming and I was so glad to see the finish line.

“My grandmother said she felt so sad for me when she saw me sat on the curb at the end.”

Becky Briggs leading the pace early on in her marathon debut with Sarah Inglis also at the front of the lead group with Steph Davis. Photo: Nigel Bramley

The race begins at 20 miles…

Wales’s Clara Evans had a much less dramatic experience but still had her own issues with nutrition, she felt “incredible to 30k (her 25-30k split was only beaten by Steph) but my fuelling strategy just wasn’t right. I’d never raced with what I used on the day and I think I’ve learned the lesson that it doesn’t work for me. Perhaps in normal times I‘d have had a chance to trial them in a half marathon but it wasn’t to be. I was being sick a lot from 20 miles and I just couldn’t take on anything which was a massive shame as my legs had more to give.”

Evans had moved up into third place with 5k to go but lost about a minute on the last lap and when it was finished I was just happy it was over”. Despite that, she ran a storming time and qualified for the Commonwealth Games.

Not everyone had a tough day at the office

Rosie Edwards shows that flexible fuelling can pay off. She “was surprised when the whole field seemed to go out with the 2:28/29 pacers but held back and stuck to the plan”.

By mile nine other women were coming back to her and she passed through halfway in 1:15:48. But it wasn’t all plain sailing. By mile 15 she did “feel pretty rough, really rough like my legs were going, but I had an extra gel on me in case I missed a bottle (which I hadn’t) so I took it as a boost and it worked like a miracle”.

When the pacer stopped at 33k she knew it was time to concentrate “I was waiting for the wall and it never came…I was trying to do the maths” to see if she could get the Commonwealth Games time (spoiler, she did). “The last lap was so fun and I was still feeling good until the last 800m. I thought I was about 10th, just scraping the CWG standard but I was so excited to finish third in 2:31. Crazy”. 

The star of the show

Finally of course there’s Steph Davis for whom the planning and training all came together in what looked like an effortless display of race execution. But even she wasn’t immune to gut issues –  “I felt controlled throughout the race – apart from when I got stitch around 4k in! I usually have a pretty tough stomach and rarely get stitches, so this threw me a little, I was shouting to my coach to switch my energy drinks to water so that was a last-minute scramble!”

After that though things settled in. “The first half felt quiet so I had no idea how everyone was feeling behind me…we went through half bang on pace. Although I felt relaxed I didn’t want to do anything too early as the second half of a marathon can feel very long if you make mistakes early on!”.

As we watched the coverage, it looked like Steph made a conscious decision to break away just after 13 miles but she says “I don’t remember actively making a decision…I think it happened when we moved into single file to let the men’s race past.”

“I wasn’t aware of how big my lead was and I couldn’t take anything for granted until I’d crossed that finish line! Of course this race wasn’t about time but rather getting that top-two placing and it was only “at around 500m to go I passed a big clock and knew I was close to my PB. I was delighted to bag a small one!”.

Post race feelings 

Celebrating success and learning from less-than perfect performance are an important part of the racing cycle.

For Naomi Mitchell, the initial blow of seeing a race which didn’t reflect her training has led her to reflect that “I have now experienced what is needed to gut out a tough race and I’m sure this will be of benefit to me in the future”, though she also says she learned that “racing in the wind is much harder than I thought!”. 

Steph Davis celebrates winning the women’s marathon and securing her place to run the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics. Credit: Nigel Bramley

For Becky, her big takeaway has been that fuelling a half marathon is very different to a full marathon and needs some practice in training. That said, “giving up on my dreams is simply not a choice. I’m even more determined to get the marathon right one day and show what I’m capable of”.

Lockdown difficulties my have played an impact

A long chat with Sarah Inglis as she endured her hotel-lockdown upon re-entry to Canada found her frustrated but upbeat. All things considered, a late flight to the UK (she arrived only a few days before due to teaching duties and suffered bad jet lag) and “getting complacent” about her fuelling are the two things she thinks made the difference.

For now, she’s going to turn her thought to the track and will try to qualify for the 10,000m. “I’m excited” she says, “I did a 10k PB in a time trial in the build up to this and I’ve got nothing to lose”.

Clara Evans (who ran the biggest PB of the day) clearly has more to offer in future races, “I don’t think I’ve ever felt so fresh as I did the day after this race” but was delighted to see three Welsh PBs in the top 5 of the race.

“I may need some time to improve to get to the games, but the success of others is what has made this happen as we all push each other to improve. My coach Chris Jones has been instrumental in the progress for the Welsh standards in distance running”.

Like many she feels that the trials offered a new and more prominent way to showcase British talent,  “I hope they keep these events standalone.. I feel like everyone can relate toThommo and Steph’s journey’s… this would have been lost amongst a bigger race”. 

Always chasing better performances

Rosie Edwards may have smashed her PB and got third place but she’s not immune to a bit of “what if”, “I do feel like I played it safe for too long. Perhaps I could have gone a few miles earlier, but then I may not have finished as I did. I am excited to be braver in my next one”.

The final word has to go to Marathon Trial champion and the only auto-qualifier for team GB, Steph Davis.  “I always take two weeks off to fully recover and mentally reset. My focus now is to have a healthy build to the Olympics and stay injury free – that’s a pretty good motivator to take your recovery seriously!

The post Tales from Kew Gardens appeared first on Fast Running.

In the past, the London Marathon has been the place that elite British marathon runners had to prove themselves. They had global competitors and the support of around 750,000 spectators and 40,000+ participants to spur them on.

This time they will have just the organisers, some coaches and Kew staff around as they cover the 12 and a bit laps of a 3.3km looped course. For those who took part in the elite only version of the London Marathon last year there are some similarities (hopefully not the weather) but this is still going to be a very different kind of experience that which most of these runners have ever experienced. 

How to qualify for the Olympics

In order to qualify automatically for the GB Olympic marathon squad, the runners must have the qualifying time (2:11:30 & 2:29:30) and be one of the first two finishers. If they already have the qualifying time from another race within the qualifying period and finish top two, that would also guarantee a place.

There is a third place on each squad which is at the discretion of British Athletic, though for the men’s team that’s already taken buy Callum Hawkins.

So, Lateral Flow tests allowing, let’s take a look at those who we expect to be  toeing the line:

Photo: Alex Donald

Charlotte Arter (Cardiff AAC)

Marathon Debut
HM PB 69:40

After having to withdraw from pacing duties at the Elite London Marathon last year, this is Arter’s first experience of the full 26.2.

Hailing from Cumbria but representing Wales, she was the parkrun women’s world record holder (15:49) until recently and has excellent credentials over shorter distances.

With a half marathon PB of 69:40 and some really good training in the bank (with Clara Evans alongside) she will definitely be one to watch. Arter has completed an eight week marathon build up and told Fast Running she is “happy with how the training’s gone. I haven’t done any crazy mileage, just had some consistent training”.

Without any big city marathons to compare the experience to Arter is focussing on just “clipping off the laps. I want to enjoy the experience… it’s going to be a PB whatever I run!” However, she’s not shirking and aims “to stick with the Olympic pace for as long as possible”.

While her base speed is a lot faster than the rest of us, your first marathon is always a huge unknown and Arter is no different –  “I have no idea what I’ll be thinking on the start line” but “at the end I’ll probably be thankful it’s all over! Hopefully I’ll want to do another one. Then food, shower and downtime. So really – elite or not elite – we all want the same thing at the end of a marathon!

Arter is supported by Welsh Athletics and London Marathon Events. Coached by Chris Jones.

Tracy Barlow (Thames Valley) 

PB 2:30:42 London, April 2017

After working her way down from a 3:52:59 marathon in 2011 Barlow put in the work and brought that time down consistently. 2020 saw Barlow run a HM PB in Barcelona (72:12) and a 10 mile PB in Preston (58:25).

With recent Major Championships experience from World and European Champs and a die-hard attitude, as evidenced by her London Marathon 2020 performance of 2:34:42 when many others dropped out, Barlow will be interesting to watch in what will be a tactical race. Tracy’s 15th place at the 2018 European Championship makes her the most recent highest British finisher in a major championship marathon. 

Coached by Tom Craggs.

Photo: Provided by athlete

Becky Briggs (City of Hull)

Marathon Debut
HM PB of 72:54 Antrim Coast Half Marathon, 2020.

Still in the U23 category, she’ll be a youngster in the pack. Briggs says that training has been going well – “I’ve completed sessions I never thought I could, it’s been so different to anything I’ve ever done before“.

Though the laps of the course might be daunting, Briggs has been putting in plenty of laps of Bushy park for her training and is hoping that will help. When asked what her goal is she said “ to finish and do myself, my coach, my parents, and the distance justice!” 

Saysky Athlete. Coached by Geoff Watkin.

Natasha Cockram (Micky Morris Racing Team)

PB 2:30:49 Dublin, 2019

Cockram knocked it out of the park when she won the Elite London Marathon last year in a time of 2:33:19, which could have equated to a faster time in better conditions. She also set her Half Marathon PB of 75:27 last year in Llanelli so is clearly building good form. She is the Welsh Record holder for the marathon.

Supported by London Marathon Events Coached by Tony Houchin.

Oxford Half Women’s winner Stephanie Davis

Stephanie Davis (Clapham Chasers) 

PB 2:27:40 Valencia, 2019 (Olympic qualifying time)

Having already run the qualifying time, if Davis finishes top two then she’s guaranteed a spot on the Olympic squad.

Born in Glasgow and now living in London working for and supported by Lazard Asset Management, she ran her first full marathon in 2018 (Berlin, 2:41:18) which she followed with a 2:32:18 off the mass start at London Marathon in April 2019. She is part of the scottishathletics Marathon Project targeting the Commonwealth Games, Birmingham in 2022.

Supported by London Marathon Events. Coached by Phillip Kissi.

Rosie Edwards (Rotherham)

PB 2:40:49 Frankfurt, 2018
HM PB 72:24 Las Vegas, Jan 2021

Edwards’ training has been going well, with the athlete feeling she has become “more consistent with marathon pace and with my longer sessions as the block progressed, so that was a big stepping stone for me”.

While solo training has been a hard grind “long term I think it helped me”. She’s looking forward to seeing where she measures up against some of the top British runners and has been practicing looped training runs to prepare for the course. Asked about her goals for the big day, Edwards told Fast Running “I want to be involved in the race, especially the second half and place as highly as possible. I’m also aiming for the Commonwealth Games standard”.

Coached by Robert Hawkins.

Clara Evans (Cardiff)

PB of 2:46:03  London, April 2017
HM PB 72:21 Antrim Coastal Half Marathon, 2020

Technically coming out of retirement apparently, Evans hasn’t run a marathon since 2017 but has been training for a while with Charlotte Arter. The Welsh international ran a sub 33 10k PB on the track this year so her speed is clearly on the up. 

“I’ve been happy with the long runs and the long sessions. I’m extremely grateful that I got a taster race to (the 10k) to check form and I’m extremely happy with where I am. I’d have loved to have got in an altitude block for this race in Kenya but obviously the global situation has made that difficult”

Evans also commented that she’s “looking forward to catching up with the other top British girls” – they must normally see each other quite a lot on the circuit so this will be a chance for friendship (and rivalries) to be rekindled.

Evans feels “the course looks very nice. The only down side is that it’s not a course that’s been run before and I sometimes feel like you never really know how fast a course in until someone has been there and done it”.

Her  aim is to run the commonwealth games selection standard and get a benchmark for that early, because there are plenty of fast Welsh ladies chasing the target. Her boyfriend Paul is on pacing duties at the race.

Coached by Chris Jones.

Photo: Provided by athlete

Becs Gentry (Peloton)

PB 2:37:01 New York Marathon, Nov 2019

The Peloton(tread) queen has stated in instagram posts that she is targeting an Olympic spot and is likely to be taking a pop at 2:30 after dropping to her PB of 2:37 from 2:53 in Feb the same year. Her training is a little different to the standard way of doing things because of her work-day duties but there’s no doubt there’s plenty of talent in there ready to be unleashed.

Annabel Gummow (Winchester)

Marathon Debut
HM PB of 74:50 Watford, Oct 2020

It looks like Gummow was tuning up to race a marathon in 2020 as she ran Hillingdon 20, a standard London Marathon tuneup race that takes place in March, in 2:00:35 last year. The former GB international has been running well over the longer distances and is an exciting prospect for the 26.2 mile distance. 

Coached by Christopher Wooldridge

Photo: Inge Johnson/Canada Running Series

Sarah Inglis (Lothian Running Club)

Scottish Inglis lives and trains in Vancouver, CA and looks to be in great form after placing 9th and running a 2:29:41 PB at the Marathon Project race in Chandler AZ, USA in Dec 2020. Only 11 seconds off the qualifying mark in Arizona so certiainly capable of a hitting the fast time needed.

That Arizona result is also particularly relevant as it was also a looped course with no public allowed to support. Inglis has been happy with her progress after the last build and has been getting used to even bigger volume sessions.

The Scot’s only negative from this build? “it’s been shorter as I’ve had to recover from my last race in Dec”. Inglis, like the rest of us is excited about the field. “it’s so open and that’s why I think that at 30k+ there is still going to be lots of girls fighting for those two spots”. Her goal, in case it wasn’t obvious is to get one of those spots!

Supported by London Marathon Events. Asics athlete. Coached by Mark Bomba.

Tish Jones (Belgrave Harriers)

PB 2:31:00 London, 2019

Ran 2:36:35 in the elite only London Marathon last year and her 2:31 PB is from the previous year. Was due to complete in the World Champs in Doha, but unfortunately had to pull out with a leg injury. As with most, it’s difficult to tell current form but the marathoner always brings her best on race day and will be another who could surprise.

Supported by London Marathon Events. Adidas athlete. Coached by Geoff Watkin

Naomi Mitchell (Reading AC) 

PB 2:33:23 London (elite only), Oct 2020

Based in Reading as an accountant for KPMG, after plugging away around the high 2:XX’s for a few years  Mitchell’s breakthrough race was Frankfurt 2019 when she ran 2:37 which she attributes in no small part to a lack of GPS. 

Mitchell has been “really pleased with the consistency of my training…I’ve been able to build mileage as well as the amount of marathon pace work compared to last year” though like many of the other entrants (and us), she’s not enjoyed the cold winter training!

Mitchell is looking forward to making the most of the quality women’s field “to work well of one another for some fast PBs”. Of her goals, she says, “I always set a few different ones, depending on how I feel as the race gets going. I’d love to slash my PB and target the qualifying time”. 

Coached by Nick Anderson

Photo: Vitality Big Half

Lily Partridge (Birchfield Harriers)

PB 2:29:24 London, 2018 

Partridge looks to be back in good shape recently. She won the Antrim Coastal Marathon (71:36) and the Vitality Big Half (70:50) last year but DNF’d at the elite only London Marathon in cold weather conditions. Some injury issues over recent years have seen difficulties over the marathon distance, so we’ve not seen a real benchmark for her for a while. However, the recent half and a track 10k suggest she’s in form.

Her PB is from *that* hot year in London so it’s potentially worth a bit more and she’s one of the most experienced runners on the startline. You would expect Partridge to be int he mix for top two spots for most, if not all, of the race. 

Supported by London Marathon Events. Adidas Athlete. Coached by Alan Storey.

Charlotte Taylor-Green (Clevedon)

PB 2:36:54 Dublin, Oct 2019

Taylor-Green’s PB came 5 years after running her previous marathon which she finished in 3:20. She set a 5k PB in 2020 but is pretty new to marathon training. The Clevedon athlete  is “pleased with how my body has adapted to endurance training, along with the mental toughness of training solo for so long”.

Like many of the athletes she wishes she’s had better access to facilities over the last year but Instagram suggests she’s been doing what she can in her home ‘gym’. The last time Taylor-Green ran in a British Champs it was in 2017 for the 3000m steeplechase so it’ll be exciting to see what happens.

She’s not particularly excited about the turns and wisely notes that there’s a chance the women suffer from “getting overtaken by the men – I hope we don’t get pushed out of the way”. Given that she still classes herself as a novice at marathoning, she says her goal is any improvement on her previous best.

Coached by James Thie

The post Women’s Marathon Trial: Who’s Running? appeared first on Fast Running.

The re-arranged event takes place in Gdynia, Northern Poland. The race originally set to host mass races will now take place exclusively for the International fields of just under 300 athletes. The course will use four laps of 5.5km, finishing on a purpose built surface on the City’s Beach in Gdansk Bay on the Southern Coast of the Baltic Sea.

This will be the first World Athletics Series Event to take place since the Covid-19 lockdowns. ‘’It is clear that the entire community – athletes, national federations, coaches, athlete representatives – have risen to the challenge,” said Jacob Larsen, World Athletics director of Competition and Events (via World Athletics). “It is evident that this is something everybody wants to happen – and indeed are making it happen’’.

Cheptegei coming in with decent form

Joshua Cheptegei will be the resounding favourite for the men’s race. The Ugandan Athlete has set World records for 5,000m (12:35.36) and 10,000m (26:11.00) in recent months and a 5km World Record (12:51) falling to him in Monaco back in February. In fact the 24 year old has lowered world records at every one of his races this year making a new world record on Saturday a definite possibility.

A battle with World Half Marathon Champion Geoffrey Kamworor was originally expected in March but never happened with the event being postponed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.

World Record holder Kamworor (WR: 58:00) is not named in the Kenyan Team so the greatest opposition will likely come from Compatriot Jacob Kiplimo who will also make his Half Marathon debut in Gdynia.

19 year old Kiplimo finished second to Cheptegei at the World Athletics Cross Country Championships in Aarhus on the day that Kamworor was de-throned as World Champion. Two years earlier he had claimed the global crown in the Junior Men’s race.

Instead the Kenyan Challenge will be led by Kibiwott Kandie who has a 58:38 best making him the fastest in the field and as the fifth fastest of all-time, should not be counted out. Abraham Cheroben of Bahrain is the second fastest with a best of 58:40.

Guye Idemo Adola will head the Ethiopian Team with a P.B. of 59:06 and a Bronze medal at the Championships in Copenhagen from 2014 to his name.

Kaan Kigen Ozbilen (P.B: 59:48) of Turkey is the fastest European entrant with his P.B. recorded at Ras Al Khaimah in 2019.

Jake Smith racing in Paris.

British team reduced by injuries

British hopes have been affected by a series of withdrawals, reducing the men’s team to five athletes.

Jake Smith will be the fastest Briton on Paper with a time of 62:00 recorded when finishing third at the Vitality Big Half in March behind Kenenisa Bekele and Chris Thompson. This was a third outing over the distance for the 22 year old who debuted with 64:03 in 2018, going on to run 62:03 at the Boulogne Billancourt Half marathon last November.

The Cardiff based athlete born in Bermuda then recorded a 28:00 time trial for 10,000m in July to test fitness coming out of the Covid-19 lockdown and followed up with a fourth place at the Muller British Championships over 5,000m in September.

Mohamud Aadan set his lifetime best of 62:30 on his way to seventh at the Commonwealth Half Marathon championships in Cardiff back in 2018.

Orienteers and ultra runners with some leg speed

Scottish based Welshman Kristian Jones has become a regular in British Teams of recent years and takes a 63:09 best in to the Championships, recorded at the Barcelona Half Marathon early in 2020. His most notable win to date was a victory at the British Athletics Stirling Cross Challenge in February.

Tom Evans P.B. of 63:15 came at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in September. This was just the latest eye-catching performance for the Ultra distance Specialist. Evans has medalled at the IAU World Trail running Championships and the infamous Marathon Des Sables. Evans proved that he was an athlete comfortable over any distance with a 13:41 clocking at the Podium 5k and a Bronze medal at the CAU Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships back in February.

Adam Craig (63:24) has come in to the team as a replacement for fellow Scotsman Callum Hawkins. This will mean a debut for Great Britain & Northern Ireland on the roads for the Inverclyde AC Athlete in just his second outing over the distance.

26.03.16 – IAAF/Cardiff University World Half Marathon Championships 2016 – Elite womens runners on Roald Dahl Plas.

The women’s race is exciting

The women’s race will be more likely to see a competitive battle between former champions and some of the fastest athletes in history.

The Kenyan team will boast 2016 Champion Peres Jepchirchir (65:06) and former World record Holder Joyceline Jepkosgei (64.51). Rosemary Wanjiru (65.34) is the next fastest on an extremely strong Kenyan team with a 10km best of 29:50 set in Valencia.

Netsanet Gudetta (65:45) of Ethiopia is the defending Champion setting a women’s only world record of 66:11 in Valencia. That record fell to Jepchirchir with 65:34 in an elite only event in Prague last month.

Her compatriot Ababel Yeshaneh is faster yet with a 64:31 clocking to smash the world record held by Jepkosgei in a race where second placed Brigid Kosgei also dipped under the previous best mark.

Debuts for British women

Samantha Harrison is the fastest British challenger having clocked an impressive 71:01 to finish second at the Vitality Big Half in March after leading the race for some time.

Harrison, who describes running as ‘’her happy place’’ only began racing seriously in September 2018 and in late 2019 described a main goal for 2020 to be gaining selection for the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships.

Clara Evans is set to make her debut for the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Team, selected off the strength of a 72:21 lifetime best set at the Antrim Coast Half Marathon in September.

Becky Briggs will make her senior debut for Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Poland. The 20 year old set her best of 72:54 in Northern Ireland last month, taking her to seventh in the British U23 all-time lists and becoming the third fastest U23 in Europe this year.

Want to run faster? For just £30 per month athletes are provided with a Final Surge plan for each day of the week, coaching advice from Robbie Britton and Tom Craggs, as well as access to the unique Fast Running Performance community.

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The post A young British team to face the world’s best in Poland appeared first on Fast Running.

At the Witham Boxing Day 5 on Wednesday (December 26), GB international Jake Wightman was entered but unfortunately had to withdraw, however, the Witham Running Club organised race was still a huge success with all 500 entries selling out.

A small group of about six/seven runners broke away in the first mile including Essex County Road Running Champion Chris Burgoyne of Springfield Striders, but by half way the race was down to just Callum Charleston of Aldershot Farnham and District and Ramadan Osman of Colchester Harriers.

During the second half of the five mile race, Charleston managed to get away from Osman and hold his lead to finish first in a time of 25:15, with Osman second 25:27. David Green of Northampton Road Runners completed the podium in 25:33.

In the women’s race, Hayley Munn of Northampton Road Runners was uncontested in her victory, taking the womens title in 28:58, over two minutes ahead of Laura Shewbridge of Hadleigh Hares who took second in 31:21. Rachel Bunting was third for North Devon Roadrunners in 31:47.

At the East Hull Harriers Boxing Day 10k, 18 year-old Becky Briggs was first female and third overall in a top time of 34:09.

It was the fastest time this year in the UK by an under-20 female athlete and afterwards, Briggs said she was “very pleased to have taken a total of two minutes and 20 seconds from my 10k PB.”

Other results are currently unavailable and will be added once they are released.

At the Poole AC organised Round the Lakes 10k, the female winner was another 18 year old endurance athlete in Grace Copeland.

The Wimborne AC runner ran 35:20, ahead of GB international ultra runner Samantha Amend (37:55) and Georgia Wood (38:14), both of whom have been running very well of late.

The men’s winner was 20 year old Piers Copeland in 31:56 and that makes it a pair of victories for the Copeland siblings. The Wimborne AC youth was just five seconds ahead of Daniel Mulryan of Poole Runners in 32:01, while Sam Costly of Southampton AC made up the podium with a 32:51 performance.

Mark McKinstry and Emma Mitchell won the popular Greencastle 5 mile road race in Northern Ireland. North Belfast Harriers’ McKinstry was first across the line in 24:42 ahead of Glaslough Harriers’ Conor Duffy (25:07) and St Malachy’s Paddy Robb (25:21).

Irish international Mitchell won the women’s race in 28:28 ahead of City of Derry’s Breege Connolly (28:52) and Letterkenny’s Caitriona Jennings (29:42).

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Great way to spend Boxing Day up in Greencastle at the very popular 5mile road race proud coach day @emmamitchell05 taking the title with a impressive front running display and @sineady94 taking 4th lady home in a new 5mile pb picture credit @malcolmmccausland1921

A post shared by Belfast Irish Milers Meet (@eamonn.christie) on Dec 27, 2018 at 4:29am PST

Also in Northern Ireland at the Brocagh Bay 5/10k, the winners of the 5k race were Ruben Amaral (17:55) and Lisa Simpson (21:57), while the 10k was won by Glen Donnelly in 33:32 and Sandra Quinn in 38:04 – both in a quicker average pace than the 5k winners!

In Scotland, there were victories for Alexander Wallace of St. Cocas AC and Avril Mason of Shettleston Harriers at the Ayrodynamic Turkey Trot 10k.

Wallace ran 33:23 to finish over a minute clear of second place Iain MacDonald of Edinburgh AC who ran 34:44. New Marske Harriers Club’s Darren Thom finished third in 34:52.

Shettleston’s Mason won the women’s event in 35:30 and was well clear of Toni Macintosh (36:55) and Natalie Stevenson (39:20). Special shout out to Garscube Harrier’s 24hr Internationals Marco Consani and Debbie Martin-Consani who both ran well with times of 35:54 and 43:25.

Adam Sciacca and  Melanie Koth were victorious at the Flyde Coast Runner’s Leyland Boxing Day 10k. Sale Harriers’ Sciacca won in 32:36 from an unknown runner four seconds behind in 32:40. Koth, a Lytham St Annes Road Runner, ran 42:08 to take the win.

parkrun on Christmas Day means that the results aren’t pinged up too quickly (the volunteers have done their work and need to get back to open their presents) but some of the best results from around the country we could see are below. They may well be rather incorrect and we will update when we know more, but here’s our best effort.

Jake Smith of Axe Valley Runners was in a rush to get back home and have some turkey as he ran 14:48 at Seaton parkrun to post the quickest time of the day. Our best guess is that the quickest female was Danielle Nimmick of City of Norwich AC, who ran 17:11 at her home town Norwich parkrun.

Mohamed Daud Mohamed followed up a 15:05 on Saturday with a 15:07 on Christmas morning, both at Coventry parkrun and Jack Rowe was third fastest male with a 15:09 at Bushy Park. The 2,011 runners attending the home of parkrun was a record and is a beautiful sign of how loved the free weekly time trials are.

Lauren Hall and Morag MacLarty were the second and third fastest females respectively with times of 17:16 and 17:17 so only a second apart.

Fast Running‘s Robbie Britton went down to Huddersfield parkrun where there was an impressive turnout of over 700 people. Hoping for a quick race there was an unknown runner and youngster Luc Burnip, who was celebrating his 200th parkrun on Christmas Day.

“The early speed of Burnip and the other runner was too much for me, but coming around the last bend I gave it one last shot and we all sprinted to the finish together,” said Britton. “The unknown runner was first to the line and Burnip just missed out on his sub 16 minute goal, but achieved a new PB. He’ll definitely go under 16 minutes soon!”

The top 10 UK parkrun times from Saturday can be found here.

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The post From Witham to Hull to Ayr – Boxing Day round-up appeared first on Fast Running.