Whilst Eluid Kipchoge and Kenenisa Bekele’s assault on the world record was being billed as a battle for the ages, it was potentially leading us away from the greater race.

A World Record holder, Brigid Kosgei, versus a World Champion, Ruth Chepngetich. 2:14:04 against 2:17:08, both times from last year. Both with a point to prove to Kenyan Athletics that they should be on the Tokyo Olympic team and the looped course and fast pacemakers mean it could be electric from the start.

Add in 22 year old Alemu Megertu, who has a 66:43 half marathon and isn’t afraid to go with the front runners.

At the other end of the spectrum you have Edith Chelimo debuting at the marathon at 34, with a 65:58 PB, and Vivian Cheruiyot, 37 years old and with a 2:18:31 PB and not someone you can count out.

Only a little bit of training

Kosgei has downplayed the prospects of a world record a little though. “Due to this pandemic, I cannot say I’ll run this way or that way, because coronavirus means we did not do enough training, like last year. So I want to try my best only on Sunday.”

But the Kenyan star has previously said she feels her record could be lowered to around 2:10, so maybe “just 180, 190km a week” at 3000m of altitude will be enough?

Despite disqualification in the Hour race with Siffan Hassan, Kosgei still showed some of the raw speed that makes her so exciting as a marathoner.

Will Sinead Diver lead from the front again? Photo: Ian Walton for Virgin Money London Marathon

Will the laps play a part?

Aside from the front runners there is also a wonderful mix of PB hunting women to watch. We’re hoping a good bunch work together with the high quality pacers, like Aly Dixon and Eilish McColgan (called in last minute to replace an injured Arter), to really put themselves in contention in the second half.

The lapped course and potentially tough weather conditions could also make for interesting racing. The psychological aspect of lapped races means that one has to ignore the faster athletes lapping you, even though it will affect your perception of your own effort levels and pace.

It can work both way though, so if there are struggling athletes you can lap, then it will make your own effort seem that much easier. Perception of effort may be a key element if the wind and rain pick up on Sunday.

The sub 2:30 race

With Steph Twell starting 2020 with a half marathon PB in Houston, Texas, there was high hopes the year would bring an improvement to her already excellent mark of 2:26:40 set in Frankfurt last year. With a third place 33:38 in a 10k in Switzerland just last weekend, we might see a tactical race from the Brit with the fastest PB in the event.

“It’s my first female-only race, and a British championships too, which is really important to me. This is an opportunity for me to grow again. The time will count too.” was what Twell said at the press conference, which might be an insight into race tactics.

Lily Partridge, Tracy Barlow, Natasha Cockram, Tish Jones, Helen Davies and Naomi Mitchell will all be looking for new personal bests and pushing for that Olympic qualifying time of 2:29:30.

Which shoes will be best for race day? Ben Connor is clearly winning the cool 80’s jacket war. Photo: Dan Vernon for London Marathon Events

There are other men in the race too

Even though Bekele has withdrawn it doesn’t mean it’s just a jog in the park for Kipchoge to win. 2:02:55 man Mosinet Geremew is still looking for his first major marathon win and the 28 year old won’t be afraid of going with the early pace.

That still leaves another five, yes FIVE, men who has PBed under 2:05. Seven runners in total have the pace to run a marathon in 125 minutes.

Marius Kipserum is the only other Kenyan, with the four other athletes all heralding from Ethiopia. Maybe they feel the need to pick up the baton for their fallen compatriot Bekele and we will see something special? Shura Kitata brings a sub 60 min half PB from January 2020, but who knows how the COVID summer training has gone for any of these stars?

Sisay Lemma is one of the only front runners to have notched a podium marathon finish in 2020, with a third placed 2:04:51 at Tokyo Marathon earlier in the year. Will that experience help or hinder the 29 year old?

Frank Futselaar (NED) (skinny blue jeans), Ross Millington (Snazzy jacket), Charlie Hulson (favourite colour blue?), and Jonny Mellor (far right) prepare for some shared miles on Sunday.  Photo: Dan Vernon for London Marathon Events

All aboard the 2:10 train

For the men’s race it looks like there could be a decent amount gunning for the 2:10 mark, with British stars like Chris Thompson, Jonny Mellor and Ben Connor all featuring.

“I’ve always thought I was capable of running two zero-something,” said the NB Manchester athlete before the event. “If I can come away with another qualifying time, that’s goal number one. But if I can get under 2:10 then I’d be delighted.”

In a group paced by Sir Mo Farah, Matt Clowes and Jake Smith, could we see some more British or Irish runners make a big leap in 2020.

One to watch for us, after an excellent performance just behind Sir Mo at the Larne Coastal Half, is Stephen Scullion. The prodigious talent never ceases to amaze with his performances and we certainly wouldn’t bet against something special from the Northern Irishman this weekend.

Exciting debutants to the distance include Fast10’s Jack Gray, who is known for aggressive front running at the shorter distances. With such an opportunity to be within a big group, paced by experienced marathoners, don’t be surprised to see Gray, and others, rolling the dice for the big times.

Another Fast10 athlete, Ollie Lockley, is a man who has flown under the radar a little in the pre race coverage but his half marathon PB is one many of the other men on the start line would love to have achieved and we know he will get amongst it.

For a detailed preview of the course before the Sunday action, check out Dan Biagi’s analysis.

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.

If you would like more information on joining the project, click here. 

The post The best battle is still on appeared first on Fast Running.

Where to begin? What a week! On the roads and the track indoor and outdoor our athletes have really been putting their winter training to the test and reaping the rewards.

Mageean stars at the AIT International Grand Prix

Getting us off to a flying start was Ciara Mageean (City of Lisburn AC/ Team New Balance) who broke her own Northern Irish Senior record, ran a PB and a Stadium Record at the AIT International Grand Prix in the Women’s 3000m on Wednesday night.

After battling with GB’s Rosie Clarke from the start the Northern Irish Olympic hopeful won out and Clarke had to settle for second in 8:49.49. Third place also went to team GB – Beth Kidger finished in 9:18.53 and Eloise Walker set a GB U20 record to finish fourth in 9:21.30. Read more here.

The Men’s Mile was similarly competitive. Ethiopia’s Samuel Tefera ran a PB of 3:55.86 for the win, followed by Ireland’s Brian Fay who bettered his previous indoor record to take silver in 4:00.77 ahead of Brazil’s Thiago Andre (4:01.55). Also heading home with a PB was Adam Craig who placed sixth in 4:03.34

Møller and Clarke win in Armagh

It was a night to remember at the Armagh International Road Races. Not just for the scrappy beginning of the men’s race that saw several tripped, stumbling or even falling in the crush to get a fast start.

Near perfect conditions led to 50 women running under 10 minutes in the Intersport Women’s 3k. 135 men ducked under 15 minutes (113 last year) in the 5k, with 21 going sub 14. In that depth of field it is not surprising that it took a new course record to secure the win for Anna Emilie Møller in 8:58 with Adam Clarke clocking 13:42 in an exciting finish.

Blazing after Møller in the women’s 3k was Alex Bell, who would normally race over 800m but appears to have plenty to offer over longer distances. According to her twitter she rather enjoyed the chance to stretch out her run and was rewarded with the silver in 9:06. Amy Griffiths was just behind Bell to take third in 9:09 and Kate Avery was fourth in 9:10.

Tight race for men’s podium

For the gents, it was Johnny Davis and Phil Sesemann who were both just two seconds behind Alex Clarke in the 5k to take second and third with the same time of 13:44. As suggested by the crazy start, the race was a battle for every place, and the next two positions were also neck and neck at 13:46 for Phil Norman and Jake Shelley.

In the team competition England was victorious in both the men’s and women’s competition. An astonishing average of 13:50 won it for the guys, led by team captain, Phil Sesseman (3rd, 13:45), Jake Shelley (4th, 13:46) and Graham Rush (12th, 13:55). The ladies scorers were Charlotte Dannatt (7th, 9:21), Laura Brenton (16th, 9:32), Rebecca Johnson (19th, 9:34) and Kirsty Longley (31st/1st W40, 9:44).

 

View this post on Instagram

 

When you realise that the race record is within reach, and the finish line smile changes slightly Had good fun racing my first 3k on the road last night! Didn’t really focus on the time – just on the . Enjoyed the great atmosphere in Armagh, a nice little town in Northern Ireland. Definitely worth coming back for Ciara had left, so this time the race was NOT cancelled. Last weekend I wasted a trip to Holland, where I was meant to run a 10k, which Ciara cancelled.. So I was pleased to finally get to do a road race again | : Keith McClure

A post shared by Anna Emilie Møller (@anna_moeller97) on Feb 14, 2020 at 11:55am PST

Scott, Reekie, Muir and Learmonth impress on the track

In Seattle, Washington the Husky Classic 3000m was part of a weekend of indoor racing and resulted in a 7:46.11, a little indoor PB and second place for Mark Scott of Cambridge & Coleridge who was running for Bowerman Track Club in this setting. James West who was running for Oregon but is a Tonbridge athlete when on home turf ran a sizeable PB to place sixth in 7:47.10 with Jack Rowe 10th in 7:51.00.

It is weekends like this when athletes thank their lucky stars for indoor meets. With races being cancelled left right and centre on Saturday, the Müller Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow was a safe haven for runners wanting to burn it up on the track. In the Men’s 800m Adam Kszczot of Poland took the 10 points for top spot in 1:46.34. Scotland’s Guy Learmonth ran a 1:47.16 for third with Josh Kerr and Elliot Giles fourth and fifth but with the same time of 1:47.40 and Alex Botteril seventh in 1:47.77

What a day!!! Thanks so much for all the messages today, love being back to my old self!!
Put so much graft in the last few months to get back here and I couldn’t be happier. My team is the best in the world!
Now the ball is really rolling!! #TeamNB #F8TC pic.twitter.com/PFd1vobyZS

— Guy Learmonth (@GuyLearmonth) February 15, 2020

The Men’s 1500m victory belonged to Bethwell Birgen of Kenya in 3:36.22. First home for GB was Piers Copeland who took fourth place in a new PB of 3:38.81. Following him for GB were Geroge Mills in 3:39.25 for sixth (also a PB) and Archie Davis in seventh 3:44.48. Charlie Da’vall Grice sadly had a fall midway through the and Jamie Webb also did not finish.

Laura Muir proved that although she’s battled injury over the winter she can still command a strong victory in the Women’s 1000m. The Scot said it was a tough race, commenting “I was a little down at 600m and oh that last lap was so sore“, but nevertheless she took home the win in 2:33.47 and will “be back out training in the wind and rain tomorrow” ready for the outdoor season.  Adelle Tracey couldn’t quite reach Muir and had to settle for second in 2:37.95 to make it a GB one-two.

It was Muir’s training partner Jemma Reekie though who grabbed everyone’s attention yet again. After breaking the national 800m, British indoor mile and British indoor 1500m records just weeks ago Reekie just went and churned out a 4:04.07 to grab top spot in the 1500m ahead of Ethiopia’s Dawit Seyaum (4:04.24). Reekie said ““It was a good race and a good confidence boost. I try to focus on myself out there because I’ll only ever work with the pressure that I put on myself and I don’t feel it off other people.”

Goolab claims British 5km record

On Sunday morning at RunMonaco, the 5k World Record was smashed to smithereens by Uganda’s Joshua Cheptegei. He went into the race ‘thinking of sub-13’ and he certainly achieved it with his 12:51. That makes him 27 seconds faster than the previous best.

Britain’s Nick Goolab (Belgrave Harriers) ran an absolutely sensational race to finish third in a new British record of 13:27 – three seconds faster that Mo Farah and Rob Denmark’s joint record. France’s Jimmy Gressier was second in 13:18.

Connor and Arter lead home strong British challenge in Barcelona

Meanwhile it may not seem very spring-like here at the moment, but the season for long distance road running IS warming up and athletes were tuning up and testing out at the Barcelona Half Marathon.

Good conditions at the start gave way to a bothersome headwind at 15k. This caused a lot of runners to slow in the latter part of the race but didn’t stop some impressive times. Kenya’s Victor Chumo broke the tape in 59:59 to go sub-1hr for the first time.

Ben Connor placed ninth with a speedy 61:34 – not far off his PB and only two weeks after winning Murcia Half Marathon. Kristian Jones finished 22nd in a 22 second PB of 63:33 ahead of Josh Griffiths (29th in 63:34, PB) Frank Baddick (38th in 63:54, PB), Scott Overall (42nd in 64:23), John Travers (48th in 64:42), Eoghan Totten (52nd in 64:58), Eric Keogh (55th in 65:11), Conor Bradley (60th in 65:35) and Thoman Hayes (63rd in 65:58). There were many other fine performances under 70 minutes so be sure to check out the full results list.

Went for it today. 28.37 through 10k and a few seconds outside 46mins through 10 miles, then blew up a little. still happy to hold on for a 61.33, my second fastest time over the distance. In a good place with 10 weeks to go #Londonmarathon #ne… https://t.co/WwVbovOTwg pic.twitter.com/2pZSjWbiZw

— BEN CONNOR (@bdconnor) February 16, 2020

Arter 6th as Brits pack top 40

Charlotte Arter has a good history with the race, having run a Welsh record there last year to finish fifth in 69:40. This year she was chasing the likes of Ethiopia’s Ashete Bekere who won in 66:37. She couldn’t quite beat her 2019 showing but came close, placing sixth in 70:00 right behind Valencia Marathon winner Rosa Dereje. Ireland’s Fionnuala McCormack finished just outside the top 10 in 71:39 and Samantha Harrison ran a huge PB to scrub out her 73:01 on Power of 10 and replace it with a 71:43 and 13th place.

Other top performances came from Ann-Marie Mclynn (16th in 72:12), Tracy Barlow – who went out in gutsy style and hung on in that headwind to run a PB of 72:12 (17th), Clara Evans (19th in 72:29, PB), Jenny Spink (30th in 74:09), Danni Nimmock (32nd in 74:47), Fionnuala Ross (34th in 74:54), Lucy Niemz (58th in 78:47), Rosemary Jennings Maun (59th in 78:36), Catherin Whoriskey (65th in 79:55) and Georgina Weston (67th in 79:55).

UK road racing roundup

A rather different half marathon experience awaited those taking part in the Kinloss to Lossiemouth Half. The point to point course had forecast a tailwind gusting into the 30s. We’re awaiting official results but a bit of Strava stalking suggests that Kenny Wilson was blown to a PB of 64:55 and Robbie Simpson ran 65:00.

In Chessington the Valentine’s 10k saw some good results. Daniel Cheeseman (City of York) raced home in 31:42. Ollie Garrod of South London Harriers (33:00) was 2nd and Ben Chown (33:20) 3rd. Isabel Brinsden of Epsom and Ewell Harriers brought home the win for the women in 36:06 with Suzannah Month (36:57) and Lisa Rooney (39:29) shortly after her.

RunThrough Battersea Park 5K / 10K beat at least the worst of the storm on Saturday morning in London. Lucy Reid was a little way outside her PB with 35:29 but claimed the win. Steph McCall of Herne Hill Harriers followed her with 35:42 and Lou Hunter rounded out the podium with a 35:53.

For the men, Matthew Dickinson of Clapham Chasers raced over the line in 31:33 ahead of Nick Bester (Herne Hill Harriers) in 31:52 and Ewan Cameron in 32:23. A mysterious man-with-no-name topped the 5k race in 16:59. Nacho Garcia (17:44) and John Ross (19:10) took the other two awards. Hannah Pullen of Waverly Harriers won the women’s 5k in 17:57, followed by London Heathside’s Amy Cook in 19:18 and Marta Acosta in 19:30.

Soggy conditions didn’t deter runners at Devon’s Tavy 5k. Local boy Lewis Mill of the Tavistock Run Project was champion of the day in 19:04 in a comfortable lead over Lee Herbert (19:20) and first lady, third overall Jodi FIsk (19:25).

The Harrow Hill 10k does what it says on the tin. Harrow AC’s Lucy Ashe took 4th overall and won the women’s race in 39:34 just two weeks after her PB at Watford Half Marathon. Sarah Gerrie came second in 42:36 and Joanne Kent was next home over the hill in 43:23. For the men, Thomas Grimes (East London Runners) took top spot in 37:26 ahead of Adam Horne (38:37) and Werner Kranenburg (38:51).

Jo Meek hit the trails in Arizona and took fifth place at the Black Canyon 100k in 9:49. In Costa Rica the Coastal Challenge, a multi stage race over 6 days with 10, 000m+ of elevation over 236k through rainforest, mountains, river valleys and beaches sounds like a beast of a race. It was enough to stop Oxford City’s Rebecca Ferry who finished the whole lot in 17:57:12. Susie Chan finished third with an overall time of 21:14:31.

I tried my hardest but it wasn’t good enough. 5th in #blackcanyon100k

My goal for a @wser golden . I had time on the trail (the later half of 9hrs 49mins!) to come to terms with it.
Blog to follow

@aravaiparunning for hosting such a great race

Run Run pic.twitter.com/5PauYwIZSb

— RunningSquirrel • Ultra runner (@jo_meek) February 16, 2020

Most Cross Country races seem to have been cancelled or are awaiting results. Club runners could still have their fix against each other in the North East Road Relays. Gateshead Harriers were victors in the women’s race in a combined time of 52:33 thanks to their team of Chloe Wellings, Gillian Manford Jane Giles and Innes Curran. For the men it was Kieran Hedley, Taylor Glover, Dan Melling, Rowan Bennett, Sam Hancox and Adam Pratt who grabbed the premier honours for Morpeth Harriers.

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 Top racing in Armagh, Barcelona and Monaco – weekend roundup appeared first on Fast Running.

Piasecki wins Florence Marathon to move 3rd on UK AT list

At Florence Marathon Jess Piasecki finally made her marathon debut and she did it in fine style. The Stockport athlete not only won the race by 78 seconds in a 74:31/70:58 negative split but also ran her way into the GB record books. It was a hugely popular result for Piasecki who picked up an injury mid race at the 2015 Frankfurt Marathon when looking on course for a sub 2:30 clocking.

Her 2:25:29 sees her edge past Charlotte Purdue’s 2:25:38 earlier this year at London to place 3rd on the British all-time list. That leaves the two pre-selected two Tokyo 2020 places as tough to beat but with a quality line up of Brits at Valencia Marathon lets wait and see. The final lady will need to run the qualifying time and place 1st Brit at London. It’s a tight turnaround but it makes for a compelling prospect for those of us watching!

Paul Molyneux clocked his fastest marathon time for three years running 2:22:55 to finish 8th overall. Also running sub 2:30 was Pete Robinson of Springfield Striders who clocked 2:28:41 in his 4th marathon of the year. Vicky Unsworth was the next British female over the line with the Liverpool Harrier running 3:01:02.

Further down the field it looks like the course was changed due to a gas leak leading it 700m short for some of the later finishers.

Isn’t it great when a long term plan comes together.

Thanks to all who have helped along the way pic.twitter.com/ouzyIdab4c

— Jessica Piasecki (@JessCoulson90) November 24, 2019

Euro Cross Trial at Sefton Park

It was the third installment of the British Athletics Cross Challenge series at Sefton Park this Saturday. The race also served as the trials for the Spar European Cross Country Championships, resulting in a fine field and a top notch day of racing.

In the U15 race Kiya Dee of Highworth kept her 100% record by winning in a time of 10:59, though not without a little tussle with Vale Royal’s Grace Roberts. Conditions became increasingly boggy throughout the day but that didn’t deter our hardened athletes.

A soggy set of spikes and a Euro XC champs place now belongs to Saskia Millard of Herne Hill Harriers thanks to her 15:32 finish. She’ll be joined in Lisbon by the rest of the top 5 finishers in her race (see below) who all automatically qualify.

Judd surpised after fine win

In the Senior Women’s race Jess Judd stormed ahead to take the lead from early on, much to her own surprise! She had plenty of time to slow down for the tape as her nearest rival, Charlotte Arter, finished 10 seconds behind her.

The previous match’s winner, Kate Avery was 3rd and the remaining place on the team was taken by Amy Griffiths. Bronwen Owen, Cari Hughes, Amelia Quirk and Eleanor Bolton all qualified for Lisbon in the u/23 team. Judd, Arter, Avery and Griffiths all cliched senior spots.

In the senior women’s race it was @jessjuddxx who crossed in first place and she was clearly delighted having secured her spot on the plane to Lisbon with victory in a wet and windy Liverpool this morning.#MuddyBrilliant pic.twitter.com/UmCjPGGW4V

— British Athletics (@BritAthletics) November 23, 2019

Connor continues his fantastic 2019

MK winner Mohammed Mohammed was again in fine form but it was British 10000m Champion Ben Connor to claimed a convincing win. Alex Yee and Adam Hickey also booked their spots on the Euro Cross squad.

Ultra marathon man Tom Evans clinched the third senior spot within his 6th place overall with Kristian Jones taking the fourth spot a couple of seconds back in 7th. U/23 qualifying men were Mahamed, Yee, Cairess and Sol Sweeney. The senior team will be made up by Connor, Hickey, Evans and Jones.

A full list of category winners can be found at the bottom of this report.

Credit: Alex Donald

Over the pond, Preston’s Patrick Dever forwent the mud of Liverpool to race for the University of Tulsa in the NCAA Cross Country championships. He finished 11th in the Men’s D1 race, running 10k in 30:59.4.

On the UK roads

The Run Through team were in action at their Battersea Park 5 & 10k on Saturday. Charlotte Mason (18:34), Kate Carter (18:58) and Laura Donnelly (21:30) topped the 5k for the ladies. James Share (15:28), Charles Pearson (15:47) and Adam Tapley (15:57) were the three fastest gents. In the 10k it was podium-time for Ludvig Johanssen (33:11), Barnaby Walker (33:51) and Mario Maresca (34:14) with Rebecca Newstead (34:44), Mollie Macve (34:51) and Katy Rashbrook (34:51) doing it for the ladies.

Leopoldo Burguete won the Wolverton 5 in Milton Keynes finishing in 24:11 ahead of Liam Dee in 24:22. According to Elliot Hind Burguete was the first MKAC man to win in 55 year history of the race!! Paul Mizon was third also cracking 25 minutes with 24:44.

Rafaela Fonseca of Rugby & Northampton was the women’s winning in 28:43 with Elle Roche of MKAC second in 29:30. 3rd place went to Martha Hall (30:27) of Garden City Runners.

Great win for Leopoldo Burguete at the Wolverton 5 in MK. Finishing in 24.11 ahead of Liam Dee (24.22). First MKAC man to win in 55 year history of the race!! Podium completed by Paul Mizon (24.44). I came 7th in PB 26.04. @FastRunning @AthleticsWeekly Pic Brian Graves. pic.twitter.com/DwrU4aSzuq

— Running Elliot (@runningelliot) November 24, 2019

Gloucester 10km saw two men run sub 30. Jonathan Hopkins of Swansea Harriers was the winner in 29:27 ahead of Peter Le Grice (29:53) with Tom Merson (30:07) rounding off the podium. Rachel Felton was the first women running 34:37 with Cornwall’s Heidi Tregenza 2nd in 35:47 and Carys Hughes 3rd in 36:02.

Doncaster 10k saw Nick Martin break the tape in 31:27 and V40 runner Jenny Blizzard race home in 36:10 for victory. Women’s-only club, Bournemouth Joggers hosted their open-to-all Boscombe 10k – Caroline Stanzel of Poole Runners was first lady back in a whisker over 40 minutes (40:02) and the overall winner was Bournemouth AC’s Rob McTaggart in 33:47.

There were some seriously impressive performances at Hatfield 5 with a tightly fought race won by England marathoner Dani Nimmock in 27:21 edging out Annabel Gummow of Winchester who clocked 27:31 with Gemma Kersey also running sub 28 with 27:51. Ash Harrell was the overall winner in 24:36, with Mark Spiller 2nd in 27:13 and Rowan Daly 3rd in 27:15.

At the Eynsham 10k Daniel Hamilton of San Domenico RC ran a 32-flat to take the win and Vale of Aylesbury’s Sophie Delderfield found 37:25 swift enough for victory. The Jigsaw 10k at Dunsfold Park in Surrey was the site success for v50 speedster Elspeth Turner who finished in 38:06, though she has a 37:24 season’s best over the distance. It would seem reasonable to guess that 10k isn’t the distance of choice for 26.2 RC’s Tim Bartholomew, so he can be happy with his top spot in 35:09.

Hertfordshire Half saw Yorkshire Marathon winner Charlene Jacobs-Conradie (Luton AC) back in golden form, winning in 1:22:36. Hercules Wimbledon took the men’s crown in 1:11:25 thanks to Alex Milne. Silverstone was host to a range of distances on Sunday.

The Silverstone Half currently has some strange chip time results but in the Silverstone 5k, Keiran White (16:38) and Louise Balloch (19:24) were top. Silverstone 10k winners were James Dales (34:03) and Cat Cummings (38:37).

Finally and much more briefly, the Migo Mile took place at Queen’s Park, Glasgow. We’re still waiting on results but we do know that Male and female course record were broken and the overall winning time was 4:57.

Full British Cross Challenge results

U11 Boys, 2k

1st Charlie Collins  06:53, 2nd Fred Jones (Wolverhampton & Bilston) 06:59, 3rd William Coles (Carmathen) 07:07

U11 Girls, 2k

1st Molly Carvell (WESPA) 07:30, 2nd Valerie Teare (Liverpool Harriers) 07:40, 3rd Lexi Ellis (WESPA) 07:46

U13 Girls, 3k

1st Zoe Gilbody (Chiltern Harriers) 11:06, 2nd Abigail Reid (Woodford Green Essex Ladies) 11:19, 3rd Shaikira King (Wreake & Soar Valley) 11:35

U13 Boys, 3k

1st Aiden Collier (Chiltern Harriers) 10:41, 2nd Oliver Patton (Kilbarchan) 10:54, 3rd Craig Shennan (Giffnock North) 10:58

U15 Boys, 4k

1st Lewis Sullivan (St Edmunds) 9:50, 2nd Benjamin Peck (Thetford) 9:58, 3rd Joshua Blevins (North Shields Poly) 10:01

U15 Girls, 3k

1st Kiya Dee ( Highworth) 10:59, 2nd Grace Roberts (Vale Royal) 11:02, 3rd Elsie Robinson (Saffron AC) 11:09

U17 Women, 4.4k (run with Junior Women)

1st Anna Hedley (City of Lisburn) 15:59, 2nd Maya Todd McIntyre (Rushcliffe) 16:30, 3rd Hannah Anderson (East Kilbride) 16:35

IAAF Junior Women (U20 on 31.12.18), 4.4k (top 5 qualify)

1st Saskia Millard (Herne Hill Harriers) 15:32, 2nd Izzy Fry (Newbury AC), 3rd 15:33, Megan Keith (Inverness Harriers AAC) 15:34, 4th Amelia Samuels (Wolverhampton & Bilston AC) 15:41, 5th Olivia Mason (Border Harriers) 15:47.

U17 Men, 5.5k

1st Louis Small (Ashford AC) 18:26, 2nd Sam Martin (Guildford & Godalming) 18:31, 3rd Johnny Livingstone (Exeter Harriers) 18:33

IAAF Junior Men (U20 on 31.12.18), 6.7k (top 5 qualify) 

1st Matt Willis 21:13 (Wales /WrexhamAAC), 2nd Charlie Hicks (University of Stanford) 21:28, 3rd Zak Mahamed 21:31 (Southampton AC), 4th Hamish Armitt (Giffock North AAC) 21:34, 5th Will Barnicoat (Windsor Slough E & H AC)21:35

Senior Women including U23 Women’s European Trial, 8.1k (top 4 qualify)

1st Jess Judd (Blackburn Harriers) 28:22, 2nd Charlotte Arter (Cardiff AAC) 28:32, 3rd Kate Avery (Shildon Running & AAC) 28:40, 4th Amy Griffiths (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) 28:43, 5th Abbie Donnelly (Lincoln Wellington) 28:34, 6th Jenny Nesbitt (Cardiff AAC) 28:47, 7th Bronwen Owen (Leeds) 28:57.

Senior Men including U23 Women’s European Trial, 9.8k (top 4 qualify)

1st Ben Connor (Derby AC) 30:22, 2nd Mohamad Mohamad (Southampton AC) 30:27, 3rd Alex Yee (Kent AC) 30:25, 4th Adam Hickey (Southend-on-Sea) 30:50, 5th Emilie Cairess (Leeds) 31:00, 6th Tom Evans (Lewis AC) 31:03, 7th Kris Jones (Swansea) 31:05.

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 Piasecki flying in Florence, Connor & Judd win in Liverpool – week roundup appeared first on Fast Running.

PB’s were plentiful in a weekend rammed full of 10ks and the Gold Coast and Leamington Spa half. The weekend was kickstarted with the spectacular and buzzing Highgate Harriers Night of 10,000m PB’s, a night of PB’s it was no less!

British fireworks at Night of the 10,000m PBs

As thousands of spectators took to the track in Parliament hill, the race which has been dubbed the Glastonbury of Athletics, did not disappoint. The Night of 10,000 PB’s, which incorporated the European 10,000m cup, saw some extraordinary performances from both men and women.

The standout performance of the night from a British perspective came from Aldershot and Farnham’s Steph Twell. Twell again proved her impressively strong form, delivering what is believed to be the race of her life, to cross the line in a cracking 31:08 (a 1 minute 8 second track 10,000 PB!) and claim gold at the European cup.

Not only did she top the podium, but she achieved an Olympic and World qualifying standard. Steph Twell stormed round the last lap to complete a 2:58 final kilometre and comfortably give her the win by 7 seconds. Twell said, ‘I can’t believe how easy I felt and I’m delighted’.

British European Cup Victory

Only 8 seconds behind her was the second Brit, but first GB vest, Eilish McColgan. McColgan ran a strong race, finishing as always with a gutsy final lap to put her one second behind Chemtai Salpeter of Israel. Whilst it was not the win McColgan was aiming for, McColgan said she was ‘pleased with that and the time’.

It didn’t stop there, other highly placed Brits included, Alice Wright 9th in 32:27.57, Verity Ockenden 12th in 32:34.47, Charlotte Arter in 32:40.63 and Sarah Inglis in 32:52.51. The impressive performances from the GB team, led them to team victory at the European cup!

The Night of the 10,000 PB’s truly lived up to its buzzing reputation. To give an atmosphere like no other. In the words of Twell, ‘The crowd were amazing. I’ve never heard a roar like that and it really lifted me’.

Connor delivers

The men’s A race saw more outstanding PB performances delivered. The win went to Italy’s Yemaneberhan Crippa, but in a solid third was Great Britain’s, Ben Connor in a cracking time of 27:56.60, with a 22 second personal best!

The next Brit across the line, in his 10,000m track debut, was Belgrave’s Nick Goolab in 28:10.49 (8th). Slightly further down the field in 21st and 23rd, were Matthew Leach in 28:47.24, and Jack Gray in 28:49.53.

A night to celebrate the best in club racing

The success of the event could be said to come as much from the depth of the racing as the stand out performances in the A races. The senior races kicked off with a close fought race won by South London Harriers’ Ollie Garrod (31:36.92) with Daniel Kashi (31:42.39) and Patrick Roddy (31:44.48) second and third place respectively.

Will Green was a popular winner of the Men’s E race as the temperatures warmed up. The V40 athlete sliced a healthy chunk of his PB to win in 30:50.38. Sam Johnson of Birchfield Harriers was second in 31:00.19 and Jack Bancroft of Bristol & West third in 31:07.00.

Glasgow City athlete Sean Fontana was narrowly missed out on sub 30 on his way to victory in the D race in 30:02.81. Gaert Jorritsma (30:09.97) and Thames Valley’s Daniel Mulryan (30:11.49) rounded off the top three positions.

Top quality women’s field

The women’s C race saw international athletes go head to head demonstrating the ever increasing depth of the meeting. Hanne Verbruggen was the winner in 33:30.67 ahead of Julia Mayer (33:53.69) and Abbie Donnelly (33:56.13). England 10km international Dani Nimmock was fourth in 34:38.56 (editors note – Fast Running’s own Hannah Irwin had a strong run finishing just outside her PB in 34:46.50).

The women’s B race was an all international affair won by Belgian athlete Nina Lauwaert in 32:52.29.

Photo: Gill Bland

Mohamed Mohamed storms to a new PB

Hillingdon’s Mohamed Mohamed dominated the Men’s C race to in in 29:00.24, a full 35 seconds off his road best. Romanian athlete Stefan Gavril was second 29:33.44. Birchfield Harrier Omar Ahmed came home in third in 29:34.89.

Speaking after the race Mohamed said “I’m very happy with my performance and I want to thank all the officials and volunteers and the organisers of the Night of the 10,00m PB.”

As with the women the men’s B race was all international and saw a fine run from Isreal’s Yitayew Abuhay to win in 28:44.74.

Photo: Robbie Britton

Adkin is European Champion

Miles away from the track, the European Mountain Running Championships took place in Zermatt,  Switzerland.

Keswick’s Jacob Adkin took the win in the men’s senior race in what looked like a fine day for mountain running. Adkin’s win comes after a fine run of recent success with a win in last week’s Mont Blanc Marathon Vertical KM and the European trial at the start of June.

The young star started patiently and overtook his coach Robbie Simpson around the four kilometre, before storming past everyone for the win. The course did a fast loop of Zermatt and then was all uphill, at a very steep gradient, to Riffelberg at 2582m.

Adkin, helped by Robbie Simpson (seventh) and Andy Douglas (ninth) took gold for the senior men’s team.

In a highly competitive race Sarah Tunstall took fourth in the senior women’s event. The Kendal AC athlete looked strong throughout, showing her international class with such an excellent performance. It is worth noting that two of the podium athletes ahead of Tunstall, Maude Mathys and Cristel Dewalle, have had anti-doping rules violations in recent years.

Joe Dugdale won the U20 men’s race, leading the young team to their own victory.

Top class performances in Australia and the States

Further across the field in Australia, was the Gold Coast Half Marathon. There were some cracking female performances, with the top 2 athletes crossing the line in under 70 minutes. The Irish-born Australian long-distance runner, Sinead Diver, took gold in a beaming time of 69:45. Diver was closely followed by Ellie Pashley, only 5 seconds behind in 69:50. Just above the 70-minute mark was Lisa Weightman in 70:30.

Also across the world, in another of many 10k races, the 50th AJC Peachtree Road Race took place. Belgrave’s Tish Jones crossed the line in a very respectable 33:30, competing against some of the best.

Slightly closer to home, was the Leamington Spa half marathon. Rugby and Northampton AC’s Alistair Mcdonnell ran all the way to the men’s victory in a respectable 01:13:10. Mcdonnell was shortly followed by Andrew Savery and Sean Jones in 01:13:26 and 01:15:09 respectively.

Leamington AC’s Natalie Bhangal was first woman to cross the line, claiming gold with 01:28:49. Separated by only 22 seconds was Natasha White of Northbrook AC (01:31:33) and Bonita Robinson of Hermitage Harriers (01:31:55).

Inaugural Porthcawl 10km a success

The Porthcawl 10k really did shine under the sun with some cracking times across both the men’s and women’s races. Griffiths, the resounding favourite, crossed the line in a time of 29:55, confirming his place as one of the current top Welsh road runners.

Having begun the 2018 Healthspan Wales 10k Series with a third-place finish, Griffiths was happy to have reaffirmed his place within the series. He said, ‘I wanted to win, and it is always nice to get under 30 minutes, but he really made the race. That is my first 10k win this year and it is always nice to cross the line first.’

James Hunt had a breakthrough race, cracking the 30-minute barrier for the first time! Hunt of Cardiff AC crossed the line in 29:58 to secure second place. James Hunt dug deep, but it wasn’t quite enough to take the win from Griffiths. Hunt said, ‘Josh just came on strong in the last kilometer and I couldn’t hold onto him’. Coming across the line in 3rd place was Phil Wylie of Cheltenham & County Harrier in a time of 30:41.

Excellent return for Cockram

Natasha Cockram, part of this year’s Fast 10 class of 2019, took the victory in the women’s race in a time of 34:51. Cockram continues to show improvements since her return from Tulsa University and having struggled with injury since London Marathon.

Cockram reported, ‘I’ve been back running for the past three weeks and I’m just happy to be back racing again. It wasn’t about the time […] it was just about getting back into a race’. Second across the line in a time of 35:20 was Manchester Marathon winner Jenny Spink. Ruby Orchard of Cornwall AC claimed bronze in a time of 37:31, completing the women’s podium.

Photo credit: Porthcawl 10km

A busy weekend of domestic 10ks

Sunday continued to add to the 10k buzz that filled the warm weekend with races across the country including the Great North 10k and others in Brentwood, Newmarket, Porthcawl, Manchester, Gloucestershire, and Leeds.

At the Asda Foundation Leeds 10km the men’s victory was taken by Scott Hinchcliffe in a time of 31:29, followed by Marcos angwl Valero Palacios in 31:54. Only 3 seconds behind the Roundhay Runner was Gareth Joste in 31:57.

The women’s race saw the top 3 women easily dip under the 39-minute marker. The win went to Nik Tarrega of Knavesmire in 38:06, followed by Aisling Wall in 38:18. Third over the line was Ackworth Road Runners’ Sarah Hunter, in 38:28.

Further up north, in the Great North 10k in Gateshead, Tombridge’s Ashley Gibson took the win in a noteworthy 35:40, running her fastest time of the year so far. The silver medal was claimed by Hannah Wood in 38:06, and the silver by Laura Havis in 42:30.

In the men’s race there was less than a minute between the top 3. James McKenzie of Heaton Harriers won gold in 33:1, a massive 59 second PB! Second place went to Sparrow Morley in 33:44, followed by Dean Williamson, 20 seconds behind in 34:04.

Aburezeq wins again

For yet another year, Mohammed Aburezeq of Altrincham & District AC defended his title at the City of Manchester 10k. Aburezeq crossed the line in a cracking 31:14, claiming the win by over 40 seconds. Second place went to Tom Charles, who achieved a time of 31:55, ahead of Salford Harriers & AC’s Gamar Adam in 32:20.

The UKFast City of Manchester 10k women’s race was won by Kirsty Longley of Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton in 35:29. Longley was followed by Carol Parsons with a time of 36:55, and in 39:59, just dipping under the 40-minute barrier, was Rachael Rozhdestvenskaya of Sale Harriers Manchester.

At the Brentwood Running Club 10k in Essex, Springfield Striders dominated the men’s podium. The men’s race saw Pete Robinson claim gold in a rapid time of 32:09, a solid 1 minute 23 second PB. Robinson was only 10 seconds ahead of Crispian Bloomfield of Billericay Striders who was followed by James Sullivan of Springfield Striders in 34:25.

The Striders however didn’t feature in the women’s podium where Ruth Wallace of Fleet & Crookham AC cemented the win in 39:15. Crookham was followed by Jennifer Lovelock in 41:10 and Hayley Lamkin in 41:24.

A great weekend for Cambridge & Coleridge AC

To add to the long list of 10k’s happening over the sunny weekend was The Marcus Gynn Newmarket 10k. Ben Jones of Cambridge and Coleridge AC claimed the men’s title in 33:24, whilst the women’s gold went to Odette Robson of Saint Edmund Pacers in 40:31.

Cambridge and Coleridge AC have had a fine weekend overall with fantastic performances from the Night of the 10,000m PBs through to the Lord Mayors 5km.

After a slightly dramatic start to the day with an unexpected route change due to road works, the Gloucestershire 10k took place. The win was taken by Richard Dare in 33:36, with Alastair Campbell taking second in 33:53. The women’s race was won by Kelly Lyons in 40:30 with Alice Doggrell crossing the line second in 41:25.

Sesemann and Archer win Lord Mayor’s 5k City Centre Classic

Leeds City’s Phil Sesemann stormed home to victory on the challenging course at the Lord Mayor’s 5k in Norwich. Sesemann’s time of 14:35.3 was enough to edge out Jonathan Escalante-Phillips (14:40.3) and Brighton’s Stephen Ferroni (14:44.8).

Holly Archer was a dominate victor in the women’s race finishing in 16:50.6. The Cambridge and Coleridge athlete has had a fantastic 2019 setting a new 5km best of 16:04 at Ipswich Twilight. Joining Archer on the podium were Isabel Rodriguez (17:44.6) and Faith Viney (17:58.3).

parkrun UK

Kevin Skinner and Naomi Taschimowitz are your fastest athletes at UK parkruns this weekend (July 6th). Full rankings here.

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 Steph shines and Adkin is European Champion – the weekend roundup appeared first on Fast Running.

At the Swansea Half Marathon, course record holder Tracy Barlow (Thames Valley Harriers) topped the podium again in 75:40.

Though it was ‘a windy & tough morning at the office’ Barlow used it as a chance to show her determination and take the win for the second year running.

Sadly Natasha Cockram, who is only just returning from injury, did not start the race and Hayley Munn ran with her Mum from halfway. That left the stage clear for Bristol & West’s Charlotte Taylor-Green to take second in 76:58 with plenty of clear road between her and last year’s fifth placer Naomi Mitchell, of Reading AC, who moved up to take the final podium spot in 79:00

Photo: Owen Morgan

The men’s race was a similar story with the wind leading to slower times than last year but the top spots looking rather familiar. Cardiff’s Matt Clowes, who like Tracy set a course record last year, ran 65:49 for first place while Swansea Harriers’ Josh Griffiths was second again in 66:37. Peter Huck of  Barrow & Furness finished in 68:12 for third.

You can read a full report here.

Torbay Half Marathon

Down on the south coast, the Torbay Half Marathon also saw a repeat champions in the men and women’s races. Exmouth Harriers’ Tom Merson continued to show that he can not only dominate his local running scene but is on awesome form this year.

Merson absolutely smashed his winning time from 2018, taking nearly two minutes off it, to come home well ahead of any rivals and comfortably inside his PB in a time of 67:11.

In his wake was Phil Wylie of Cheltenham & Country  Harriers (69:33) with Bristol & West AC’s Adam Stokes setting a 37 second PB to come third in 70:21.

Rachel Felton (Shaftsbury Barnet Harriers) successfully retained her title and took her seventh win of the 2019, running a time only nine seconds different to last year and keeping Lindsay Carrick at bay in 77:16. Carrick moved up a spot from last year with an improvement of one minute 22 seconds gaining her second place (78:25). 

Alistair Watson leading Ben Connor around the four mile mark, before being reeled in by the NB athlete. Photo: Stephen Lee

Notts 10 miler

Earlier in the week it was the turn of the 10s. The Notts 10 was won by Derby AC’s Ben Connor (49:25) who was using it for a Friday night tempo run. Alastair Watson (Notts AC) had hoped to capitalise on his home advantage and did manage to stay ahead until mile mile but in the end he was left doffing his twitter-hat to Connor as the better athlete, though he still managed to hang on for second in 49:53.

The battle for first and second might have been a fair way ahead of Daniel Kestrel’s third place (53:37) but the Rotherham Harriers athlete had good reason to finish well with Daniel Bagley behind him, crossing the line only 13 seconds later.

In the women’s race Connor’s New Balance team-mate Gemma Steel utterly dominated, winning in 57:41. Helen Woods of Kimberley & District Striders came second in 67:51 with Barnsley AC’s Christine Laking just a shoelace behind in 67:56.

From 10 miles to 10k

The speedsters were out in force on Friday at the Brian Godwin Memorial 10k in Pollok Park and the Grantham Summer Solstice. 

Making the most of the long evening, Sarah Chynoweth of Grantham RC took a win for the home team finishing in 40:59. Suzannah Fleming (41:16) and Melissa Neal (42:11) completed the top three.

JLF Racing team member Aaron Scott crossed the line first for the men in 30:52, a convincing lead over Lincoln Wellington AC’s Jake Richardson (32:02) and Kent AC’s Sean Fitzpatrick (32:39)

In Glasgow, Kilbarchan AAC’s Callum Hawkins took his legs for a shorter spin that his normal marathon distance and came away with first place in 29:06, only 11 seconds off his PB. After his marathon heroics in London, running a huge PB and getting himself selected for Great Britain for the World Championship Marathon in Doha, it is excellent to see the young Scot in such good form.

Second and third place bagged themselves shiny new PB’s as Central AC’s Jamie Crowe finished second in 29:43 and James Donald of Dundee Hawkhill Harriers was third with 30:11.

Central AC topped the podium in the women’s race thanks to Morag Miller who finished in 33:51. Elspeth Curran (Kilbarchan AAC) was second in a strong field, finishing just three seconds off her previous fastest time, in 34:20. Fiona Brian of Metro Aberdeen RC ran 34:21 for third. All three women within 30 seconds looks like it was a good race for the ladies podium.

At the Withal and Hollywood 10k fun run Hayley Carruthers and Dan Robinson were working together once again to help the England Marathoner to a great time and win. The Birchfield Harrier ran 33:40 and was minutes clear of second place female. Robinson actually finished third himself, one second ahead of the athlete he coaches, who also topped our parkrun rankings yesterday. Quite the weekend!

The winning time for the men’s was 32:53 by James Marshall of BRAT, who was closely followed by Ronnie Wilson of Lincoln Wellington in 33:23. Second and third females were Jane Evans (38:01) and Rachel Gifford (38:34).

The winners of the event’s 5k race were Christopher McLeod in 15:38 and Jessica Saunders in 19:16.

Going long

Photo: Amanda Hamilton

Finally, we head a little further north of Glasgow for the West Highland Way Race, Scotland’s oldest Ultra marathon.

Siobhan Killingbeck was sixth overall and first woman covering the 95 miles of trail and 14,000ft of ascent in 17:41:09. Rachael Campbell finished in second, just under an hour later in 18:18:45 and 16^th overall. Third place went to Rosie Bell in 20:54:43.

Photo: Clark Hamilton

The swiftest to arrive at the Nevis Centre in Fort William was Rowan Boswood who took a mere 15:14:42 to finish – well over an hour faster than last year’s winner and putting him as the fourth fastest athlete over West Highland Way Race history, behind course record holder Rob Sinclair, multiple winner Paul Giblin and FR’s Robbie Britton.

Rob Payne’s time of 16:09:04 would have got him the win in 2018 but was only enough for second place this time around. GB 24hr runner James Stewart didn’t have the day he wanted, but the Hoka One One athlete rounded off a fast podium for third in 16:42:18. 

Also worthy of note are Norma Bone who is still the oldest female finisher (31:45:03) now at the age of 67 and Rob Reid who extended his own oldest male finisher record to 73 (32:16:47). Both were comfortably inside the 35 hour cut off for the race.

parkrun

Hayley Carruthers and Kris Jones are your quickest parkrunners this weekend (June 22). Check out the full rankings 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 From parkrun to 95 miles, with everything in-between – The UK weekend roundup appeared first on Fast Running.

The weekend also saw speedy 10k’s at the Speedway 10k, Richmond, Pilling, and Nottingham and a handful of British runners getting World Champs qualifying times in just one 1500m race in the US.

Fast10’s Hannah Irwin was not only racing over 5000m this weekend but brings you the weekend round up for UK athletes at home and abroad.

Friday night out

Friday’s Podium 5k road race saw some cracking performances, with 33 people running 16:35 and under, despite being faced with truly wet British weather conditions.

Ben Connor took gold in a time of 13:54, 48 seconds ahead of second place. The St. Helens & Sutton athlete, Matthew Crehan, ran the exact same time of 14:42 as he did at the Fast Friday 5,000, even with the conditions not being favourable. One second behind in third place, was Morpeth’s Nick McCormick in 14:43.

Photo: David Belshaw

In Scotland the race was run over 5 miles at the Black Rock 5. Both the men and women pulled out brilliant performances. Lamar university student, Jamie Crowe, ran his first 5-mile race since 2013, running a four minute, 21 second PB of 22:05. Behind Crowe, in 22:44, was James Donald followed by Neil Renault in 23:23.

The former European Junior 1500m Champion, Morag Millar, ran to the top of the podium. Millar ran a strong race to cross the line in 25:25, 36 seconds ahead of second place, Stephanie Pennycook. Third across the line was Central AC’s Natalie Stewart in a time of 27:32.

Saturday night at the races

Saturday was filled with races on the track and road, including the BMC Grand Prix in Loughborough, the Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon, the Dartford midnight half marathon and the Pilling 10k.

Saturday’s BMC Grand Prix saw plenty of outstanding performances.

The U20 Halifax athlete, Max Burgin showed his strength over the 800m distance. Burgin set a new PB of 1:46.80 in a race he front ran from the gun, placing himself seventh in the all-time U20 rankings.

The Judd sisters dominated the Women’s A 5000m race. Jess ran her first PB in 2 years, to set a cracking time of 15:31 to take first place. Jodie, the younger Judd, was the first U23 to cross the line in a time of 16:04, one second inside of the U23 European qualifying time! The Swansea athlete, Verity Ockenden continued to prove her form, running 15:47 to place herself second to the elder Judd. [Weekend roundup author Hannah also ran an excellent PB of 16:36 at the event – Editor]

The Men’s 5000m race also had an impressive field. The St. Mary’s athlete, Emile Cairess, took the win in 13:50 to get himself a four second PB. Cairess was closely followed by Ellis Cross in 13:52 with another PB. Jake Shelley took bronze, crossing the finish line with a time of 13:56.

Also on the track an outstanding performance was given by Edinburgh AC’s Josh Kerr at the Brave Like Gabe men’s 1500m. Kerr crossed the line in 3:33:60 to get the win and break Steve Cram’s British U23 best! There was also a 3:35.95 PB for fellow Scot Neil Gourley and 3:35.74 for James West [who “bitch-kicked Gourley in the home straight”, whatever that means – Editor]

All three ran inside the qualifying time for the 1500m for the World Championships, which is a great sign for British middle distance running.

Over four times the distance, Steph Twell took to the road in the Czech Republic at the Mattoni Olomouc Half Marathon. Twell finished in fifth, crossing the line in 75:57. The 2:30 marathoner and recent winner of the Vitality London 10,000 led until halfway through the race, but faded in the second half.

Photo: Leigh Quinnel

Closer to home

The Dartford Midnight Half also took place on Saturday. Annaka Charters of Victoria Park Harriers dominated the race, finishing with a massive PB of 1:25:00, in an outright win.

The Pilling 10k, part of the Lancashire Race Series, saw Simon Croft of the Red Rose RR claim first prize in a time of 34:01, just under two-minutes ahead of Border Harriers’ Steven Berry. First woman across the line in a time of 43:59, was Blackburn Harriers’ Rachel Gavin, followed by Heather Travis in 45:05.

The fast and flat Speedway 10k did not disappoint. The rain managed to hold off to allow a very classy field of athletes to perform. At the top of the men’s podium, in an impressive 29:55 was Cardiff’s Matt Clowes. Behind him in second place was the Swansea athlete, Josh Griffiths. Griffiths clocked 30:12 whilst James Hunt ran 30:44 to come in third.

The first lady across the line was Lauren Cooper in a huge PB time. Cooper ran a 1 minute 34 second personal best to achieve a time of 34:54. The second lady home in 36:14 was Alaw Beynon-Thomas.

Also over the 10k distance, as part of the Surrey Road League was the Ranelagh Richmond 10k. Epsom’s Ollie Garrod claimed first place in 32:22, followed by Simon Baines of Thames Hare & Hounds in a time of 32:45 and Nick Marriage in third in 33:31.

The women’s race was won by Liz Davies with a significant lead. Davies just popped under 35-minutes, running 34:58 for the 10k distance. In second was Emily Wicks in 36:20 and third place went to Alice McGushin in 37:26.

In Nottingham, the Run For All- Nottingham 10k took place. Patrick Townsend of Notts AC took gold in the men’s race in 34:40, whilst Nicole Swaffield was first female across the line in 38:30.

On the trails

The long running Seven Hills of Edinburgh is described as “a combination of road-running, cross-country, hill-running, and urban orienteering [with] 14.3 miles in length and with 2200 feet of ascent/descent”. The men’s winner was New Zealand international runner Sam McCutcheon in 1:37:21, running for Corstorphine AAC and the women’s winner was Irish international Nicola Duncan running for Carnethy in a time of 2:05:46.

Photo: Peter MacDonald

parkrun

Danielle Hodgkinson and Omer Ahmed are your quickest parkrunners this weekend (June 15). Check out the full rankings 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 Ben Connor & Jess Judd shine over the 5k distance, whilst Josh Kerr breaks British U23 record – Weekend roundup appeared first on Fast Running.

A stellar field, that includes Olympians, British champions and international athletes will race at the Trafford 10k on Sunday, March 10.

The 2019 edition of the road race, which has traditionally been one of the fastest 10ks in the UK, is set to live up to its rich history with a top field set for the start line this spring.

Following the initial postponement of the 2018 race due to heavy snowfall across the UK, it was Marc Scott who triumphed ahead of Andy Butchart at the rearranged event in September, while previous winners of the men’s race also include Chris Thompson and Tom Lancashire.

This year’s field doesn’t disappoint with Team New Balance Manchester’s Ben Connor set to lead the charge.

The Derby AC runner is looking to make a winning return to action following a long lay off with injury and has a 10,000m personal best of 28:14 set in 2018. Connor will face a stiff challenge from the field behind, which includes Mo Abu-Rezeq who has a PB of 29:11.

Sale Harriers’ Nigel Martin clocked a 13:53 PB at the Armagh 5k and should also challenge for the top prize, while Bedford’s Matt Bergin also posted an impress PB of 13:59 in Armagh and is expected to race.

Irish cross country champion Kevin Dooney, who featured in the Fast 10: class of 2018, and Commonwealth Games marathon fourth place finisher Kevin Seaward will be in the mix, along with Welsh Commonwealth Games representatives Andy Davies and Ieuan Thomas, Newham’s John Beattie, Liverpool Harriers’ duo Dejene and Danny Cliffe and Lucian Allison.

International interest includes Swedish athlete Mikael Ekvall and Dutch runner Bart Van Nunen. Ekvall has a 10,000m best of 28:31 with Van Nunen fresh off a PB of 28:57 at the recent Dutch 10k championships in Schoorl.

Stockport’s Jess Piasecki won the women’s race last year in 32:51 and this year’s race promises to be an exciting contest with 2016 winner Eli Kirk lining up against Laura Weightman, Beth Potter and Rosie Clarke.

Weightman who represented Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games in London will look to improve on her PB of 32:31 she set to win the Ribble Valley 10k in 2017.

The 27 year-old comes into the race in good form following a 15:28 clocking at the recent Herculis 5K in Monaco.

However, it’s fellow Olympian Beth Potter who boasts the fastest time on paper with a 10k best of 32:07. The Scottish athlete clocked her PB to win the 2018 edition of the Ribble Valley 10k last December.

Photo: Pete Brown

Clarke is another athlete to keep an eye out for with the steeplechaser recently returning from high altitude training in Kenya and will look to improve her best of 33:03.

Other top entries in the women’s race include Abigail Howarth, Lizzie Lee, Bronwen Owen, Kirsty Longley and Clara Evans.

RELATED: Marc Scott and Jessica Piasecki win Trafford 10k

Are you a fan of Fast Running? Then please support us. 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 Star studded field set for Trafford 10k appeared first on Fast Running.

London Marathon Events Ltd, organisers of the Virgin Money London Marathon, has announced that the company will provide £350,000 in funding to support British endurance athletes in 2019.

In total 32 athletes not currently on the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP), including Charlotte Purdue, Emelia Gorecka, Chris O’Hare and Ben Connor, will receive a share of £70,000, while £100,000 will support the work of the Endurance Performance and Coaching Centre at St Mary’s University in Twickenham.

£180,000 will be provided to British Athletics towards funding the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) and high altitude training camps for British endurance athletes.

Along with Purdue, Gorecka, O’Hare and Connor, the athletes to receive funding from the new programme include marathoners Chris Thompson, Jonny Mellor, Lily Partridge, Hayley Carruthers, and soon to be 26.2 mile runner Steph Twell.

RELATED: Steph Twell set to make marathon debut in Valencia

The nominated group cover the full spectrum of endurance running and completing the 32 athletes are: Mohamud Aadan, Charlotte Arter, Tracy Barlow, Alex Bell, Philippa Bowden, Kieran Clements, Natasha Cockram, Jamaine Coleman, Ellis Cross, Jonny Davies, Tom Farrell, Neil Gourley, Jess Judd, Ross Millington, Tom Mortimer, Amy-Eloise Neale, Aimee Pratt, Marc Scott, Zak Seddon, Charlotte Taylor, Andy Vernon, Katrina Wootton and Alice Wright.

“One of Chris Brasher and John Disley’s founding principles when they created the London Marathon back in 1981 was to improve the standard of British endurance running – and this commitment remains as strong today,” said Hugh Brasher, Event Director of London Marathon Events.

“We want to see British endurance athletes challenging the very best runners in the world in the very best races in the world – including the Virgin Money London Marathon – and the support we gave Mo Farah through his university days and beyond has shown how our funding programmes can help athletes get closer to this goal.

“We are proud to do our part to support British endurance athletes and look forward to a future British winner of the world’s most popular marathon.”

It is the first time London Marathon Events has worked with British Athletics to select the nominated individual athletes and the funding is designed to provide a bridge for endurance runners to the WCPP and to improve the standard of British endurance running across all distances.

British Athletics and London Marathon Events worked together to select a shortlist, with the final decision on the 32 athletes made by British Athletics.

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 GB endurance runners to get £350,000 support from London Marathon organisers appeared first on Fast Running.

England Athletics has named full teams for the inaugural Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships, which take place in Cardiff on Sunday, October 7.

In April, the Welsh city was named as host of the new road racing competition, and the event sanctioned by the Commonwealth Games Federation will mark the 60th anniversary of the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth (Empire) Games.

Five of the selected eight in the England team represented Great Britain at the World Half Marathon Championships in March, and with up to 26 Commonwealth nations expected in Cardiff, it should be high-quality competition.

Ben Connor, who set a personal best of 61:11 back in February at Barcelona half marathon, headlines the men’s team, and is joined by fellow World Half Marathon GB representatives Mohamud Aaden and Dan Studley, with Cardiff AAC’s Matt Clowes completing the quartet.

It will Aaden’s second vest for England after his debut at the Granollers Half-Marathon in February. The Thames Valley athlete followed that up with a PB of 62:34 in Valencia on his GB debut.

Like Connor, Bristol & West’s Studley also set his PB of 64:23 in Barcelona, while Clowes is all too familiar with the streets of Cardiff and will look to further improve his best of 64:39.

RELATED: How I train: Dan Studley

Gemma Steel, Tracy Barlow and Dani Nimmock are among a strong women’s team that also includes the youth of Rebecca Murray.

Photo: Keith McClure

Few can match Steel’s experience over the half-marathon distance, and the Charnwood runner’s PB of 68:13, set in 2014, is the second fastest ever by an English athlete.

British international marathoner Barlow clocked her 72:35 best at the recent World Half Marathon Championships, while City of Norwich’s Nimmock posted her 74:13 best at The Big Half in March and will hope for a good performance ahead of the Frankfurt marathon in October.

Completing the team is Bedford & County’s Murray, who made her marathon debut earlier this year in London. The 23 year old also ran her half marathon best at The Big Half clocking 73:59.

“We’ve got a great team for Cardiff and it’s an exciting opportunity for athletes to compete in this inaugural Commonwealth Half Marathon in surroundings and conditions that will be very familiar to them,” said Team Leader Charlotte Fisher. “I am looking forward to seeing how they all perform in what I am sure will be a great weekend of road racing.”

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 England name team for Commonwealth half marathon appeared first on Fast Running.

When Derby AC and Great Britain’s Ben Connor toes the start line at this Saturday’s Night of the 10,000m PBs A race, he’ll be one of the bookies’ favourites to win in an event stacked with quality athletes from across Europe.

Every one of the athletes entered have either run well under 30 minutes for the distance on numerous occasions, or hold super fast 5000m PBs, but Connor isn’t paying too much attention to his ‘favourite’ billing.

“I’m really looking forward to the race and being a favourite is a compliment but I don’t read too much into it,” the Team New Balance Manchester star tells Fast Running. “I’m in good shape and training has gone well since having a short break after the World Half Marathon, so I’ll take confidence from that.”

Connor was fifth in last year’s Highgate Harriers elite race and third Brit behind Andy Vernon and Dewi Griffiths, with only Vernon returning for the showdown this year due to Griffiths’ continued rehabilitation from a hamstring injury.

Vernon’s Aldershot, Farnham & District club mate Chris Thompson promises to present an equally big challenge for the title, as does young Kent triathlete Alex Yee, who makes his debut over the distance following his scorching 13:37.60 5000m clocking last year.

The Stockport-based Derby athlete is keen to just focus on having a good race at the Parliament Hill track, though, adding that “a PB would be nice on Saturday, but I’m not focussed on that as much as I am just going out there and racing – if I race well, the time will come”.

Connor has enjoyed a solid period of quality training and racing since teaming up with Steve Vernon’s New Balance squad in Stockport last spring, where he’s relocated to become a full-time athlete under the two time English National cross country winner’s watchful coaching eye.

“It’s gone really well since joining the team in March,” he says. “There have been a few things that have altered but nothing too drastic, and when we have made changes it’s been done gradually throughout the past year. An example of this would be the introduction of a strength and conditioning routine, which I now do two to three times a week.

“Tempo (or threshold) running has also changed a little under Steve. We use heart rate data with this, but don’t get obsessed by it. It’s just there as a guide to make sure we’re not working too hard on tempo efforts. Previously, I would just treat tempo runs as hard runs, which would just turn into me racing against my Garmin, which isn’t good!”

Although Connor has featured at the sharp end of races for a number of years, it is during the last 12-18 months that he has made the biggest breakthroughs in performance, with a stunning 61:11 PB at this year’s Barcelona half marathon representing a significant step up to world-class level.

That time places him eighth on the UK all-time rankings, and, along with his range of speed from a 7:54.01 3000m and a 13:29.90 5000m to his 10,000m PB of 28:14.56 recorded at this month’s Payton Jordan Invitational, he’s certainly doing something right.

The 25 year-old credits altitude training as one of the reasons he’s getting faster and faster, his first trip coming only last year when he went to Font Romeu, followed by a spell in Albuquerque more recently.

“I feel like I get a lot out of an altitude block,” he explains. “I’ve raced well coming off it twice now, so it’s definitely something I want to use more and more in the future.”

Connor also recognises the importance of rest in training, which is much easier to achieve for the former Derby Runner shop assistant now he’s a full-time athlete, adding “it’s great because I can put everything into my training, including being able to rest between morning and evening sessions”.

He may pull on the Team GB vest more than his Derby AC kit these days, competing on the international stage more often than domestically, but the 2017 Northern cross country championships winner says he will never leave the Midlands club that helped build him into the athlete he is today.

“I’m still a member of Derby AC, which I’m very proud of,” he says. “The club and the coaches there have supported me greatly since I joined at 13, so I will always remain loyal to them. I still keep in touch and run with mates from the club when I get chance.”

It’s clear Connor is not afraid of working hard, but he also works hard alongside Vernon to ensure every session has a clear purpose, with his typical week’s training below highlighting his quality over quantity philosophy is one of the many keys to his success so far.

A typical week’s training for Ben Connor

Monday
8-10 miles steady

Tuesday
AM – track session with long reps, such as 6x1mile, or 10x1k
PM – easy 5 miles

Wednesday
AM – 9 miles easy
PM – 5 miles easy plus a gym routine

Thursday
12 miles steady

Friday
AM – tempo session over 8-10 miles

Saturday
AM – 9 miles easy
PM – 5 miles easy plus a gym routine

Sunday
Long run, 16-20 miles progressive in pace

Ben Connor is part of a stellar men’s line-up for the Highgate Harriers’ Night of 10,000m PBs on Saturday (May) and an in-depth preview can be found here.

The post Ben Connor talks Night of 10,000m PBs and training appeared first on Fast Running.