Yesterday saw the first edition of World Athletics’ Continental Tour Gold meetings since the Olympics, with the Memorial Kamili Skolimowskiej in Poland.

Some stellar fields were assembled, particularly in the field events of which the Poles are so fond. There was British representation in two of the distance events, led out by Jemma Reekie who took a close win in the 1000m in 2:35.47, a new Meeting Record, the second fastest of her career over the rarely-run distance.

Elliot Giles, Daniel Rowden and Jake Wightman, in his season ending race, took to the track for 800m in a packed field including Olympic bronze medalist Patryk Dobek and Commonwealth Games champion Wycliffe Kinyamal. Roden was the first of the three across the line in 1:44.89 for third, closely followed by Wightman in fourth.

We were going to label this picture, but thankfully everyone remembered their name tags. Photo: James Rhodes

Wightman’s 1:44.97 makes him the eighth Brit to run under 1:45 in 2021, a statistic all the more impressive when you consider a twelve year period from 1993 to 2005 didn’t see a single British athlete accomplish this. Elliot Giles finished sixth in 1:45.20.

At the Bronze meeting in Padova, Italy, Charlie Da’Vall Grice ran 3:35.39 to take third over 1500m and Archie Davis took seventh place in 3:37.92.

Friday night fireworks

On Friday, Brussels played host to the latest of the Diamond League meetings. The women’s 800m was the strongest event for GB, with Keely Hodgkinson and Jemma Reekie finishing second and third in 1:58.16 and 1:58.77 respectively. It was a thrilling race with the Brits only fractions of a second behind Jamaica’s Natoya Goule who won in 1:58.09.

In the 5000m Eilish McColgan ran 14:31.26, the 3rd fastest time in British history and just seconds off her British Record. Despite this she only ranked seventh in the race, such was the quality in Belgium.

Photo: Bobby Gavin

Eilish has since announced that she’ll be making her half marathon debut at the Great North Run next weekend.

Into the mountains

Moving onto very different terrain – at the Swiss Peaks 100k in the Swiss Valais, part of the Fast Running family Natalie White, was back for redemption on steep and technical trails. The event was part of a festival of running which included a 360km event, all the way down to a half marathon.

White, a former British and English fell running champ, excels in the rougher terrain and ran strongly throughout to finish third in 18:55. “It was very technical, rough and rocky,” said the Italy based athlete. “I was really happy to go back and finish this year after a tough DNF in 2020. You have to be in the right head space to go well through the long night in those mountains.”

Sat down at the finish line at 6:00am in the morning, contemplating the journey ahead to go get the car from the start. Photo: Robbie Britton

Back on the track

Back to the track but on home soil, Highgate Harriers held their mid-week Open Meeting. Parliament Hill was a peach for Ben Winfield who ran a 4:01.09 to take the honour of fastest 1500m of the night. Brogan Wallace was fastest lady in 4:38.46. Opting for a few more laps, Oliver Newton took and Carole Coulon (V45) both took home new 5000m PB’s, winning in 15:21.94 and 18:15.98

The BMC Regional Races in Exeter saw the top three run PBs in both the women’s and men’s 1500m – 4:40.22 for Nicole Edmunds, 4:40.63 for Jessica Hill and 4:41.78 for Isla Bryson. In the gents race it was Iestyn Williams with 3:54.13 , James Vaughan with 3:59.55 and Gregory Hayward with 4:00.56

On Sunday the Paddock Wood Half offered some speedy results as usual, with Nick Dawson racing home to first place in 67:51 ahead of Ben Savill (68:00) and Chris Thomas (68:08). Savill, part of the AB Training group, posted that it was quite the back and forth battle at the front with training partner Dawson and the others.

Another Allison Benton coached athlete Izzy Coomber topped the women’s podium in 81:33, beating Caoimhe Nic Fhogartaigh (81:44) and Hannah Roberts (84:09).

Sometimes the taper doesn’t go to plan

The ABP Southampton Marathon saw Sean Hogan take the win in 2:35:02, over 10 minutes ahead of Iain Trickett’s 2:46:16. Melissah Gibson had a shocker of a taper week where illness and hip problems meant she hadn’t been able to run much at all. Nonetheless she ran 2:54:16 to take the win ahead of Rosie Smiles (3:07:49).

The Half Marathon was won by William Cork in 72:21 and Claire McErlean in 85:55 and the 10k went to Isaac Farnworth (32:39) and Alice Burch (41:09).

Gemma Hillier-Moses came fifth overall and won the women’s race in a storming 78:16 at the Air Products Worcester City Half Marathon. The men’s victory went to Gary Whitehouse in 73:52.

The Garstang Half Marathon resulted in a comfortable first for Tristan Windley, running 74:44 and leaving Robert Bee in 80:54 for second place. Tori Nixon was first lady in 96:55. At Southport 10km Kirsty Longley took the win in 36:38 despite still recovering from at PB at last weekend’s Antrim Coast Half. The mens winner was Martin Peck in 33:19.

It was a bit of a local derby at the Framlingham 10k with Ipswich Harriers taking the women’s win thanks to a 39:44 from Alice Heather-Hayes and Ipswich Jaffa RC taking the men’s win after a 33:54 run from Cooper Berry.

At Britains Ocean City Half Marathon in Plymouth the men’s winner was Tom Merson in 69:46, whilst Ruby Orchard was first lady in 82:03. Wilne 10km always attracts a strong field and this year was no exception with Will Battershill (29:54) and Hannah Robinson (35:30) taking victory. Worcester City 10km was won by Omar Ahmed in 29:40 and Sally Russell in 41:03.

The running community shines bright

We finish this week’s roundup with a couple of moments that highlight two brilliant members of the running community and show the close-knit nature of our sport and the support it offers.

This weekend saw the launch of the Natasha Lewis Foundation, with a half marathon run in her memory. The Foundation will support young athletes and give them the chance to work with team Bath Athletics.

Lewis, who was tragically killed by a driver on an early morning run, was a shining light in the Bath running community and many turned out to honour her at the Natasha Lewis Foundation Half Marathon. It was not a day for fast times or results, more a case of of hundreds of athletes sharing a journey together. Team Bath AC’s Dan Jones and Bournemouth Ac’s Georgia Wood were the first athletes home.

The Leicester Road Running League wound up their competition with the Desford 5 in honour of Stuart Hall. Stuart was a keen member of the Desford Striders and had taken part in two of the league races this season while training for his first London Marathon.

He often ran multiple club bubble-runs during lockdown so that everyone who wanted to run could do so. His contribution was marked by a minute’s applause at the start of the race, which was won by Tom Mahon of Wreake Soar Valley in 26:56 and Charlie Nurse of Wigston Phoenix in 30:54.

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January is always an interesting month. Christmas and new year are over. Normal life is resumed. For me, the change in the year means the track season is coming into view.

I very rarely compete over the winter months. I’m not very good at cross country. It’s too muddy for my long stride to be of any use and races are regularly over 20 times my usual race distance.

I’ve never had a proper indoor season. Firstly because the weather and university make it difficult to get in the necessary speed work but, more importantly, my main weakness in the summer is usually my endurance. So for me, it’s more important to keep the consistent mileage and endurance work going for the whole of winter before transitioning to the faster sessions when the temperature rises.

The downside of this is that I very rarely have any competitions to break up the, sometimes monotonous, winter training. And January is usually the month that I find toughest. The fuel and desire from the past season is fading, the coming season is still many months away, and it’s very often disturbingly cold. It’s usually a battle of will to keep grinding out the sessions.

A quick update on my training

This January started pretty poorly. I’d been struggling with an inflamed tendon in my foot throughout December and the pain was only starting to ease. And I’d been suffering with stomach cramping during hard sessions.

But while it started poorly, the end picked up quite nicely. The miles are ticking over and I’m back on the track once or so a week now, after months of tempo runs.

As I alluded to earlier, January is always the time of year when my real reasons for running become most important. During the summer months when I’m flying around the track at race pace and everything is rosy it’s easy to push every session.

But right now when I have university to keep on top of and I’m struggling to understand the dynamics of vibration, it’s much more challenging.

Athletics alongside university

I’m currently studying mechanical engineering at Imperial College London. The course is pretty tough and time consuming, but thankfully, this year the powers that be have allowed me to spread my second year of studies over two years, to allow me to train more effectively. But it’s still proving to be very demanding.

So back to my motivation. What is it that helps me stay focussed and to keep pushing even though the mornings are early, the weather is depressing, the training is tough and the remaining hours of my day are usually spent trying to keep on top of university work?

Well, to be honest, there’s no definitive answer. I wish it were as simple as one main motivation or one main reason that I put in so much work over these frosty months. But that’s not the case. I can however put them all into three main categories.

Competitions, people who have invested in me, and my faith

My first motivation is upcoming competitions. This year I’m working towards the British Championships, the European U23s and the World Championships right at the end of the year.

I’m a competitive guy. I want to be the best of the Brits and to do that I need to work hard. I don’t want to get beaten, and I definitely don’t want to get to the start line of the biggest events of my year and realise that I should’ve and could’ve worked harder.

Secondly, I do it for the people that have invested heavily in my career. My coach, my parents, my grandparents and many others have sacrificed a lot to support me and give me the best chance of success.

They’ve given up their time and their money. They’ve travelled all over the continent to watch me race and even driven me across multiple countries to get me to the competitions that will best aid my development. I want to make them proud.

My last motivation comes from my faith. I became a Christian when I was 15 years old and my beliefs play a huge role in all areas of my life, including my athletics.

I came to the conclusion that God has given me the ability that I have and that he’s had a hand in my journey to this day. I don’t want to waste the what he’s given me. Instead, I want to use it to give myself a platform to help to change people’s lives. For me, this vision goes far beyond athletics.

Even now as I’m sitting here typing this, dreading the Sunday long run that I’m about to embark on, it’s been useful to remember why I do what I do, and why I don’t just pick an easier career path.

Summer is just around the corner, and I’ve got to make every moment count.

Daniel Rowden features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2019’ and over the course of the year will share his running journey. You can follow Daniel on Instagram, while further information about the ‘class of 2019’ can be found here.

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 Track season is coming into view appeared first on Fast Running.

Representing Great Britain at the 2018 European Championships features high up in Daniel Rowden’s list of running achievements so far.

Another stand-out moment for the 800m athlete was his first experience of the Diamond League at the Anniversary Games in London, where he clocked a personal best time of 1:44.97.

Looking ahead to this season, the 21 year-old has his eyes on the British 800m crown, making the GB team for the Doha hosted World Championships and also taking home gold at the European Under-23 Championships in Gävle, Sweden.

Profile

Name: Daniel Rowden
Age (Jan 2019): 21
Hometown: Buckhurst Hill
Club: Woodford Green
Main discipline: 800m
Other disciplines: occasionally a 400m
Full-time athlete/work/studying: Student at Imperial College London

Goals or targets for 2019

1) To win 800m gold at the European Under-23 Championships
2) British 800m champion
3) Qualify for the World Championships in Doha
4) Break 1:44.5

Running highlights

1) Competing at the London Diamond League and running a 1:44.97 PB
2) Competing at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin
3) Winning a silver medal at the 2017 European Under-23 Championships

Personal bests

800m: 1:44.97

Interesting or fun facts

I was pretty musical growing up and played both the piano and trumpet for about 10 years.

I run because…

I run because I enjoy competing and pushing myself. But the real motivation comes from the fact that I believe God has given me an ability, and that he wants me to use it for his glory and to help spread the message of true Christianity.

Favourite training session

I like anything fast in the summer. 400s, 300s, 200s, 150s with a long recovery at race pace or faster.

Least favourite training session

Any kind of tempo session in the winter where it feels like I’m running for hours on end.

Favourite pre-race food

I love a tuna sandwich! I have no idea if that’s the right kind of food to eat before a race but I always used to have tuna and sweet corn for lunch at primary and secondary school. So I find it a little bit comforting before a big race.

Other than that it’s got to be spaghetti bolognese. Simple but tasty.

Favourite post-race food

Post race is hopefully a celebration, so my ideal post race meal would be a juicy steak with some carbs and veg plus a nice big milkshake.

Favourite runner or runners

I’ve always been a big fan of David Rudisha. He runs with such grace and speed. To break the world record in an Olympic final, after two rounds of competition without a pacemaker and leading from gun to tape, takes incredible mental and physical strength.

Brands or organisations that support me

New Balance.

Daniel Rowden features in the ‘Fast 10: class of 2019’ and over the course of the year will share his running journey. You can follow Daniel on Instagram, while further information about the ‘class of 2019’ can be found here.

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 Fast 10: Daniel Rowden appeared first on Fast Running.

Launched in 2018, the ‘Fast 10’ is a special feature on Fast Running that offers readers a glimpse into the lives of a group of athletes at different stages in their running careers.

Each runner has the opportunity to share their story throughout the year which can cover race targets, advice, training insights, balancing running with life, work and studies, plus a wide range of other things.

After a successful 2018 – with some insightful journeys – it is now time to introduce the ‘Fast 10: class of 2019’.

Young Scottish and GB mountain runner Jacob Adkin earned a top six finish at the World Mountain Running Championships in 2018 and will document his off-road jaunts fuelled mostly by coffee – which should make interesting reading!

800m specialist Alex Bell had an impressive 2018 season which included finishing fifth at the Commonwealth Games and breaking two minutes for the first time. Did you know she used to compete at a high level in ballet and tap dancing?

Natasha Cockram had a breakthrough performance at the 2018 Dublin Marathon. The Welsh runner now has big ambitions for the next 12 months after overcoming injury challenges.

Young English distance runner Hannah Irwin is currently studying Creative Writing and can hopefully lead by example with her blogs. The Guildford and Godalming athlete is keen to share the ups and downs of the sport to help others stay motivated and inspired.

Orienteering is Kris Jones’ first love but he is also an established distance runner who continues to impress whether it’s track, road or cross country. The Welshman, who based in Scotland, recently completed a PhD studying the biomechanics of the golf swing, however, he’s never actually played a round of golf himself.

Nomadic Holly Page, who is originally from West Yorkshire, is forever on an adventure and over the last 12 months has travelled the world competing on the mountains and trails – winning a ‘few races’ along the way too!

Glasgow based Fionnuala Ross, who is originally from Northern Ireland, returned impressively to the track in 2018, improved her road PBs and also won bronze at the Irish Cross Country Championships.

Amongst her goals this year, the Armagh AC/Shettleston Harriers athlete aims to have another crack at the marathon.

Daniel Rowden announced himself on the big stage in 2018 by competing in his first Diamond League meet and at the European Championships. The middle-distance athlete, who is also a full-time student, has his eyes on the British 800m crown this summer.

Next up, Irish long distance athlete Stephen Scullion will chart his journey as a full-time athlete based in the heights of Flagstaff, Arizona. The new podcaster will surely have some top advice to share as he works towards his marathon goals.

Last but not least, is Irish middle-distance runner Sean Tobin. The 24 year-old recently returned home after an athletics scholarship stateside and should provide interesting insights as adapts to life back in Ireland while chasing his targets.

Everyone at Fast Running would like to thank each member of the ‘Fast 10: class of 2019’ in advance for agreeing to share their journey this year. Over the next week, each runner will be introduced in more detail, so be sure to visit fastrunning.com to find out more.

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 Fast 10 returns with the class of 2019 appeared first on Fast Running.

It is quite a feat to be able to compete on an international stage at major championships while winning junior global medals, before making a Diamond League debut at the age of just 20.

Incredibly that’s exactly what Woodford Green with Essex Ladies’ young 800m star Daniel Rowden will be doing at the London Stadium this Sunday afternoon (July 22) when he toes the line alongside Olympians and world leaders in the day’s blue riband event.

What’s more, the prodigious talent is doing it all while juggling his athletics with a degree in Mechanical Engineering at the prestigious Imperial College in London.

It has been quite a year for the New Balance-sponsored athlete, with Rowden running one of the fastest U23 800m times in British history (1:45.83 in June at the Oordegem track meeting in Belgium), as well as clinching the British Universities Championships 800m title and taking victory at the Loughborough International.

However, none of those scintillating performances compare to earning a much-coveted silver medal at the British Championships in Birmingham earlier this month, which earned him his first senior GB vest at next month’s European Championships in Berlin.

Fast Running talked to the multiple national age-group champion and 2017’s European U23 silver medallist about his journey to the top, how he juggles his hectic training schedule with a demanding degree, and why he hates cross country running so much!

Fast Running: This weekend will see you competing in your first Diamond League in London. How are you feeling about that experience?

Daniel Rowden: I’m incredibly excited! I’ve always wanted to run on that track. I was there as a 14 year-old in 2012 to watch the 800m semi-finals with David Rudisha and Andrew Osagie. I’ve been there (London) as a spectator for a few Anniversary Games, and I was there for every round of the 800m at last year’s World Championships.

So to be able to race on that track in that stadium where the world record was set, in front of by far the largest crowd I’ll have ever experienced, will be very special. The field is going to be world class.

It’s going to be quite different from any race I’ve done before, and the pace will be significantly faster. I want to make sure that I take the opportunity and hopefully get a new PB out of it.

FR: You had a great run at the British Champs, where you finished runner-up to Elliot Giles (1:44.99 PB) – did you know you had it in you to medal, and qualify for the Euro Champs as a result?

DR: I went into the British champs to win. I knew that the field would be very strong because there are so many guys with the European qualifying time. But I believed I had the tools to win.

My racing and training had gone well so far this year and I had placed fourth the year before, so I believed that I was in with a shot at the title. So I was a little bit disappointed with second place.

The race didn’t go perfectly for me and I made a few tactical errors, but with all that being said I am hugely proud and grateful to be able to get my first senior vest.

Photo: Andy Peat

FR: The Euro’s in Berlin will be your first senior GB vest, quite an achievement! How are you feeling ahead of the event?

DR: I’m excited about the Euro’s! It’s always an incredible honour to represent my country and even more of an honour when it is at a senior competition. I’m looking forward to being in the same team as some very successful athletes that I have looked up to for the past few years.

Training has been going well so I am feeling quietly confident. I don’t want to be there to just make up numbers and have a trial run at a big championships, I want to go there and mix it with the best.

European 800m running is in relatively good shape at the moment. Gold, silver and fourth place at last year’s World Championships were all European, so I’m expecting it to be tough. But competitions and championships are my favourite part of athletics.

I’m a racer not a runner. My aim is to make the final, because once I’m there it’s anybody’s game. I know that will be tough, but the way my season has gone so far it’s definitely a possibility.

FR: How do you manage to balance your Mechanical Engineering studies at Imperial College London with training so successfully?

DR: It has been really tough, by far the most challenging year of my life. My first term at university was really tough. I wanted to quit because the training and university work was so relentless. The work wasn’t too difficult, but it was just the volume of it that I was struggling with.

My parents were a great support, but the only thing that really kept me going was my faith. I’m Christian, and my faith is the most important thing in my life.

I had some real doubts about this season because my training had been all over the place. Imperial Sport were great to me but it’s not the sportiest university so I had to travel a lot for training. I think over the winter I trained with six different setups to try and fit training around my studies, which is far from ideal.

I had doubts about whether this year would be successful, or whether it would be a huge flop. But I know that the God I believe in is much more powerful than that. If he wanted me to have a great season, I would, regardless of how difficult training had been. And so far, the season has far exceeded my expectations.

But it took a lot of discipline. Lots of early nights to bed and lots of early morning sessions.

Monday morning

A post shared by Daniel Rowden (@danielrowden) on Apr 9, 2018 at 4:16am PDT

FR: Who do you train with on a regular basis, and what does a typical week’s training look like for you?

DR: At the moment I’m doing all of my track sessions at St Mary’s University. They’ve got a great middle distance setup, and my training partner from when I was at school, Canaan Solomon, is there. Those sessions have helped me out a lot.

Before that, while I was at university I was training with Matt Yates and his group (The Run Yard) down in Battersea.

I did quite a lot of sessions on my own too because of timings, which I really dislike, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do. Before that, I was with the cottage group down in Battersea Park for tempo sessions, and with Gladys Bird and the Woodford Green & Essex Ladies sprinters back home in Essex for my hill sessions. All over the place really!

Leading up to an 800m race I do very little training. If it’s a Saturday race I’ll do some light gym work and an easy run on the Monday, a run and track session on the Tuesday, some easy runs on the Wednesday, some strides on the track on Thursday and then take Friday off. I like to go into races feeling very fresh and well rested.

FR: Your coach is Richard Thurston – what is your coach/athlete set up like?

DR: Richard is a great coach. He’s been with me since I was around 15 years-old. What I appreciate most is that he’s a great listener and loves to get my feedback on things to make sure that we are on the same page and aiming for the same things. He sets most of my training schedule.

The only things that he doesn’t do are my gym sessions, which are set by Richard Blagrove (top strength & conditioning coach), and when I join in with other groups I generally do the sessions that they have been set. But usually, Richard will work with the coach of the group to make sure the sessions are right for me.

He’s set some horrendous sessions in the past, with really short recovery and at a really fast pace, but I guess they’re what you have to do to reach the goals that you’ve set!

FR: Do you cross-train at all?

DR: I had a knee injury late last year that meant I couldn’t run properly for a couple of months, so I used a cross trainer to get some cardio in before I was fit enough to run.

FR: Do you swear by any nutritional supplements or meals to get you ready for big sessions or races?

DR: Not really. I like an expresso before a race to give me a little boost. And I like a Bolognese the night before but that’s just because I like Bolognese!

I got some help with my nutrition and diet last year, so I generally stick to the advice I was given.

FR: You ran your 1:45.83 last month in Belgium. How did it feel to take such a big chunk off your PB?

DR: It was amazing. From the previous races in Belgium and Loughborough, I knew I had a fast time in me.

But I didn’t think it would happen in the manner it did. I’m usually not that great at front running, unless it’s a slower race. But I just went for it from the gun and it paid off!

FR: You won silver at last year’s Euro U23 champs. Can you tell us a little about that race, and how it felt to win such a major medal aged just 19?

DR: That race was a bit manic. I was near the back at 200m in and there was a lot of jostling in front of me. One guy fell over and I had to jump over him. At the bell I was still in seventh place and thinking ‘how on earth am I going to get myself out of this one?’

But I stayed patient and worked my way nearer to the front. At 150m to go I kicked and chased down the medal positions.

I missed out on gold by 0.01s, but I’ve been working on my dip since then! It was an amazing feeling to be standing on the podium, and it gave me a lot of motivation for the winter.

FR: You last competed on the country in 2015, and before that, you didn’t race very often off road – what are the reasons for this?

DR: I really don’t like cross country! It’s too far, usually way too muddy for my long stride and usually just really miserable. I used to enjoy it when it was 3km at U13, but now the guys are running 8, 10 or 12 km!

As much as I dislike it, it is great training and I’ll probably do some more for my university this winter. I’ve had a couple of niggles come about because of cross country, so my coach is never too keen. Usually during the winter I just train. No indoors, just preparation for the outdoor season.

It may not be that unusual for a student to live on pasta meals and coffee, but Rowden is no ordinary student. Watch this space to see how the Richard Thurston-coached young buck fares against the world’s best on Sunday, aged just 20 years old.

The post Daniel Rowden ready to take on world’s best appeared first on Fast Running.