That occasion was a Sunday afternoon about five miles to the north, at the Alexander Stadium, and a farewell race over 3000m. It is fair to say those seven and a half laps, and the relatively tame field assembled, were designed for Mo to say goodbye to the British crowd with a win (which happened).

But, plot twist! It turns out it wasn’t a farewell; the four-time Olympic and six-time World Champion is returning to the track with eyes set on making his fourth Olympics.

Except, the setting for his return to Birmingham is a bit different.

Four years on from that sunny afternoon in Perry Barr, there has been a changing of the guard in the British endurance running scene, both male and female, and there is nothing tame about the field that will join Mo in toeing the line in a quest for Olympic selection.

Not only are there places in Tokyo up for grabs, the event also doubles up as the European 10,000m Cup, with some of Europe’s finest athletes taking to the track in Birmingham. It promises to be a fascinating evening of racing and to whet your appetite I take you on a tour of those competing, including some insights from those taking to the oval track for 25 laps.

What’s Happening?

Let’s start with a whistle stop run through of the evening and what is at stake. The races are two-fold, the European 10,000m Cup and the British Championships / Olympic Trials. There are individual and team medals up for grabs in the European Cup and, whilst there is plenty of interest in this, I have focused on the domestic competition to avoid presenting you with an essay of an article.

The first two Brits across the line, if they have the Olympic qualifier (31:25.00 for the women and 27:28.00 for the men), will automatically book their spot on the plane to Tokyo. There are also athletes with eyes on qualifying times for the Commonwealth Games.

Wavelight technology, alongside human pacemakers, will run just inside the Olympic qualifying standard in both races, with wavelights for set slower times also.

Men’s Races

The ‘star’ names of the men’s A race need no introduction, but I will give them one anyways – Mo Farah, Marc Scott and Jake Smith. More on them to come. Alongside Mo, Marc and Jake, the European Cup squad includes Emile Cairess, Matt Leach and Kristian Jones. Mahamed Mahamed, Mohamud Aadan, Hugo Milner, Tom Anderson and James Hunt are also in the A race as domestic entrants.

“I’ll Be Back!”

If there is one British distance athlete who needs no introduction, it is Mo Farah. Since ‘retiring’ from the track in 2017, he has won three Great North Runs, two Big Halfs and the Chicago Marathon in a European Record, and bettered Steve Jones’ longstanding marathon British Record in London in 2018.

With the exception of a one-hour race in Brussels last year (where he set the World Record), it is almost four years since he raced on a track. Whilst age is just a number, it will be fascinating to see if the 38 year old can still conjure up the speed that brought him the British Record, two Olympic, three World and two European titles over 25 laps.

Photo: James Rhodes

Close Competition

It is likely that his biggest domestic competition will come from Marc Scott. The US-based athlete, part of the Bowerman Track Club, has been in fantastic form in recent months, setting career-best performances over 3000m (7:36.08), 5000m (13:05.13) and 10,000m (27:10.41), the latter placing him second on the British all-time list behind Farah.

The two have raced each other twice, last year’s Antrim Coast Half Marathon and over 3000m at the 2017 Anniversary Games, with Mo crossing the line ahead both times. However, as Marc told me, he feels he’s is in the shape of his life and will be looking to book his spot on the plane to Tokyo:

“My goal is to win the race, nothing else! I’m feeling really confident ahead of the race, I couldn’t have asked for a better build up. I have been in Park City, Utah for six weeks at altitude with Bowerman so it was great having us all go after the same goals together. We have six guys who have the 10k [Olympic} standard so we had a nice group to train with”.

Marc’s 27:10.41 in California in February, under the guidance of coach Jerry Schumacher, was the fastest by a British athlete since Mo ran 26:46.57 ten years ago, and the manner in which it was run – going through halfway in 13:44 – adds to its impressiveness. Naturally this was a confidence boost for the upcoming races: “The 27:10 did give me a huge boost considering it was a big negative split. It just shows there is more in the tank and that’s what will be needed on Saturday and in Tokyo!”

As Marc himself says, “I’m in a good place right now”, and it will be fascinating to see how his race unfolds.

No pacing duties for Jake Smith this weekend Credit: Mick Hall

Marathon Maverick

Whilst the event has been touted as a battle between Mo and Marc, I am intrigued to see what Jake Smith can and will do. The ‘marathon maverick’, as named by his coach James Thie, has been making headlines over the past twelve months with his performances.

There is a lot I could mention, but it would be remiss of me to not highlight his 60:31 at the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships in Poland last September alongside his unplanned, non-hydrated and all-round incredible marathon debut in Cheshire in April.

It is not everyday someone is due to pace to 25km, but decides to carry on and win the race, taking on no water or fuel. If that wasn’t impressive enough, it was only four days after setting a 1500m PB. Plus his time of 2:11.00 – 30 seconds inside the Olympic qualifying mark – adds an extra layer of marvel. If only the race wasn’t a few weeks after the marathon squad for Tokyo had been selected!

Anyways, back to the race ahead. As Jake told me:

“Saturday is the big one, I’m so excited and nervous for it and have been waiting for this day to come for months. I probably have said this before during other training blocks, but I haven’t trained this hard before a race and have been running great sessions. The goal is to run as quickly as possible and the aim will be to sit on those pacemakers trying to run close to the [Olympic qualifying] time”.

Has his coach, who raced Mo Farah seven times on the track, provided any advice ahead of the race? “James has been a brilliant coach during this training block and he has just told me to ‘think of it as a time trial. You run best when in control and having pacers plus lights there will help so much’”.

A bit of S.W.A.T. and Brooklyn Nine-Nine on Netflix alongside a nap will be the relaxation method of choice for the marathon maverick ahead of his biggest race of the year.

Cairess is no stranger to a sprint finish Photo: JHMSport

PBs Expected

The European Cup team is completed by Emile Cairess, Kristian Jones and Matt Leach. The Leeds City athlete Cairess will be making his European Cup debt having set a 28:14.30 PB over 25 laps in Newport in February and dipped under eight minutes for the first time over 3000m indoors. Kristian also set a PB (28:33.17) in that race in Newport, and has also run well over 5000m this year (13:49.33 in Cardiff and 13:53.25 at the Trafford BMC GP).

Matt Leach joins the team following the withdrawal of Sam Atkin, who has decided to not to travel from the States to compete. That is not to take anything away from the Bedford athlete; he has run PBs over 1500m (3:44.55) and 5000m (13:46.26) this season, alongside a 28:41,21 10,000m last month.

Domestic Competition

There are a number of other Brits taking to the A race outside of the European Cup team, including Mo Aadan, in his first race since his marathon debut in Kew Gardens in March, and Tom Anderson who last week gained his maiden British  vest at the European Team Championships. There are plenty of

Close battles are almost guaranteed in the men’s B race, which goes off at 19:45. Alongside a host of European athletes, the field includes Ellis Cross, Jack Gray, Josh Griffiths, Ollie Lockley, Joshua Grace, Omar Ahmed, Matt Clowes, Calum Johnson and Fast 10’s Nigel Martin.

Timetable

17:30 – Elite para 1500m

18:00 – Men’s domestic 10,000m

19:00 – Women’s 10,000m including European Cup B race

19:45 – Men’s 10,000m including European Cup B race

20:30 – Women’s 10,000m including European Cup A race & British Olympic trials

21:15 – Men’s 10,000m including European Cup A race & British Olympic trials

How to Follow

Full start lists can be found at https://data.opentrack.run/en-gb/x/2021/GBR/not/event. The races will be streamed live on the British Athletics website, and I will be trackside bringing updates via twitter (@james_athletics).

The post Back to the track Mo? appeared first on Fast Running.

On the last weekend of 2020, a year which many will be pleased to see the back of, some speedy performances came to the fore. This weekend wasn’t about quantity, but the quality was definitely high.

Over cross country, the road, and even in the sky, some of the country’s best tore up the ground with their speed. However, with the tightening of restrictions for a lot of people and Christmas Day ending in ‘tiers’ for everyone, many were saddened by the inability to leave their local area to head to races further afield. 

The podium 5k offered those in the area the chance to test their fitness one last time this year. The course, well known for being fast and flat, has come to be one of the most used courses for racing this year.

Plenty of athletes have flocked there in search of PB’s which the competitive field has always provided. This weekend allowed athletes to finish the bizarre year of 2020 with a bang. 

Head to head battles

The race saw multiple battles commence between Beth potter and Kate Avery, Emilie Cairess and Ross Millington, Eleanor Bolton and Hannah Nuttall, and between Luke Duffy and Josh Cowperthwaite. However, with the lack of regular racing, there was no predicting who would take the win. 

In the men’s event, the competition was really on between Cairess and Millington to see who would come out on top. In the back of Storm Bella, athletes gave their all to push in the conditions. From the outset a large group of athletes formed, all working together.

Emile Cairess is at home on the road, track and cross country. Photo: Pete Brown

This pack remained for the majority of the race but taking home the win was Leeds City AC’s Emile Cairess, who crossed the line with a narrow 1 second lead in 14:11. Ross Millington came in second with 14:12.

The field was stacked with just seconds between the runners as third place went to Joe Wigfield (St.Mary’s University) in 14:13. Yet just another one second behind was Richard Allen (AFD) in 14:14 and Sam Charlton (Wallsend Harriers) in 14:16. All 12 athletes in the race finished well under the 15-minute barrier, proving just how strong the field was.

No Potter, but Avery one’s a winner

In the women’s race the win went to the incredible Kate Avery, who despite an extremely difficult morning, pulled through and gave a hugely strong performance.

Avery (Shildon AC) crossed the line in 16:18, with a much clearer winning margin than the men’s race.

After competing over the 10k distance a few weeks ago, Hannah Nuttall dropped down in distance. The Charnwood AC athlete, who came 3^rd in the steeplechase at the British Champs, had a strong race to clock 16:38 for second place. It was GB U23 cross-country athlete, Eleanor Bolton, who secured the bronze medal position in 16:59. She was shortly followed by Mollie Williams (Stockport Harriers) in 17:06. The fifth female finisher in 17:16 was Anna Bracegirdle. 

This is a photo from a Guernsey XC race in 2018, but maybe some of the people were racing this weekend too? Photo: Phil Nicolle

Always a race on Guernsey

In Guernsey there was hot competition at the Boxing Day Cross Country. The strong field boasted a depth of 160 runners who battled it out through the mud, hills and grass, before the rain arrived. Alex Rowe returned to defend his title from last year and had a clear win ahead of his fellow Bath teammate, Dan Galphin.

Rowe came in with a time of 26 minutes and 43 seconds just ahead of Galphin in 27:04. The UK based Island Games Triathlon champion, Josh Lewis, took home third 40 seconds behind 2nd place. 

Alex Rowe heads bumper Boxing Day field whilst Megan Chapple makes light work of windy contains to lead women home. https://t.co/wwYRdYmeNa pic.twitter.com/riXp83Dd7g

— Guernsey Athletics (@GsyAthletics) December 26, 2020

The middle part of the race saw the arrival of some brutal headwinds; however, this didn’t seem to slow athletes down.

Taking home the win out of the women was Megan Chapple with a solid time of 31:11. Nix Petit was seconds just 24 seconds behind, followed by Rosie Williams (32:48). Summer Woodhead also had a commendable race, coming in in 32:54 at only 16-years of age. Definitely an upcoming youngster! 

One last dash for the line

However, the highlight of the weekend was at Santa’s reindeer dash, where Santa’s reindeer battled it out over a lap of the world to see who would lead the sleigh next year.

Last year’s winner, Rudolph, who has taken the win on multiple occasions due to his lighting benefits of having a bright nose to light the way, sadly lost after a wrong turn in the final quarter of the race.

Rudolph lost sight of earth just as they had flown over Africa and instead headed to orbit an unknown nearby planet. This immediately put him out of contention for the win and meant it was anyone’s race.

It was Comet whose performance heated up as they neared the final stages of the race, but Blitzen had a lightning surge putting them neck and neck. With just metres to go both reindeer had the chance to make it to the top of the podium and they crossed the line together.

It was then down to the photo finish to decide. It was Comet’s fiery determination (and maybe that extra carb-loading mince pice) that earned him the gold medal, with Blitzen in second and Dasher in third after a late charge. Rudolph sadly DNF’d and is rumoured to be investing in a new GPS watch with navigation features for next year.

We wish everyone a positive and healthy 2021 filled with plenty of fast racing!

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The post Speedy times draw 2020 to a close appeared first on Fast Running.

On Saturday, in the wind and rain, hundreds of runners took to the mud in Mansfield for the Saucony English National Cross Country Relays. This annual competition brings true team spirit and determination to the running world, and in perfect timing, the autumnal sun appeared just as the races were underway. 

In the senior women’s race, the victory title was once again claimed by Aldershot & Farnham District. After pushing away from Lincoln’s Abbie Donnelly, Emily Hosker-Thornhill gave AFD the lead they needed in the first leg.

Hosker-Thornhill then handed on to teammate Niamh Brown who ran the second leg in the 2nd overall fastest time and Lauren Hall with the fastest overall 3rd leg. In keeping with previous years, it was Blackburn’s Jessica Judd, who after a PB in Leeds last weekend ran the fastest time over the 2nd leg. 

The runner’s up at Berry Hill Park were the Leeds City AC team consisting of Bronwen Owen, Stephanie Pennycook, and Jennifer Walsh. The bronze medal went to Cambridge & Coleridge AC’s female team led by Holly Archer, followed by Victoria Knight and Suzie Reid. 

High competition levels hint at an exciting XC season ahead

The competition in the men’s race was incredibly high, with plenty of fast athletes pulling on their spikes and haring through the mud.  The victorious men, retaining their title once again, were Leeds City AC. Despite an early setback as Phil Sesemann took a tumble.

Sesemann did well to get back up and finish strong enough for his team to grab the win. Photo: Stephen Lee

Sesemann achieved a third-place finish over one of the longer legs last year, but his tumble set him back into fifth place this year. The strong team behind him all ran strong legs pushing Leeds back up the ranks.

Matthew Grieve, Graham Rush, and Emile Cairess stormed to a first-place finish with Cairess delivering an impressive anchor leg. 

Jonathon Escalante-Phillips, Joseph Smith, Jack Gray, and Marc Scott had a sensational team performance, landing the Cambridge & Coleridge team to a second-place finish. C&C were followed by Bedford & County AC, made up of Max Bergin, Jack Goodwin, Matt Bray, and Dan Jarvis.  

It was Sam Stabler of Wreake & Soar Valley that took home the ‘winners’ title for the first leg, Aldershot’s Cross the title in the second leg, Leeds’s Graham Rush, and Emile Cairess in the final leg. 

On the roads. 

The success continued on the roads in Tatton Park 10k and Half Marathon. On Saturday the 10k took place with some incredible individual performances. The senior men’s title was secured by Mo Abu-Reezeq in an outstanding 30:18. The sub-30-minute PB boasting athlete had a cracking run in his sixth road 10k of the year. 

Kirsty Longley of Liverpool Pembroke Sefton was the winner of the women’s race. Longley ran 34:59 for first place, followed by Laura Lombard in a time of 37:45. Hannah Price competed the top three women at Tatton Park, stopping at 38:15 on the clock. 

After an astounding run on Saturday, Mo Abu-Reezeq also claimed the title in the half marathon on Sunday! An amazing double performance. The Altrincham athlete ran 67:59 for first place, ahead of Sale Harriers Manchester’s Nicholas Barry who clocked 1:11:18 for a second-place finish. Finishing just 17-seconds outside of his personal best, Paul Jones of Hereford ran 75:07. 

It was V40 athlete, Margaret Beever from Stainland who won the women’s race. Beever ran herself to an impressive time of 01:27:42. 

Swansea and Cardiff share the spoils

This year’s Richard Burton 10k saw a stacked field of high-quality athletes take to the roads of some of Wales’ picturesque villages. Jonathon Hopkins did Swansea Harriers proud with a strong performance and time of 30:36. Hopkins recently dipped significantly under the 30-minute mark, running 29:30 at last weekend’s Leeds Abbey Dash.

James Hunt was next to cross the line as the first of the two Cardiff athletes on the men’s podium. Hunt ran a solid 31:45 and was also amongst those who ran cracking performances in Leeds last weekend, where he clocked 29:12. Just 7 seconds behind Hunt was Tom Marshall, also from Cardiff AAC. 

Cardiff AAC’s success did not stop in the men’s race. Lucy Marland continued the performance glory into the women’s event. Marland ran a cracking 36:43 after a PB performance in Leeds last Sunday. Ashleigh Willis of Swansea and Sioned Howells of Amman Valley Harriers finished off the women’s podium in 39:30 and 40:09 respectively. 

Rush to the finish line

In keeping with the start of the winter festivities, the Bonfire Burn 10k took place. Graham Rush secured himself the position at the top of the podium. Rush added to the success of Leeds City this weekend with his gold medal in a time of 32:26. Following Rush, in 33:54 was Duncan Coombs and Johannes Arens 34:00, for second and third place respectively. 

In the women’s race, the winner was set from the start. Winning by a huge seven minutes, was Georgina Schwiening. The Cambridge athlete clocked 34:37 for first place. 

Over the marginally shorter 5-mile distance, was The Deal Castle 5-mile race. Charlie Brisley was the first male to cross the line and cut the tape in 24:43. Brisley of Invicta East Kent stormed the distance to a 5-mile personal best by 50 seconds!

Harrison Tremain crossed the line in second place with a time 27:04. It was the U20 Ashford AC athlete’s debut over the 5-mile distance. It was Stephen Male that took home the bronze medal in a close finish for third position. Male achieved a solid time of 28:02. 

In the women’s race, Renata Mcdonnell was first across the line, securing first place in a time of 31:10 for Deal Tri Club. Mcdonnell was shortly followed by Elena Jury in 34:27 and Natalie Long in 35:10. 

Highly rated racing in Marlow

Back over the half marathon distance, in what has been consistently rated one of the UK’s best half marathons was the Marlow Half Marathon. The winning titles for the men’s and women’s races went to Stuart MacDougall in 1:18:08 and Bethan Huntley in 1:27:40.

Over the 7-mile distance at the Marlow 7-mile, Nick buckle took home gold. The Belgrave Harrier runner ran 40:02 to secure a minute lead. The women’s title was claimed by Becky Atkinson of Maidenhead in 45:38. 

New York City Marthon

There are still plenty of runners on the streets of New York and we will update the round-up as the results come in. Geoffrey Kamworor and Joyciline Jepkosgei, both half-marathon world record holders, were victorious on the tough course in 2:08:13 and 2:22:38 respectively.

parkrun UK

Gavin Hill and Jacqueline Fairchild ran the fastest parkrun times in the UK this weekend (2nd November). Full rankings here.

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The post AFD & Leeds City victorious at XC Relays – UK round-up appeared first on Fast Running.

The historical Bobby Rea Memorial Cross Country will this year incorporate the Northern Ireland International Cross Country, attracting athletes from the UK, Ireland and across Europe to the Lisburn & Castlereagh Council owned facility.

The event is part of the Athletics NI XC League, so numbers are expected to be high, with local athletes competing to gain points for their club, as well as the newly introduced, International contingent.

Strong fields for men and women

Among those confirmed so far are Ireland’s Sergiu Ciobanu, who finished in 8^th place (2:17.17) in the recent Dublin Marathon and Clonmel AC’s Kevin Maunsell. They will be joined by Irish Olympic Steeplechaser, Michelle Finn and Dublin City Harriers’ Jodie McCann.

GB’s female duo of Iona Lake and Mhairi McLennan, both of whom have previously competed at the Armagh International Road Races will be competing alongside European U23 10,000m Bronze Medallist, Emile Cairess.

From further afield will be Germany’s Thilo Brill and Niles Voight and Italy’s Said El Othmani in the Men’s event. In the Women’s event, Poland’s Sylwia Indenka and Klaudia Kaziemierska will compete.

They will be joined by the NI & Ulster team, which you can see here: https://athleticsni.org/News/Athletics-NI-News/NI-and-Ulster-Team-Announced-for-the-Bobby-Rea-International

More information below

The day’s events will also include the NI & Ulster Uneven Age Group Championships, with junior athletes from across the province competing to qualify through to the All-Ireland Uneven Age Group Championships on 15^th December 2019.

Entries are now closed for the Uneven Age Groups, however, entries will be available on the day for the Bobby Rea XC from 1pm at Registration.

More information on the Bobby Rea International XC and the NI & Ulster Uneven Age Groups can be found here:

Bobby Rea: https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/Bobby-Rea-International-Cross-Country-2019

Unevens: https://athleticsni.org/Fixtures/NI-And-Ulster-Uneven-Age-Group-Championships-2019

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The post International Stars to Compete at the Bobby Rea XC appeared first on Fast Running.

A host of England’s top cross country runners descend on Harewood House Estate near Leeds in West Yorkshire on Saturday (February 23) for the Saucony English National Championships.

The venue hosted the Northern Championships last year and the large sparse area will mean only two laps are needed for the senior men’s 12km race.

This year’s championships is the 131st edition of the senior men’s event, while the senior women race the for the 86th time, with 8027 runners entered across the 10 races.

The figure is down on last year’s record figure of 9565 at Parliament Hill, but it’s the second highest figure for a Northern venue since 2000, and just 63 down on the number that entered the Roundhay Park, Leeds event in 2010.

Defending champion Adam Hickey is among the entries in the senior men’s race, along with area champions Emile Cairess, Henry Pearce and Jack Gray.

Pearce got the better of Southend’s Hickey at this year’s South of England Championships, and will be in contention for a first national medal, while his club Tonbridge, will have hopes of Pearce leading them to back-to-back team golds.

Photo: Nigel Bramley

Cairess is in superb form and followed up his victory at the Northern Championships with gold at the BUCS cross country in a close photo finish.

Joining the Leeds City youngster from the North of England is second and third at Pontefract Park, Morpeth’s Carl Avery and Liverpool’s Dejene Gezimu.

The Midlands’ podium three are all expected to race, with Cambridge and Coleridge’s Gray joined by Birchfield Harriers’ Omar Ahmed and Coventry Godiva’s Mohamed Daud Mohamed.

Former champion Jonny Hay is also among the entries, along with Belgrave Harriers’ Nick Goolab, Southampton’s Alex Tueten, Stockport Harriers’ Jack Morris and Sale Harriers’ Nigel Martin, while Leeds City boasts a strong team with Cairess, Graham Rush, Philip Sesemann and Ollie Lockley among their ranks.

In the senior women’s race, defending champion Phoebe Law is named among the entries, but hasn’t raced since October’s Cardiff Cross Challenge, and is not expected to race.

South of England champion Pippa Woolven will have hopes of adding another cross country gold to her collection this weekend. Also expected to challenge for medals is Southern runner-up, City of Norwich’s Iona Lake, who won national bronze last year.

Photo: Nigel Bramley

City of Stoke’s Kate Holt is another area champion set to race, with Bournville Harriers’ Nicola Sykes and Bristol and West’s Charlotte Taylor-Green joining her from the Midlands’ podium on Saturday.

2017 national champion Jess Judd finished third at the Northern Championships and will aim to transfer the speed she demonstrated on the Armagh roads last week onto the country.

Photo: Pete Brown

Alex Bell, who is sharing her journey this year on Fast Running, finished fourth at Pontefract Park and joins the Blackburn runner on Saturday, while Aldershot’s Louise Small will hope third time’s a charm after taking silver for the last two years.

Small has just returned from Utah where she spent time learning to cross country ski, and the alternative aerobic training could turn out to be the secret to gold.

Aldershot club mates Emily Hosker Thornhill and Emelia Gorecka are also among the big name entries, along with Charnwood’s Gemma Steel. Hopefully, all three are on the start line at 1.35pm on Saturday.

Kendal’s Sarah Tunstall will take a break from the mountains to compete at Harewood House, while Leeds City and Tonbridge are well represented with top athletes Claire Duck, Emma Clayton, Lucy Crookes, Nicole Taylor, Elle Baker and Lucy Reid named in their teams.

With four athletes to score for the team honours, both clubs will fancy their chances, but defending gold medalists Sale Harriers along with South of England champions Thames Hare and Hounds, Aldershot and Cambridge and Coleridge can be expected to be in the mix.

Junior Championships

Ben Dijkstra, who finished runner-up two years ago in Nottingham, is a leading contender after his Midlands win over Thomas Mortimer.

Stroud and District’s Mortimer took under-20 men’s bronze in 2018 and will also have his eyes on the top prize, while Lachlan Wellington steps up from the under-17 ranks after silver last year.

Northern champion Rory Leonard is also among the top entries going for junior men’s honours. The Morpeth youngster has enjoyed a great cross country season and knows the Harewood House course well after winning Northern under-17 gold there last year.

Photo: JHMSport

In the under-20 women’s race, Aldershot’s Niamh Brown won silver last year and is among the leading entries in the junior women’s race.

Grace Brock finished runner-up in the under-17 championships last year and makes the step up to the under-20 ranks on Saturday.

The in-form Amelia Quirk won gold ahead of the Cornwall athlete at the South of England Championships and can be expected to challenge for the top prize, while Northern champion Eleanor Bolton and Midland’s Amelia Samuels are also among the entries.

The action starts at 11.00am with the under-17 women’s championships before the senior men’s 12km event concludes the day’s 10 races at 3.00pm.

RELATED: George Routledge and his love of the English National

Timetable

11.00am: Under-17 women – 5km
11.25am: Under-15 boys – 4km
11.45am: Under-13 girls – 3km
12.05pm: Under-17 men – 6km
12.30pm: Under-13 boys – 3km
12.45pm: Under-15 girls – 4km
1.05pm: Junior women – 6km
1.35pm: Senior women – 8km
2.20pm: Junior men – 10km
3.00pm: Senior men – 12km

Meanwhile, national cross country championships also take place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland this weekend. A preview of the Scottish action at Falkirk can be found here, while the Welsh preview 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 England’s runners to battle for national cross country honours appeared first on Fast Running.

The temperatures may have dropped this week, and even in the absence of 2018 champions Alex Yee and Harriet Knowles-Jones, the races are set to be red-hot battles at the BUCS Cross Country Championships on Saturday (February 2).

BUCS cross country: students ready to battle

Alison Lundy looks at the female contenders in Devon, while Elizabeth Egan outlines the men to watch out for.

Not one of last year’s medallists in the women’s race – Harriet Knowles-Jones, Phoebe Law and Philippa Bowden – are entered to run in Devon, leaving the way clear for a brand new 1-2-3.

Anna Møller, Denmark’s European U23 champion and winner of the Cardiff Cross Challenge, is currently studying at St Mary’s and stands an excellent chance of becoming the first non-British winner of the women’s competition.

Photo: Paul Stillman

Møller represented Denmark at the 2016 Rio Olympics in the 3000m steeplechase, setting a new European junior record. If she toes the line on Saturday, she must certainly be the one to beat.

There is no shortage of challengers however; Mhairi MacLennan of Edinburgh was seventh last year, and has been in fine form this cross country season, ninth at the Liverpool Cross Challenge in November and winner of Northern Cross Country Championships last weekend ahead of Lauren Heyes (formerly Howarth).

Also among the contenders is Jess Judd who was fifth at the race hosted by Brunel last year. The 24 year-old, who has unmatched racing stats in 2018, finished third behind MacLennan and Heyes at the recent Pontefract hosted Northern Cross Country Championships.

Last weekend, Judd showed once again that she’s capable of pushing herself over the cross country distance.

Fellow Loughborough student Amy Griffiths will also be looking to improve on last year’s performance when she crossed the line 10th; after a seventh place finish at European Cross in the U23s, she can expect to be challenging for the medals.

Loughborough’s entries also boast Abbie Donnelly who, like Griffiths, represented Great Britain at Euro Cross; they’ll be challenging for a victory in the team competition, but without a winner since Lisa Dobriskey in 2004, could this be the year for Loughborough to take back the individual gold as well as the team trophy?

St Mary’s may think not, as they will back Møller for gold, and in the team competition they may be fairly confident too, with cross country specialist Louise Small on their entry list, as well as GB Euro Cross representative Emily Moyes and Irish international Ciara Everard, although Everard is more at home over 800m.

Brunel’s Rebecca Murray is also entered, adding further experience to an already stellar field. While the 2017 champion, who her marathon debut in London last year, doesn’t appear to be in her best cross country form, she shouldn’t be completely ruled out.

Aiming to show that experience is not everything, this year’s crop of freshers will be vying to make their mark on the competition; Amelia Quirk joined Birmingham in September and has made an excellent comeback from injury through her first few semesters, while Khahisa Mhlanga (Writtle College) and Tiffany Penfold (Edge Hill) are the sole entries for their respective institutions.

Emile Cairess leads the chase for BUCS men’s honours

The newly crowned North of England senior champion Emile Cairess (St Mary’s) won the B race in 2017 before improving to third in the championship race last year.

The Leeds City athlete finished eighth in the U23 race at the European Cross Country Championships in December and will be looking to add to his growing medal collection, which also includes the BUCS 5000m title from 2018.

Photo: JHMSport

If Cairess is to complete his transition from B Race winner to overall champion, he’ll have to contend with a host of other accomplished athletes, not least Loughborough’s Patrick Dever, who finished ahead of him at European Cross.

Dever was the fifth U23 at the trials in Liverpool, but ran the race of his life in Tilburg to finish fifth and lead the British men to silver. He also led home the British senior men at the Stirling International in January, and is undoubtedly an athlete in form.

Oliver Fox (Cambridge), ninth at Liverpool and 19th in Tilburg, is the other member of the European U23 team entered. The Wells City athlete, who finished sixth at the English National last February, should expect to improve on his eighth place from Brunel.

Alex Teuten (Southampton), the 2017 BUCS Champion, is another stand-out entrant, and will have a shorter journey than most to the Exmouth course.

Teuten, who was also runner up at the English National, CAU Inter-Counties and the European Trials in 2017, didn’t finish at Liverpool in December, but put in a solid performance at the IAAF International in Dundonald in January, finishing seventh. If he is on form, the younger athletes will have a tough time keeping up.

Ellis Cross (St Mary’s) will also be looking to show a return to the sort of form that saw him pick up bronze in 2017. The Warwickshire Champion finished 12th last year and also has a bronze medal from the BUCS 5000m last May.

Another hoping to have a race more like 2017, and less like 2018, with be Petros Surafel who was fourth in Sheffield but only managed 24th at Brunel last time out.

Jack Millar (Oxford) was fifth last year, a massive improvement on his previous best performance of 43rd and will be looking to show further improvement this time out.

Luke Caldwell (Imperial), Jamie Parkinson (Oxford), and James Gormley (Birmingham), also finished in the top 10 last year and will be back looking for more of the same.

The step-up from schools to universities is a tough one, but Matthew Willis (Loughborough), 2018 English schools champion, will be hoping to make light work of that transition. His Loughborough and Euro Cross teammate Tom Mortimer, the 2018 Intercounty Champion, is another of the younger athletes to watch out for.

University Exeter have a large team entered, including Ben Holmes, their leading finisher from last year, but the athlete local fans should watch out for is Jake Smith, racing in the colours of Cardiff Met, particularly if conditions are dry. Jake is not a fan of the mud but will be keen to transform his recent road bests of 29:30 (10km) and 64:01 for half marathon into success on the grass.

Expect the unexpected

Amid all the other championship races and international opportunities this time of year, BUCS can throw up some surprises.

Photo: Gary Mitchell

Some athletes will be focusing more on the team aspect of the day and their university scholarship obligations, than individual glory. That said, all the stars lining up tomorrow will have at least one eye on adding their name to the illustrious list of previous winners.

Teuten, Cairess and Dever will each fancy their chances of taking the men’s title; Judd will look to finally add the BUCS title to her English National and CAU Intercounties titles from 2017, but will have Møller and MacLennan to overcome if she’s to do so.

The last five winners, both men’s and women’s, have not only been different individuals, but have also represented five different universities (eight different universities across both genders).

With Yee and Knowles-Jones not starting, it looks like we’ll have to wait another few years to see our first three-time winner since Birmingham’s Ray Smedley in the mid 70’s.

The team race may be among the most difficult domestic titles to win, but BUCS cross country is almost impossible to dominate as an individual!

Action gets underway at 12 noon with the women’s 8km race, followed by the men’s 10km race at 1pm. The men’s B race over 8km concludes the BUCS cross country at 2.15pm.

RELATED: What makes BUCS cross country so special?

RELATED: BUCS cross country: the big three rivalry

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Cross country runners across England were out in force to compete at the North, South and Midlands Cross Country Championships on Saturday (January 26).

London’s iconic Parliament Hill Fields was the venue for South of England Cross Country Championships and Pippa Woolven and Henry Pearce claimed the senior wins.

Emile Cairess and Mhairi MacLennan took the honours in the senior races at the Northern Championships at Pontefract Park in West Yorkshire, while Newbold Comyn, Leamington hosted the Midlands Championships with victories for Jack Gray and Kate Holt.

South of England Cross Country Championships

Wycombe Phoenix’s Woolven was the runaway winner in the senior women’s race at the South of England Championships at Parliament Hill.

Woolven, who was in action for GB recently at Great Stirling XCountry, finished 66 seconds ahead of Commonwealth Games steeplechaser Iona Lake.

City of Norwich’s Lake has had some great results at Parliament Hill, including third at last year’s English National. Third place was Naomi Taschimowitz of Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers.

The senior men’s race saw Tonbridge AC’s Pearce looking relaxed at the front early on before winning the battle over the 15km course.

Photo: Nigel Bramley

It could be the strength from marathon training in 2018 and fine 2:19 performance at Toronto Waterfront Marathon gave the youngster the edge.

Last year’s English National champion Adam Hickey was second and Ed Sheperd of Woodford Green and Essex Ladies in third. Southend’s Hickey, who won the Essex County Champs earlier in the month, was second at this event in 2018 before going on to win the National Championships.

Amelia Quirk was first to the line in the women’s U20 race, clocking 23:15 to retain her U20 crown. Bracknell AC’s Quirk just beat Cornwall AC’s Grace Brock (23:26) in second and Cambridge Sabrina Sinha (24:00) in third.

Lachlan Wellington (25:12) turned a 2018 second place in the U17 category into a 2019 win in the men’s U20 race, with last year’s U17 third place finisher, Zak Mohamed (25:34), jumping up a place to second in the higher age category too. Brighton & Hove AC’s Tomer Torragano (25:38) was third.

In the senior women’s race, Thames Hare and Hounds were the overall team winners, while Aldershot, Farnham and District were the victors in the men’s team event.

Northern Cross Country Championships

Leeds City’s Cairess ran a great race to win the Northern Cross Country Championships, ahead of Carl Avery of Morpeth and Dejene Gezimu of Liverpool AC.

Photo: Pete Brown

The front three were comfortably clear, but commendable mentions for Jack Martin of Stockport and Nigel Martin of Sale Harriers in fourth and fifth. Mainly so I could chuck a shout out to Nige in here, he works his socks off and it’s great to see the progression and hard work paying off.

Morpeth Harriers’ MacLennan won the women’s senior race for a second straight year.

MacLennan crossed the line in 27:36, with Leigh Harriers’ Lauren (Howarth) Heyes (27:40) and Blackburn Harriers’ Jess Judd (27:46) not far behind at Pontefract Park.

Photo: Pete Brown

The young Scot won the Scottish Inter-District title in Stirling two weeks ago and has been consistently strong over the cross country in the last few years.

The top five were all within 30 seconds for the senior women with Pudsey & Bramley’s Alexandra Bell, who is sharing her journey this year on Fast Running, and Leeds City’s Claire Duck featuring in a high-quality race.

The junior women’s winner was Eleanor Bolton with Tiffany Penfold, a parkrun top 10 regular, and Becky Briggs, who has been having some great success over 10km and half marathon distances recently, not far behind.

Morpeth’s Rory Leonard continued a great cross country season with the victory in the junior men’s race. Leonard was victorious ahead of Euan Brennan and Nathan Dunn.

The senior team prizes both went to Leeds City AC.

Midlands Cross Country Championships

Cambridge and Coleridge’s Gray went one better than last year in the Midlands Cross Country Championships, with a first place finish ahead of Omar Ahmed of Birchfield Harriers and Mohamed Daud Mohamed of Coventry Godiva.

Photo: Stephen Lee

City of Stoke’s Holt retained her Midlands senior women’s crown in 29:38 from Bournville Harrier Nicola Sykes, who was almost a minute behind in 30:27.

Third place was Charlotte Taylor-Green (30:44) who was running for Bristol and West AC.

Holt won the Staffordshire county title earlier in January and then finished fifth at the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza, Spain on the 13th of the month.

Photo: Stephen Lee

Amelia Samuels of Wolverhampton & Bilston celebrated a victory in the U20 women’s race. The youngster won at the Cross Internacional Juan Muguerza earlier this month in Spain and came into the event in fine form.

Rebecca Twardochleb was 90 seconds back in second, with Zoe Brickley another 30 seconds behind, such was the dominie of Samuels’ win.

Ben Dijkstra was the U20 winner in the Midlands and the triathlon specialist is another showing how a multi-sport approach at a youth level can bring fantastic results.

The Leicester Corinthian ran 26:27 ahead of Thomas Mortimer (26:55) of Stroud & District AC. In 26:59 was third place Connor Bentley for City of Stoke AC.

The overall team winners for the Midlands senior races were Notts AC for the men and Bristol & West AC for the women.

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Some of England’s fastest runners made their way to the rural village of Kingsley for the Mid Cheshire 5k and enjoyed perfect racing conditions as they battled for the country’s 5k honours.

Aldershot’s Allen, racing in his first 5k road race, clinched the men’s title in 14:07, while Leeds City’s Stockton set a new course record and personal best to take the women’s crown in 15:39 (CT:15:38).

Allen, who won the Chichester Priory 10K in February, finished five seconds ahead of Leeds City’s young star Emile Cairess and Stockport’s Jack Martin.

Cairness, who has enjoyed a fine cross country season, just edged out Martin to silver with both men clocking 14:12.

Photo: Chloe Broad

Stockton enjoyed a dominating victory in the women’s race finishing more than 20 seconds ahead of second-placed Emily Hosker and takes a big slice of her recent best at the Podium 5k.

The 28 year-old’s chip time of 15:38 places her 11th on the UK all-time list.

Racing in her first 5k on the roads Aldershot’s Hosker also dipped under the 16:00 mark clocking 15:59. The St. Mary’s University athlete adds the England 5k silver to the BUCS 3000m indoor gold she won earlier this year.

City Of Stoke’s Kate Holt, who was also racing competitively for the first time over the distance, completed the women’s podium in 16:12.

Photo: Chloe Broad

Salford’s Marc Brown was the last of the 25 male runners to break the 15-minute mark, which improves last year’s course record by two.

A record number of 12 women dipped under the 17-minute mark with Heanor RC’s Lisa Palmer-Blount concluding the dozen in a time of 16:54.

Men’s results – name, club, gun time/chip time

1) Richard Allen, Aldershot Farnham & District: 14:07
2 Emile Cairess, Leeds City: 14:12
3) Jack Martin, Stockport Harriers: 14:12
4) Ross Skelton, Brighton Phoenix: 14:17/14:16
5) Robbie Fitzgibbon, Brighton Phoenix: 14:18
6) Charlie Hulson, Liverpool Harriers: 14:19/14:18
7) John Ashcroft, Liverpool Harriers: 14:19/14:18
8) Ed Shepherd, Woodford Green: 14:19/14:18
9) Jack Gray, Cambridge & Coleridge: 14:20/14:19
10) Chris Parr, Gateshead Harriers: 14:20/14:19
11) Andrew Smith, Pudsey & Bramley: 14:21/14:20
12) Linton Taylor, Newark AC: 14:22
13) Dane Blomquist, Aldershot Farnham & District: 14:24/14:23
14) John Beattie, Newham & Essex Beagles: 14:26
15) Dominic Shaw, New Marske Harriers: 14:27
16) Alastair Watson, Notts AC: 14:29/14:28
17) Carl Avery, Morpeth Harriers: 14:30/14:29
18) Tom Merson, Exmouth Harriers: 14:32/14:31
19) Dejene Gezimu, Liverpool Harriers: 14:32/14:31
20) Jack Morris, Stockport Harriers: 14:32/14:31

Women’s results – name, club, gun time/chip time

1) Stevie Stockton, Leeds City: 15:39/15:38
2) Emily Hosker, Aldershot Farnham & District: 16:00/15:59
3) Kate Holt, City Of Stoke: 16:14/16:12
4) Calli Thackery, Hallamshire Harriers: 16:20/16:17
5) Elle Baker, Stockport Harriers: 16:29/16:28
6) Lucy Crookes, Leeds City: 16:42/16:39
7) Jenna Hill, Sale Harriers: 16:43/16:42
8) Rachael Burns, Liverpool Harriers: 16:45/16:44
9) Hannah Viner, Highgate Harriers: 16:47/16:44
10) Kirsty Longley, Liverpool Pembroke: 16:55/16:54
11) Sinead Bent, Salford Harriers: 16:56/16:52
12) Lisa Palmer-Blount, Heanor RC: 16:57/16:54
13) Georgia Campbell, Jarrow & Hebburn: 17:15/17:12
14) Sophie Wood, Salford Harriers: 17:19/17:14
15) Olivia Stones, Leigh Harriers: 17:22/17:16
16) Holly Smith, Vale Royal: 17:22/17:19
17) Claire Martin, Telford AC: 17:27/17:24
18) Emma Burgess, Highgate Harriers: 17:36/17:32
19) Louise Rudd, Stockport Harriers: 17:46/17:43
20) Sarah Howard, Liverpool Harriers: 17:48/17:46

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