With the restrictions of lockdown slowly starting to lift, we can start look back on what the experience has taught us. During such unknown and uncertain times there are many things that we had to change in relation to running.

We also had to alter many aspects of normal life in ways that were beyond our control. Of course there are many things we will never return to unless we have to. Despite this there will be some lessons which we can take forward.

Plenty of people have found themselves appreciating the little things in life and finding joy from things they never would have considered previously. Others have used the time to experiment with their training and make changes they have always thought of doing.

This may have included incorporating cross training into your week, structuring your week differently, or allowing more time for recovery. With the return of some aspects of normality, what positive lessons have you learnt from lockdown? And which of these will you take forward?

The true reason

Something I am sure many of us have started to think is what running truly means to us. We are so used to chasing races and results, that it can be easy to lose sight of what the sport really means to us.

For many of us however, the love we have for the sport is so much more important than race results. For Scotland’s Mhairi Maclennan, lockdown has improved her outlook on running.

“For me, lockdown has sort of been a blessing in disguise. It has given me the time and space to step back and breathe, to step off the treadmill and focus on my health as well as re-evaluating what running means for me in my life. I think a lot of athletes are rationalising the purpose of their running when we find ourselves in a place where material goals and tangible success is removed and therefore redundant.”

I for one, told myself at the start of lockdown that I wanted to regain my love for the sport. I never fell out of love with it, but I found myself getting more and more worked up before sessions and putting too much pressure on myself. As a result, running was becoming a source of stress rather than joy at times.

I found the release of pressure lockdown brought allowed me to regain my passion. It helped me remember why I got into it in the first place. It wasn’t purely because I enjoyed working towards results.Lockdown has helped show me that I truly loved the sport (I won’t deny racing is one of the most exciting parts of it!).

MacLennan at Podium 5km in 2018 Photo: Pete Brown

Motivation tester

One thing lockdown has done is test our motivation. Something few of us experience, except when injured, is the inability to race even when we want to. Racing often drives us and it can be hard at times to feel motivated without it.

Whilst on the odd occasion it is ok to listen to yourself and not force yourself to do what you don’t want to do, you don’t want to get into the habit of it.

It is important to stick to your usual routine, so it doesn’t come as a shock when normality returns. There may be no racing on the horizon at the minute, but we want to be ready when it does return. So keep pushing on.

13:08 5000m man Marc Scott says how important it is to do just that. “My first lesson of lockdown is to keep training. We are going to be allowed to compete when the time is right, and you want to be ready when that may be.”

Despite this Scott highlights the importance of still applying common sense;

“It’s important that we realise the severity of the virus and help to keep one another safe by following all guidelines in regard to training with one another.”

Ultimately, there is no point pushing the limits of what we have been told is safe potentially putting yourself and others at risk.

Don’t hold back

With the increasing amount of time on our hands, lockdown has allowed us to focus on the things we might previously have neglected and give our all to becoming the best version of ourselves.

Olympic Marathoner and owner of Run Stars, Sonia Samuels, says lockdown has taught us all not to hold back in becoming the athlete we want to be. Embrace doing all the extra 1%’s and try to establish a routine that you may be able to take forward. If you want something, go after it, but most importantly remember why you love it.

“Lockdown is a unique opportunity for athletes to regenerate and work on their weaknesses and strengths. A chance to become the athlete they want to be;

• s&c rehab for ongoing niggles or just general strength improvements
• work on base fitness without having the pressure to race
• improve or try out new areas/ ideas in training
• work on mental preparation for performing in future races and workouts
• explore new running routes we wouldn’t normally do.

Lockdown allows us to reflect on why we run and what we love about the sport. We can have an appreciation of what running brings to our lives both physically and mentally.”

 

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 New experiences in lockdown for Samuels

These are only a few lessons that lockdown may have taught us. Whatever yours are, are you going to use them to shape yourself as an athlete into the future?

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In the virtual world of racing, athletes haven’t been holding back from getting stuck in. With the choice of ‘races’ to do being very limited, this means that more people of varying abilities, all the way up to Olympic level runners, have also been taking to virtual race to add some competition to their solo time trials.

Here is a round-up of a few virtual events as well as a few milestones that this week signifies.

Podium 5k kicks off 1st round

The Podium 5k team recently kicked off their virtual racing season and have already had some rapid times recorded. The likes of Adam Hickey proved that chocolate Easter eggs really can be a good source of fuel. After his daily morning dose of chocolate, Hickey headed out onto the roads of Southend to get his 5k time trial done.

After his phenomenal time, my only question is, is chocolate performance enhancing as I think we should all be eating more of it! The GB athlete clocked 13:58 on an out and back route which included a dead turn.

Fuelled by Easter Eggs and probably delighted just to have both shoes stay on his feet. Photo: Zach Bridgeland

Currently just behind Hickey in 14:10 is Ex Olympian Nick McCormick who actually joined the party on the real podium course as the course is a tried and tested 5k route. Kian Davis sits in third place with 14:37

For the ladies one of our NHS superheroes, Elsey Whyman-Davis, stormed to the top of the virtual leaderboard. The athlete holds an official best time of 16:16 for the distance, and clocked 15:47 for the virtual event! An impressive run from the Cornish doctor!

In current second place sits Eleanor Bolton, recent Euro Cross GB runner, with a solid 16:32. This too is both a track and road PB for Bolton. GB marathoner, Aly Dixon, also decided to join in for Round one. After five 60 mile weeks including only one tempo run, Dixon ran an impressive 17:31 for third place, just one second off the time she was aiming for. (Was she aiming for 17:32? – Ed.

Scottish Virtual Road Relay

The Scottish Road Relays continued on the buzz of camaraderie with their 6 stage 5k time trials. Stephanie Pennycook of Fife solo ran herself to a first-place finish with an excellent 16:33. This effort is only just 11 seconds off her PO10 recorded best time.

In second was Virginie Barrand in 16:58 with the fastest leg for Metro Aberdeen. Continuing with the trend, this is a whole 34 seconds quicker than her pb. The third female place went to GB runner and recent Scottish Cross Country Champion, Mhairi Maclennan. The Inverness athlete ran 17:04.

In the men’s virtual event, it was Anthony Addison who secured himself the top spot on the leaderboard. Addison ran 14:36 to lead his team to victory, but clocking a time just 10 seconds slower (14:46) than Addison was Alastair Hay of Central.

The third fastest male time was then clocked by Joe Ewing of Edinburgh with a strong 14:50, some rapid performances. Ewing’s best time which he set on the roads is 15:25, so it’s a first time under 15 minutes for Ewing.

Photo: Bill Dale/IOM Easter Festival

Isle of Man Easter Festival of Runnin

This weekend also saw the closing of the Isle of Man Easter Running Festival. The event saw a mixture of more traditional races, such as 5k and 10k, and more, lets say interesting races, such as a pint race and chunder mile. If you want to know why the yearly festival is the “perfect mix of beer and running” then check this article out.

The fastest time clocked in the Port Erin 10k was by Andy Norman with an impressive 32:01. Next was James Hoad with a solid 32:26. Norman’s clubmate, Simon O’Meara, secured the third fastest time in 34:33.

The women too produced some speedy times with Natalie Wangler stopping her watch on the fastest time. Wangler ran 36:54 to place her ahead of Grace Ranford. Ranford, the U20 athlete ran 40:52. Ranford finished just ahead of Rebecca Frake who ran 41:15.

The Douglas 5km saw the same two men run to the top of the leaderboard. Andy Norman once again stopped his watch on the fastest time. He ran an impressive 15:17 to secure a convincing win. As in the 10km, Norman was followed by James Hoad who clocked 15:54. Simon O’Meara too came in 3rd but was joined by Rian McCawley in the exact same time of 16:28.

Sophie Collins had a strong run in the women’s category. She secured herself the fastest woman’s spot in 18:49 ahead of Meike Freudenreich in 19:06. The U20 athlete Grace Ranford once again made it into the top three with a sub-20 time of 19:48.

There weren’t many takers for the Chunder Mile, but the win was secured by Nick Holliday in 5:31. Andy Norman entered into the Pint Race and as in the other races, he took home the win in 4:11. If only he could have stepped up to compete the Chunder Mile he might have had the IOM Grand Slam.

RunThrough Virtual Rankings

RunThrough have also joined the virtual party by putting all their races online too. The current fastest time in the 5k event has been run by Ben Green in the Run Media City event. Green clocked a sub-16 time of 15:55. It was in the RunThrough VeloPark 10k that Graeme Eyre ran the fastest time. Eyre stopped his watch on 30:53, a very impressive clocking!

Over the longer half marathon distance, Alex Brighton was the quickest runner with 1:13:52. Longer again, in the full marathon, it was Neil Shorten who took the virtual race ‘win’ in 2:41:36.

Now you’ve heard about what has been going on this weekend, what about the monumental races and events on this weekend in years prior.

Blast from the past.

Whilst the London Marathon won’t be there to bring us joy next weekend, we can still celebrate some previous successes from the event.

On the 21st of April in 1993, Eamonn Martin won over the hearts of the entire nation as he became the last British male to win the London Marathon. The 34-year old at the time had been battling against sponsors who deemed him too old to be worthy of backing.

Martin also welcomed his third child into his family just three days prior to the race and his wife remained in hospital on the day of the marathon. In response to the doubt that mounted against him due to belief that he was ‘too old’ and ‘too heavy’ to take on the marathon distance, he said he wanted to be “the fastest old git on the day” and that he was.

It was in 100 yards of sprinting that he was able to open up a 30yard gap and hold his own until he crossed the line in a time of 2:10:50.

Photo: London Marathon

A special day for Paula

It was on the 13th April 2003 that marathon queen, Paula Radcliffe, took the win at the London Marathon for the second year in a row, however she did something in 2003 that she didn’t manage to do in 2002.

Paula Radcliffe broke the world record at the time (unfortunately it has now been beaten) in an outstanding 2:15:25, almost 2 minutes faster than her own world record set in Chicago the year before. This time still puts Paula at the top of the UK all-time list, over 7.5 minutes ahead of Mara Yamauchi.

The marathon record marked the peak of Radcliffe’s career and no female British athlete has ever clocked a time near to it. To date only one woman, Brigid Kosgei, has beaten it although some quick half marathon performances by others suggest more might in the future.

1906 Boston winner was the youngest

This week in sports history had a few outstanding and crazy race wins. On April 16th 1906, the 10th Boston Marathon took place where Tim Ford, only 18 years of age, secured the win as the youngest winner! Ford clocked 2:45:45, which in today’s world is over 22 minutes slower than the fastest woman and almost 40 minutes slower than last year’s winner Lawrence Cherono from Kenya.

It was also 123 years ago on Sunday that the first ever Boston Marathon occurred back in 1897. The Boston Marathon was inspired by the success of the 1896 summer Olympics and is now considered the oldest marathon still taking place.

It was also seven years ago, in 2013, that the devastating and horrific Boston Marathon Bombings happened. The 15th of April, the day on which this occurred is now an official and permanent holiday known as “One Boston Day” which is dedicated to conducting random acts of kindness and helping one another out.

Whilst Wednesday of this week was spent by the majority of us at home, this too is something we are all doing to help each other and our fantastic NHS to fight coronavirus.

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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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Scottish Athletics has announced that the fields for the 2019 Lindsays National XC will be the largest overall for a quarter of a century since men’s and women’s championships combined in 1993-94.

The entry figure for the Scottish Cross Country Championships on Saturday, February 23 is a fantastic 2458 which out-strips the previous best from a couple of years ago.

The 26th edition of the event, which takes place at Falkirk’s Callendar Park, features 10 races from under-13 through to seniors and masters, and the governing body believes this is the biggest participation national championship event in Scottish sport.

The 2019 entry has risen by 184 athletes on last year’s 2274 tally and is up by 659 since 2011 – when the tally was 1799. That’s a rise of 37 percent in those eight years.

“We’re ecstatic about these entry numbers and must thank our clubs for their wonderful response,” said Mark Munro, chief executive of Scottish Athletics, who expressed a huge thank you to athletics clubs, coaches and team managers who are making such a commitment to competition.”

Among the notable entries in the senior races are Olympians Steph Twell, Freya Ross, Derek Hawkins and 2018 champions Kris Jones and Mhairi Maclennan.

Photo: Bobby Gavin

Also entered are Luke Traynor, Ross Houston, Derek Rae, James Stewart, Marco Consani, Kyle Greig, Fionnuala Ross, Morag Millar, Steph Pennycook, Fiona Brian, Lachlan Oates, Alastair Hay, Andy Douglas and triathletes Marc Austin and Grant Sheldon.

Munro added: “It’s a wonderful event and we’re seeing so many people just wanting to compete and be part of that now. We’ve been pushing the message ‘Competition – It’s What You Train For’ over the past three or four years and we’re getting athletes, coaches and clubs buying into that.

“Lindsays came on board as sponsors of the Cross Country Season some five years ago with a commitment to try and help us grow participation.

“Their support has enabled us to improve a couple of aspects, bringing in an initiative like the Lindsays Trophy, and helped us raise the profile of the National XC in particular.

“Video footage from the event is very popular and last year for the first time we experimented with drone footage, which was excellent.”

The biggest rise in entries is in the senior ranks, with a current figure of 979 signed up for the senior men’s race, while there is an all-time record entry for the senior women’s race at 406 – up by 41 runners on last year. It is worth noting that in 2017 Scottish Athletics equalised the men’s and women’s distance to 10km.

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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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Scotland has named its team for the Home Countries and Celtic XC events which are incorporated into the IAAF Northern Ireland International Cross Country in Dundold on January 19.

Scottish cross country champion Mhairi Maclennan recently finished ninth at the Liverpool Cross Challenge and earns selection in the senior women’s team for the Home Countries match.

Jo Williams, who finished second at the Scottish East District Championships this month, along with Rebecca Burns and Michelle Sandison complete the team.

Calum McKenzie finished third at the Scottish East District Championships and is joined in the senior men’s team by Alastair Hay and Cameron Strachan, while the fourth spot on the team is yet to be named.

Among the athletes selected for the Celtic XC match at under-17, under-20 and under-23 level are Annabel Simpson and U18 European 1500m gold medalist Kane Elliot.

Photo: European Athletics via Getty Images

The Northern Ireland team for the cross country meet has also been named and can be found here.

Senior team for the Home Countries International

Men: Calum McKenzie, Alastair Hay, Cameron Strachan and the final place is to be confirmed
Women: Mhairi Maclennan, Rebecca Burns, Jo Williams and Michelle Sandison

Celtic XC team

U17 men: Jack Patton, Harry McGill, Lewis Hannigan and Gregor Campbell
U17 women: Isla Calvert, Anna Hedley, Rosie Davidson and Lily-Jane Evans-Haggerty

U20 men: Cameron Wright, Kane Elliot, Lewis Raeburn and Hamish Hickey
U20 women: Cera Gemmell, Jessica MacLeod, Zoe Pflug and the final place is to be confirmed

U23 men: Euan Campbell, James Donald, Freddie Carcas and Gavin Smith
U23 women: Annabel Simpson, Anna Macfadyen, Kerry McAngus and Zoe Bates

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Scotland has named teams comprising of 20 athletes to represent the nation at the British Athletics Cross Challenge at Sefton Park in Liverpool on Saturday, November 24.

Although there is no international team race in Liverpool, Scottish Athletics regard the cross country fixture as an important international opportunity for Scotland’s athletes.

The next fixture in the Cross Challenge series incorporates the British team trials for the European Cross Country Championships in December, and a number of Scottish athletes will be vying for GB vests, including Mhairi Maclennan and Luke Traynor.

Inverclyde AC duo Adam Craig and Andy Douglas have been named in the senior men’s team along with Shettleston Harriers’ Lachlan Oates and Giffnock’s Traynor.

RELATED: Andy Douglas: “A happy runner is a well performing runner”

Joining Maclennan in the senior women’s team are Edinburgh Uni Hare and Hounds’ Steph Pennycook and Central AC’s Morag Millar.

The U23 men’s quartet comprises of Cambuslang Harriers’ Ryan Thomson, Edinburgh AC’s Alex Carcas, Dundee Hawkhill Harriers’ James Donald and Keswick Jacob Adkin, while the women’s selection features Sale Harriers’ Megan Davies and Zoe Bates of Edinburgh AC.

Edinburgh AC pair Freddie Carcas and Joe Arthur, Kilbarchan AAC’s Cameron Wright and Fife AC/Glasgow Uni’s Tristan Rees make up the U20 men’s team, while Edinburgh Uni Hare and Hounds’ Anna Macfadyen, Kilbarchan AAC’s Kerry McAngus and Constance Nankivell of East Sutherland/Edinburgh Uni will represent Scotland in the U20 women’s race.

Scottish athletes have performed well in Liverpool over the past few years and performances later this month will also have a bearing on selections for the Great International XC at Stirling in January.

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Athletics World Cup 1500m bronze medallist Neil Gourley will look to put Berlin selection disappointment behind him as he joins fellow Scots at the FPSG Scottish Senior Championships this weekend.

Gourley is among 409 athletes – a 22 percent rise in entries – for the seniors event in Scotland and the Giffnock North AC athlete looks the strong favourite for the 1500m. He is also entered for the 800m but is unlikely to double up in events.

Mhairi Hendry, Mhairi MacLennan and Sol Sweeney are also expected to compete over the two days, while Kirsten McAslan will fly in directly from the European Championships in Berlin.

RELATED: After cross country and road success Mhairi MacLennan is hungry for track glory

Also set to compete are Chris Bennett, Grant Plenderleith, Rachel Hunter, Alisha Rees, Heather Paton, Jax Thoirs, Holly McArthur and Michael Olsen.

Scottish athletes who are currently at the European Championships include past supporters of the national championships Jake Wightman, Beth Dobbin, Jemma Reekie, Nikki Manson, David Smith and Allan Smith.

A £2000 prize pot for certain standards has tempted a handful of Scotland’s best athletes with 3.41 required in the 1500m.

“I’ve never won a Scottish senior title before so I am looking to try and correct that,” said Gourley. “I’m not sure I will be looking to do an 800m-1500m double at this stage of the season and with the Birmingham Diamond League coming up afterwards. But I am looking forward to racing again in Scotland.”

As well as the seniors, under-17 athletes will also be in action bringing the total number of athletes to 723. The full break down of entries are: 156 senior women, 253 senior men (total: 409) and 166 U17 women and 148 U17 men (total: 314).

“We are delighted that we have seen a fantastic 22 percent increase in entries this year for the Seniors – with over 400 athletes listed,” said scottishathletics chief executive, Mark Munro.

“That demonstrates great commitment by the athletes, coaches and clubs to support the event and I do feel that figure, as the best for many years, serves as a true barometer of a feelgood factor at the moment.”

Speaking about the £2000 prize pot on offer he added: “In order to stimulate interest, this year we decided to put up a £2000 prize pot for athletes if they can deliver on certain performance standards.

“The prize will be shared  amongst those achieving standards – if it’s only one athlete then they take the full pot. If nobody wins, it will double for 2019!

“Regardless of how that unfolds, we appreciate the efforts of our best athletes to be in Grangemouth – with two or three others who competed last year at the seniors now having full commitments in Berlin!

“However, it is not all about the top end athletes and we are looking forward to witnessing some close battles all weekend. Bigger numbers in the seniors brings greater depth in many events.”

The action on Saturday and Sunday will be streamed live on Vinco, while start-lists, timetable and results can be found here.

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When Edinburgh Uni Hare & Hounds’ Mhairi MacLennan broke the tape at the recent Podium 5k, her winning time was not only a massive 69 second personal best, but also a validation of her big goals for this year.

MacLennan ran 16:11 to win the sub-16:30 elite race at the Barrowford event in June, beating off stiff competition from the reigning champion, Becky Rigby, and fellow Scot, Steph Pennycook, both of whom also ran their fastest ever 5k times that night.

The 23 year-old is now ranked joint 10th in the UK for the 5k this year, but MacLennan has bigger goals for the rest of 2018.

Considering her pre-session warm-up jogs were nearly an hour long when she spent a year training in Spain at the country’s High-Performance Centre in Madrid, the Edinburgh University student certainly has plenty of endurance behind her.

MacLennan has plenty of speed too, having clocked PBs across the board this year for the mile (4:34.23), 3000m (9:32.06), 5000m (16:36.27 within a 10,000m race), 10,000m (33:28.61 at the Highgate Harriers Night of the PBs where she finished 26th), 10k (33:41 at Brighton), and 10M (56:30 at the Scottish Championships).

Now she is keen to build on her success so far this year to convert her hard-earned endurance and speed into even faster times on the track this summer.

We chatted to the talented Scot about her achievements so far, her training and 50-minute warm-ups in Spain.

Why was she in Spain over 2015/16, what was the training like and what did she learn from her time there?

“I studied Spanish and English Literature at Edinburgh University, so part of that was a year abroad in my third year,” she explains. “I was studying at Universidad Autónoma in Madrid, so I joined the local club, AD Marathon, and was put into a mid-long distance training group. It was great for my Spanish and I learned a lot about different styles of training.

“We would often do those 40-50 minute warm-up jogs, which was very different to what I’d done at home. I would never do this now but it was an interesting insight to how different athletes train!

“My year in Spain opened my eyes to another level of running I hadn’t experienced in Edinburgh, as I was training at the High-Performance centre, with access to endless trails in Casa de Campo. It’s also where many of the top Spanish athletes train. I competed in a lot of the international races out there, like the Cross Elgoibar, Atapuerca and the Spanish National Cross Country Championships, representing Madrid.”

MacLennan has transferred her success on the country in Spain to top class form off road in Scotland this year, following up victory at the Northern cross championships with a win at the Scottish national championships. She also enjoyed a great run at the Great Edinburgh Cross representing Great Britain, finishing first U23 in the senior event.

Photo: Bobby Gavin

Last year she came ninth in the U23 European Cross Country Championships in Samorin, proving her ability to compete on an international stage under pressure.

So would the well-travelled athlete say cross country was her preferred discipline?

“Definitely, I’ve always been a fan of the mud and the physical challenge of the hills, grass, mud and whatever else it throws at you,” she confirms. “I grew up in Inverness, in the Highlands, and experienced some very challenging courses up there which sparked my interest in running!

“There are no words to describe how exciting it was to receive my first call-up to the GB team last December for the U23 team at the European Cross Country Championships, I honestly couldn’t believe it until I was on the plane to Slovakia! It was a huge learning experience, and I would love to make another team in the future!”

MacLennan may have proved her speed off road at the top level, but she is now also showing her pure class on the road, winning the latest Podium 5k in 16:11.

Photo: Pete Brown

Did she have any idea of what form she was in beforehand, bearing in mind her PB was much slower going into the race, and did her victory at the Lancashire event give her confidence for further success over the distance?

“Although my PB previously was 17:20, I’d not really raced the distance on the road very often,” she says. “I went through halfway at the Highgate 10,000m in 16:36 (in May), so that gave me the confidence that I could go a lot quicker over 5k.

“I have quite a few track 5ks lined up this season, but thought the Podium 5k would be a great opportunity to just get out and test myself before the British Champs. I enjoyed racing there, and would highly recommend it to others. It’s no frills, flat and fast with plenty of competitors to pull you round.”

Looking at MacLennan’s soaring progress this year, it’s intriguing to find out – from a fellow runner’s point of view – how she has achieved it all. We all know consistency is key, but is there another secret to her success?

“Consistency definitely, being injury-free too, and having a great training group is also important,” she reveals. “I’ve been able to put together a really consistent block of training this year, which has given me confidence over races. I’m really happy with the set-up I have in Edinburgh, at home and within my training group.

“During term-time we have an amazing group of girls and we all help each other in training. I get great support from my fiancé (Edinburgh University AC’s James Taylor) at home and in training, and my coach, John Lees, is massively supportive too. He’s an independent coach but he also coaches a lot of the girls in the Hares & Hounds. Whilst I don’t train with the club, they’ve been very supportive since I joined four years ago, and I enjoy racing for them at BUCS each year.”

Mhairi MacLennan’s training

The 23 year-old juggles her training with a research masters in 20th Century Spanish Women’s Writing at Edinburgh University, as well as part-time work as a receptionist and Spanish tutoring.

She explains how she works alongside her coach (Lees) to ensure her training schedule is as specific to her needs as possible.

“My coach and I identify goals and then plan my training to build up to those,” she says. “We discuss the training and set the specifics on a weekly basis depending on my races, my menstrual cycle and any other commitments, such as work or university deadlines.

“While most weeks follow the same structure, the exact sessions may be different each week. My coach doesn’t set specific paces for sessions or easy runs, as it’s important for me to listen to my body – the effort level is more important than the pace.

“I generally wear a watch for races, but not to look at during the race, it’s more to help understand and learn from the race afterwards. I do the same in training, I run to feel and generally don’t over-analyse data but it is useful to track improvement.”

A general training week looks like:

Monday AM – Gym plus 30mins easy running
Monday PM – 45-60 mins steady running or a fartlek (depending on whether I’ve raced)

Tuesday AM – 30mins easy
Tuesday PM – A grass session, with reps generally totalling 8k. My favourite, but also dreaded session is 20 x 400m with short recoveries.

Wednesday – 60-90mins recovery run to feel

Thursday AM – Gym plus 30mins easy
Thursday PM – Tempo run 30-45 minutes

Friday – Rest day

Saturday – Race or hill reps and tempo work
Sunday – Long run varying anywhere from 12-18 miles depending on the time of year and the phase of my training.

So what’s next for this bright young Scot?

“I have the British Champs next (this weekend), and I’m also looking to getting my first senior Scottish Championships title on the track over the 5000m in August,” she says with impressive confidence. “Then I’m looking to get another solid 10,000m track race in at Ladywell in September (in Lewisham, London).

“However, this season I’m just focusing on enjoying racing and being competitive at a senior level.”

The grounded Edinburgh-based athlete is all too aware that she is not a one-woman team, and professes her thanks to everyone who has helped her so far.

“I’d like to say a massive thank you to my coach and to my fiancé for their continuing support and seemingly endless patience with me,” she says. “Thanks also to my training group for getting us all through the toughest sessions year-round, and to Inverness Harriers and Morpeth Harriers for their support, and to the Duncraig Eductional Trust.”

Keep your eyes peeled on this weekend’s British Championships 5000m for the girl who earned team gold in her first outing in the GB vest at last year’s European U23 cross country championships.

She may well be up against the likes of fellow Scots Steph Twell and Eilish McColgan, as well as Charlotte Arter and US-based Amy-Eloise Neale, but don’t bet against her finishing in the top three at least.

MacLennan is one to watch.

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