Matt Clowes revised the course record at the Caerphilly 10k on Sunday (20 May) running a strong 30:33 on the hilly course.

Nearly 2,000 runners took to the streets of Caerphilly for the 2018 Bryn Meadows Caerphilly 10k.

The race had moved from a regular June date, but still enjoyed scorching temperatures as the runners weaved their way around an undulating loop of the medieval town.

Matt Clowes of Cardiff AAC had been billed as a pre-race favourite, joined by defending champion Abed Teweldebrhan of Newport Harriers and course record holder Owain Jones of Bristol & West AC.

At the 3k mark, the course team reported that Clowes already had a lead of around 60 metres and at 8:56 was on record to smash the previous best of 31:04, and perhaps dip under the elusive 30-minute barrier.

Similarly, the 5km mark was passed just seconds under 15 minutes but the route’s main climb was still to come.

Clowes was indeed the first runner to appear charging downhill towards the finish on Crescent Road, stopping the clock in 30:33 and recording a new course record.

“This is a great event and I was happy to run that,” said the modest Cardiff AAC man. “The hill near the end was really tough but that time here is fine. I live 20 minutes down the road so to come here and get this done is ideal.”

After losing a bet with his other half that he could run under 2:15 at the London Marathon this year it’s good to see the Welshman back on form.

Next home was Teweldebrhan, unable to retain his title but still happy to finish on the podium as the runner-up. Phil Matthews held off Owain Jones to finish third in the white and green of Swansea Harriers.

Racing at the Sharpe end

The ladies race saw Helen Sharpe of Fife AC live up to her pre-race favourite promise, winning in 37:04.

Cardiff AAC’s Lucy Marland had shared the pre-race favourite tag and stormed home in second place with a customary smile on her face. Claire Jacobs of Cardiff club Les Croupiers was the third lady back.

Sharpe spoke kindly of the event saying: “It was very warm but the crowds were great and I really enjoyed it. I was pleased to win here, it had a big race feel.”

The post Caerphilly 10k course record for Matt Clowes appeared first on Fast Running.

Lincoln Wellington won the men’s Northern six-stage road relay on Saturday (September 16) in Manchester, taking over in the second leg after Michael Cayton got Horwich RMI Harriers off to a winning start. After taking the lead the impressive Lincoln charged on to clinch the title by almost two minutes.

Salford Harriers finished second, with Liverpool Harriers, the 2016 winners, in third, ahead of Morpeth and Leeds. The fastest leg of the day went to Jack Morris (19:10) of Stockport, ahead of Richard Wier (19:20) and Ben Fish (19:26) respectively.

Also worth noting, was the performance of Morpeth Harriers’ Ian Hudspith who produced a fantastic V45 run of 19:43.

In the Northern women’s 4 stage relay, Leigh Harriers took the victory from Leeds City, with Rotherham in third, ahead of Salford and Derby. Lauren Howarth of Leigh Harriers ran the fastest leg of the day with a time of 19:47, with the next runner 57 seconds behind.

The Welsh Road Relay Championships were run in the slightly different format of 4 x 5K. Swansea Harriers A team were convincing winners over the Swansea B team, over three minutes separating them. Dewi Griffiths, who chatted this weekend with Fast Running about his season so far, ran the fastest leg of the day in 13:46, with Josh Griffiths running the second in 14:27.

Good day at the @WelshAthletics #RoadRelays a great win for @SwanHarrierDev and 2nd fastest leg behind @dewigriff10k pic.twitter.com/wyTYDpTLht

— Josh Griffiths (@JoshGriff311) September 16, 2017

In the women’s race, Swansea continued their winning ways, beating Lliswerry Runners to the top spot by over six minutes.

Caryl Jones of Swansea ran the fastest leg in a time of 17:03.

Chris Thomson and Charlotte Purdue both had convincing wins in the Richmond Run Fest 10k at Kew Gardens. Thomson took the win in a time of 29:30, just over two minutes in front of Alex Milne in second. An excellent performance from Charlotte Purdue saw her win the women’s race in 34:37, finishing fourth overall.

And the Queen of Richmond @charliepurdue is the first woman across the line! Congrats! #RunRichmond pic.twitter.com/71oLCnT5wV

— RICHMOND RUNFEST (@RichmondRunFest) September 16, 2017

Tom Charles of Trafford won the Chaparral Abersoch Half Marathon in a time of 68:27 just a week after running a big personal best of 67:44 at the Great North Run. Paul Green had a great run, posting 71:30, finishing clear in second.

Matt Lalor continued his winning streak at the English Half Marathon in Warrington, winning in 73:14. James Nutt finished second in 74:26 running a personal best by over a minute. In the women’s race, Jenny Fox of Sale Harriers won in 85:39, with Kate Knox finishing second in 87:09.

The Great Bristol Half Marathon on Sunday (September 17) saw the first four go under 70 minutes. With Aaron Richmond taking the win in 68:07. In the elite women’s race, Emma Stepto won in 77:42 from Emma Grainger 78:38.

Elsewhere, at the Worcester City Run, Phil Beastall won the men’s race in 31:18 ahead of Danny Hallam and Adrian Holliday. Jenny Nesbitt won the women’s race in 34:26, finishing ahead of Sophie Booth and Naomi Eaton.

In the slightly less conventional road relay format in Norfolk, 61 Teams of 17 ran 192 miles in the Round Norfolk Relay. The weather was cold and foggy but it led to favourable running conditions throughout the night, and it turned out to be another fine show of the club culture in Norfolk.

As has been the case in recent years, City of Norwich AC (CONAC) was the dominant club, but some concerns were raised about the fielding of athletes from around the country with very little affiliation with the club.

The post Lincoln Wellington, Leigh Harriers and Swansea Harriers Win at Road Relays – Weekend Round-Up appeared first on Fast Running.

Following a bronze medal over 1500m on Friday, and easing through the second of two 5000m heats, the 22-year-old stepped back on the track with high expectations of another podium place.

As the race heading into closing stages, Davies showed his determination to hold off his challengers with a fast finish to seal the silver medal in 14:02.46.

Davies finished behind France’s Francois Barrer in 14:00.86, and ahead of Andreas Vojta of Austria in 14:02.65.

Ireland’s Matthew Bergin, who came into the final with the third fastest time finished 10th in 14:11.54.

Davies’ two medals at the games and Jessica Judd’s bronze over 5000m saw the BUCS’ Great Britain and Northern Ireland team conclude the games with three medals across the athletics programme.

Meanwhile, Melissa Courtney finished strongly for a fifth place in women’s 1500m final in 4:21.14.

Amela Terzic of Serbia clinched the gold medal ahead of Ugandan Docus Ajok.

In the discus final, it was an eighth place finish for GB’s Gregory Thompson with a best effort of 57.52m.

All of the athletics coverage from the World University Games can be found here.

The post Jonny Davies Bags 5000m Silver at World University Games appeared first on Fast Running.

In years gone by the likes of Seb Coe and Steve Ovett have scored victories and set world records in the Norwegian capital; more recently Laura Muir bagging a metric mile victory.

Where these performances have been somewhat expected, Wightman’s run was quite the contrary, the young Scot kicking away from a world class field round the final bend before holding on for a famous victory.

An elated Wightman said afterwards: “Shock; I only got in the race on Monday and felt pretty lucky to be in it. I knew a PB was on the cards but I thought they would run away from me. When it got to 200m to go and I was still in it, I thought I’d better try to win it. I managed to pull away but was scared that someone might catch me.

“My race plan was to start off pretty settled because I knew if they went off hard they would come back. I am usually quite strong on the last lap so I put all my money on that – to come through on the last 300m. I felt pretty good on the home straight so I just about got away with it.

Wightman’s teammate Charlie Grice also had a strong running, posting a time of 3.37.78 for sixth.

Fresh from his first Diamond League victory in Rome, Chijindu Ujah (Jonas Dodoo) equalled his season best set in the Italian capital, his 10.02 (+0.2) run seeing him finish a close second to Andre De Grasse, who stopped the clock in 10.01. Adam Gemili (Rana Reider) finished in fourth with a time of 10.13, with Reece Prescod rounding out the British trio in eighth with 10.20.

Matthew Hudson-Smith also finished a fine second in the men’s 400m in a season’s best time and London 2017 qualifier of 45.16 from lane seven, not far behind winner Baboloki Thebe who stopped the clock at 44.95. Meanwhile in the women’s 800m Lynsey Sharp (Terrance Mahon) also improved her season’s best to 2.00.41, to cross the line in eighth place in a strong race won by South Africa’s Caster Semenya.

Hudson-Smith said: “I am just getting into fitness now and trying to get consistency. I tried something new tonight – taking it out – and I paid the price in the home straight. My coach has told me to keep committing and by the time of the British championships, I will be ready. I just wanted to try it out, to be ready for when it matters at the World Championships in London. Going out fast is a change because usually I come storming home. I am really happy and am just going to keep doing it, get used to it and work on my speed.”

Following a controversial start by birthday girl Dafne Schippers, the women’s 200m got away cleanly at the second time of asking, with Schippers pulling away down the home straight to take the win in a time of 22.31. A post-race disqualification for Ivet Lalova-Collio moved British representative Bianca Williams up the standings into fifth place with her time of 23.38. In the women’s 100m Hurdles, won by Germany’s Pamela Dutkiewicz, Tiffany Porter crossed the line in fifth place with a 12.93 clocking.

In the field, three British women contested the Long Jump, with Shara Proctor (Reider) coming out on top in fourth place. After a slow start, Proctor’s best distance of 6.53m came in the fifth round propelling her above Lorraine Ugen’s furthest effort of 6.50m. Jazmin Sawyers struggled to get a valid mark on the board, with two fouls preceding her third round jump 6.20m to leave her in 10^th place.

The men’s high jump competition saw only Mutaz Essa Barshim clear 2.32m, with Robbie Grabarz finishing down in seventh with a jump of 2.25m.

The post Jake Wightman shocks 1500m field with Oslo Diamond League win appeared first on Fast Running.

In addition to the mass participation races, the series includes elite men’s and women’s individual races, with the Irish national men’s and women’s 10k titles up for grabs, and an Ireland versus England competition.

Ireland’s star Fionnuala McCormack will attempt to retain her national 10k title, and elite women’s crown. In the latter, McCormack will face a tough competitor in rival Gemma Steel of England.

GB athlete Steel, has won the Great Ireland Run women’s race twice, most recently in 2015.

We also have the eagerly anticipated Ireland versus England competition. Regardless of the sport it is a match up that always attracts the attention of the public.

Lining out for the Irish men’s team in the Ireland versus England competition are Mark Christie, Liam Brady, and Raheny Shamrock’s pair Kevin Dooney and Mick Clohisey.

Graham Rush, Danny Cliffe, John Beattie and Portsmouth AC’s Alex Teuten will represent Team England.

Leading the Irish women’s team are 2016 Olympian’s Fionnuala McCormack and Kerry O’Flaherty.

After a recent win in the Northern Ireland & Ulster 5k Championships, Irish Olympian O’Flaherty will aim to continue her excellent start to 2017 with a good performance on Sunday.

Laura O’Shaughnessy, and City of Derry’s Catherine Whoriskey complete the Irish women’s team.

In the English women’s team, Jenny Spink, Rebecca Hilland, Lauren Deadman, and Lauren Hall join two time winner Gemma Steel. Hall who is making her England debut, will be full of confidence after recently winning the Army cross country championships.

It is difficult to call who will be victorious in the Ireland Vs England competition, but one thing is for sure, both nations will want to win, so we are in for an exciting battle.

Full schedule

09:30 – Great Ireland Run 5k Start
11:00 – Great Ireland Run 10k Elite Women & AAI Women’s National 10k Championships Start
11:20 – Great Ireland Run 10k Elite Men & AAI Men’s National 10k Championships and ORANGE wave Start
11:25 – Great Ireland Run 10k WHITE, GREEN & PINK waves Start
13:50 – Junior Great Ireland Run Start
14:45 – Mini Great Ireland Run Start

The post 2017 Great Ireland Run preview, including Ireland vs England match up appeared first on Fast Running.