Irwin and Omar Strike Gold at the UK Athletics 10-Mile Championships

Hannah Irwin and Kadar Omar put in supreme performances to take gold in the UK Athletics 10-Mile Championships, which served as part of the AJ Bell Great South Run.

The women’s elite race was the first to set off under blue skies along the coast of Portsmouth and Southsea. Verity Ockenden (Swansea Harriers AC) entered the run as the reigning champion, having taken the 2025 crown in 00:56:37.

Once the race was away, Hannah Irwin (Cambridge & Coleridge) quickly established herself as the main challenger to Ockenden, and the pair gradually separated themselves from the rest of the pack, setting up a tight sprint finish for the line.

In the end, it was Irwin who had enough sprint speed down the stretch to push ahead of Ockenden and cross the line in first place, raising her hands in celebration as she clocked a personal best of 00:53:34.

Ockenden closely followed in 00:53:37, also picking up a personal best time for her efforts.

Daisy Glover (Framlingham Flyers) completed the women’s podium, pushing through the final stretch to take third in an impressive 00:54:53, rounding off an extremely fast women’s elite race.

Meanwhile, in the men’s elite race, it was two-time Olympian Andy Butchart (Central AC) who drew attention pre-race as he lined up to make his Great South Run debut.

Reigning Big Half and UK Athletics Half Marathon champion Kadar Omar (Birchfield Harriers) also featured in the stacked field on the south coast.

As the crowd cheered them on from the sidelines, Omar, Butchart and Alex Durant (Sheffield AC & Dearn) pulled away from the pack, but it was Omar who had the legs to hold the lead right to the line, clocking 00:47:26 to win the UK Athletics 10-Mile Championships title.

He was closely followed by Andy Butchart, who clinched second in a time of 00:47:50, becoming the only other man in the race to run sub-48 minutes.

The lead duo was trailed by Durant, who completed the men’s podium with a finishing time of 00:48:00.

Paul Foster, Chief Executive of The Great Run Company, said: “We saw a great line-up of British athletes today which made for thrilling battles for both the men’s and women’s titles this year.

“The Great South Run has built an incredible legacy with countless incredible moments and achievements, and our winners join a veritable roll call of previous British winners. Congratulations to both Kadar and Hannah on their success today.”

More information about the Great South Run can be found here.