26th May 2018
BRITISH LONDON MARATHON CHAMPIONS HEADLINE VITALITY LONDON 10,000
The British champions at the London Marathon Sir Mo Farah (coach: Gary Lough), Lily Partridge (Alan Storey) and David Weir (Jenny Archer) will take to the streets of London once again this bank holiday weekend as they headline the Vitality London 10,000 on Monday, 28 May.
Five-time champion Farah, who broke Steve Jones’ 33-year-old British marathon record last month with a time of 2:06:21, will run the 10,000m for the first time since 2013.
He still holds the course record of 27:44, set in 2010, which remains Farah’s lifetime best 10,000m road race time.
The event also sees a return to road action for Callum Hawkins (Robert Hawkins), who has not raced since collapsing in the marathon at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast.
Fellow Gold Coast competitor Josh Griffiths (self-coached), Jonny Mellor (Steve Vernon), the British silver medallist at this year’s London marathon, and Chris Thompson (Alan Storey), who hit the 10,000m European Championships qualifying standard at the European 10,000m Cup at Parliament Hill, also compete.
Partridge, who set a new personal best of 2:29:44 at the London Marathon to secure selection for the European Championships in Berlin, returns to the course where she claimed victory in 2016.
She’ll be trying to hunt down the course record of 31:06, set by Mary Keitany (KEN) in 2010, but will have to battle against fellow Aldershot, Farnham & District teammates Louise Small (Mick Woods), part of the British team that won team gold at the European 10,000m Cup, and Steph Twell (Geoff Wightman).
Gold Coast marathon runners Sonia Samuels (self-coached) and Caryl Jones (Alan Storey) will take to the roads, alongside silver and bronze medallists in this year’s London Marathon, Tracy Barlow (Nick Anderson) and Rebecca Murray (Alex Stanton) also in action.
Weir secured his eighth London Marathon title last month and will take on Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in the men’s wheelchair marathon, Simon Lawson (Ian Thompson).
Nikki Emerson (Ian Thompson) returns to action for the first time since the Commonwealth Games, whilst Derek Rae (Ron Morison), who secured T46 Marathon Cup gold in the capital earlier this year, also returns to the streets of London.
On Sunday, 27 May, Nick Goolab (Craig Winrow) will be going in search of his third straight British Championship mile road title at the Westminster Mile.
Goolab pipped youngster Robbie Fitzgibbon (Jon Bigg) to become the first man to retain the title last year, but he will face an even stronger field at this year’s event.
Jake Wightman (Geoff Wightman) arrives as the fastest man in the field for a road mile, with a personal best of 3:52.9, a tenth faster than fellow Scot, Chris O’Hare (Terrence Mahon).
Home nations Commonwealth Games representatives Elliot Giles (Jon Bigg), Charles Da’Vall Grice (Jon Bigg), Tom Marshall (James Thie), Rowan Axe (Craig Winrow) and Ieuan Thomas (James Thie) are also in action.
Jake Heyward (James Thie) is the youngest man in the field and will be racing his first ever road mile, doing so the day after his 19th birthday.
With 2017 champion Adelle Tracey (Craig Winrow) absent from the women’s field, 2016 champion Sarah McDonald (David Harmer) will be looking to reclaim her title, but will face stiff competition to do so.
Loughborough International women’s 3,000m champion Jess Judd (Mick Judd) is the fastest women in the field for the road mile with a PB of 4:18.3, five seconds clear of Hannah England’s (Bud Baldaro) best of 4:23.
Gold Coast bronze medallist Melissa Courtney (Rob Denmark) and Rosie Clarke (David Harmer), who finished a second behind Tracey last year, return to action for the first time since April, while Harriet Knowles-Jones (Paul Roden), who won the BUCS 6.5km cross country in February, also takes to the streets.