Ben Connor and Gemma Steel are among the English team for the inaugural competition in Cardiff.

England Athletics has named full teams for the inaugural Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships, which take place in Cardiff on Sunday, October 7.

In April, the Welsh city was named as host of the new road racing competition, and the event sanctioned by the Commonwealth Games Federation will mark the 60th anniversary of the 1958 Cardiff Commonwealth (Empire) Games.

Five of the selected eight in the England team represented Great Britain at the World Half Marathon Championships in March, and with up to 26 Commonwealth nations expected in Cardiff, it should be high-quality competition.

Ben Connor, who set a personal best of 61:11 back in February at Barcelona half marathon, headlines the men’s team, and is joined by fellow World Half Marathon GB representatives Mohamud Aaden and Dan Studley, with Cardiff AAC’s Matt Clowes completing the quartet.

It will Aaden’s second vest for England after his debut at the Granollers Half-Marathon in February. The Thames Valley athlete followed that up with a PB of 62:34 in Valencia on his GB debut.

Like Connor, Bristol & West’s Studley also set his PB of 64:23 in Barcelona, while Clowes is all too familiar with the streets of Cardiff and will look to further improve his best of 64:39.

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Gemma Steel, Tracy Barlow and Dani Nimmock are among a strong women’s team that also includes the youth of Rebecca Murray.

Photo: Keith McClure

Few can match Steel’s experience over the half-marathon distance, and the Charnwood runner’s PB of 68:13, set in 2014, is the second fastest ever by an English athlete.

British international marathoner Barlow clocked her 72:35 best at the recent World Half Marathon Championships, while City of Norwich’s Nimmock posted her 74:13 best at The Big Half in March and will hope for a good performance ahead of the Frankfurt marathon in October.

Completing the team is Bedford & County’s Murray, who made her marathon debut earlier this year in London. The 23 year old also ran her half marathon best at The Big Half clocking 73:59.

“We’ve got a great team for Cardiff and it’s an exciting opportunity for athletes to compete in this inaugural Commonwealth Half Marathon in surroundings and conditions that will be very familiar to them,” said Team Leader Charlotte Fisher. “I am looking forward to seeing how they all perform in what I am sure will be a great weekend of road racing.”

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