Olympians Weightman and Beth Potter impress at Trafford, while there was top running in  Inverness, Liverpool, Chester, Lydd, the Balloch to Clyde Bank Half and the Inter-Counties.

Dutch athlete Bart van Nunen won the men’s race at the Trafford 10k on Sunday (March 10) from Ireland’s Conor Dooney by five seconds in a classy 29:26.

Irish international and Bedford athlete Matt Bergin was just eight seconds behind in 29:39 to take the third spot.

Weightman’s winning time of 31:59 in the women’s race was a hugely impressive result in horrendous wind and rain on the Trafford course. That time also represented a notable PB for the Steve Cram-coached Morpeth Harrier.

While Weightman is more often seen racing on the track, second placed Beth Potter is just as likely to be seen in a tri-suit as a running vest as she pursues careers in both elite triathlon and athletics.

Impressively Potter equalled her 10,000m track PB with a superb 32:03 clocking to just beat her previous road best of 32:07. 

Photo: Pete Brown

Weightman’s 31:59 clocking sees her jump to 12th on the UK all-time rankings, with Potter dropping one place to 13th.

There was another Irish athlete on the podium with Birchfield Harriers’ Sarah Treacy debuting over the distance with a strong 34:16 result.  

GB marathon and mountain runner Robbie Simpson retained his Inverness Half Marathon title in convincing fashion, despite ferocious wind and driving rain.

Photo: Inverness Half Marathon

The 2018 Commonwealth Games marathon bronze medallist won in 66:15 and said afterwards: “It was so bad towards the end that I’m convinced a seagull had come to a complete halt in mid-flight. I don’t normally mind the wind and rain too much but it was bitterly cold as well. I was running low on energy over the final 20mins and wanted to take a gel with some water but my hands were so numb I couldn’t do it.”

GB ultra international Michael Crawley from Corstorphine AC was second behind Simpson in 68:40 while Edinburgh’s Mike Christoforou, the Scottish cross country bronze medallist, finished third in 69:07.

There was a phenomenal run to win the women’s race from Lytham St Anne’s RR’s Liz Abbott, who took nearly 10 minutes off her PB in her first half marathon in a decade to win in a top class 76:52.

Photo: Inverness Half Marathon

Abbott finished 20th overall, which should boost her confidence ahead of next month’s Manchester Marathon.

Garscube Harriers’ Katie White was second in 77:34 to follow up on her win here in 2017, while Hungarian international Fanni Gyurko of Central AC and the victor in 2016, was third in 78:51.

Rotherham’s Dan Kestrel and Sheffield’s Ellen McLeod swiped the top prizes at the Liverpool Half Marathon on Sunday (March 10), while Southport’s Mark Dunham and Penny Lane Striders’ Liz Turner were first across the line in the city’s 10M event.

Kestrel was dominant in victory in the half when he ran 71:01 to win from Liverpool Harriers’ Alistair Rutherford’s 72:56. There was another big gap back to the third placed Andrew Barron from Manx Harriers, who posted a 75:37 result.

McLeod’s winning time was 88:00 exactly, a fine time in the strong winds, with second placed Eleanor Jones running 89:47 and Sally Waterworth’s 89:59 ensuring she also made the podium.

Dunham was also a convincing victor in the Liverpool 10M, crossing the line in 56:08 to runner up Matthew Taylor’s 56:57 for South Cheshire Harriers. Tom Garbett took third in 57:11.

Turner enjoyed a tighter battle for the win with Northern Masters’ Alison Reid, their times 70:12 and 70:36 respectively. Claire Haslam was also under 71 minutes with a 70:55 clocking.

The Chester 10k saw an enthralling finishing sprint between Meirionnydd RC’s Tomos Roberts and City of Stoke’s Jamie Arnold on Sunday (March 10). 

Roberts just won the battle by a second in 31:49 to Arnold’s 31:50. Patrick Townsend took third in 32:26.

It was an all veteran women’s podium at Chester, with Pontefract’s Faye Lightowler taking the top spoils in a strong 36:49. Ellesmere Port’s Carol Parsons was the second prize winning master in 37:35 while Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton’s Helen Sahgal took third in 38:35.

The Brett Lydd 20M and Half Marathon saw some gutsy performances in the gales and rain on Sunday (March 10).

Cambridge Harriers’ Ben Shearer was a clear winner of the men’s 20M race in 1:51:50 from Cambridge & Coleridge’s Thomas Stevens, who ran 1:55:31. 

The current results have an unattached ‘Amy Redden’ finishing third overall in a phenomenal 1:58:33, but considering she doesn’t have a Power of 10 profile and can’t be found on RunBritain’s site either, it’s likely that result is incorrect.

The third man across the line was Dulwich Runners’ Jonathan Senker in 1:59:01.

Assuming the results are in need of revision for the first woman, it was Laura Judd who took the top prize in 2:09:33, with Arena 80’s Emily Proto second in 2:17:42. Dover RR’s Zoe Holmes was third in 2:19:08.

Dartford RR’s Hazel Behagg topped the Brett Lydd Half Marathon women’s podium in a decent 85:25 from Eastbourne’s Natalie McCreath’s 95:28. Invicta East Kent’s Amy Old was just two positions overall behind in 97:05.

Ashford’s Nick Collins was well clear when he took the men’s race in 79:38, with Folkestone RC filling the next three positions. The club’s Daniel Voller and Ian McGilloway were second and third in 80:54 and 80:57.

Axe Valley Runners organise the hugely popular yet incredibly demanding ‘Grizzly’ trail race every year in wildly differing weather conditions. Last year saw runners battling snow while this year’s event meant those taking on the notorious Grizzly 20 miles had to contend with gales and intermittent heavy rain. 

We will update this report with the results once they become available.

East Kilbride’s Grant Baillie and Edinburgh’s Jacqueline Rainger won the Balloch to Clydebank Half Marathon, with both athletes inhabiting the V40 ranks (March 10).

Baillie won the men’s race in 71:20 from Inverclyde’s John Bell’s 72:47, while Bellahouston Harriers’ Gregor Yates took third in 73:05.

Rainger was a worthy winner of the women’s half in a time of 86:21. Bellahouston RR’s V40 Louise Ross was second across the line in 87:26, while Laura Donohoe also made the podium in 89:29.

The Big Half

Mo Farah and Charlotte Purdue took the victories at The Vitality Big Half on a bright but windswept morning in London on Sunday. Farah and Purdue retained their titles and won back to back British half marathon gold.

A full report and the top 20 results can be found here.

Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships

Jenny Nesbitt and Adam Hickey won the senior battles and secured their spots on the GB team for the World Cross at the Inter-Counties Cross Country Championships at Loughborough’s Prestwold Hall on Saturday.

A full report can be found here.

parkrun

Andrew Fyfe ran 15:14 at the Dulwich parkrun to record the fastest men’s time across the UK on Saturday, while Chloe Richardson took the women’s top spot after running 16:57 at the Cannon Hill parkrun in Birmingham.

The UK parkrun top 10 can be found here.

Elsewhere

Finally, it’s not always all about speed when taking on a running challenge. Fast Running’s Robbie Britton and Dan Lawson – both GB ultra runners – embarked on their bid to break the world record for covering the 650km Jordan Trail on Thursday.

The pair are aiming to run the whole trail in under 10 days, which involves traversing mountains and deserts as well as circumnavigating large herds of sheep and wild, hungry dogs.

Britton explained how tough the going has been so far when he said ‘today we managed to cover one half marathon distance in 6.5 hours!’

So remember, it’s not always the time it takes to complete a challenge, it’s enjoying the journey along the way.

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