James Rhodes has just about dried off from the torrential weather that visited the British Championships in Manchester this weekend to bring you the weekend round up.

Marvellous Manchester

Some of Britain’s best athletes spent their weekend in Manchester for the British Championships. Acting as the trials for next month’s World Championships in Budapest, plenty was to play for. The weather gods had plenty to say, too.

Over the course of twelve and a half laps that made the men’s 5000m, it went from wet to biblical. In torrid conditions, Tonbridge’s James West had one of the best runs of his career to take the win in a strong field. Emile Cairess had made a move at the bell, but James stuck with him to lead to a thrilling end to the race. He finished in 13:42.03 ahead of Cairess’s 13:43.17 with Tom Mortimer third (13:44.29).

Photo: James Rhodes

Osian Perrin, in his first race of the year, improved his PB to 13:47.07 in fifth.

After going out in 80 second laps, Jess Warner-Judd made a break (30 second 200m!) after the halfway point of the 5000m that proved to be decisive. She got to enjoy a solo closing end of the race, finishing in 15:53.50 to secure her third 5000m British title.

Behind her, Amy Eloise Markovc secured her spot in Budapest in second (15:58.87) with Abbie Donnelly third (16:04.78) in her Hoka debut. Fast Running’s Hannah Irwin (16:09.77) finished sixth.

Photo: James Rhodes

Middle Distance Magic

After a career with more than its fair share of injury, Katie Snowden has had an excellent start to the season. Since moving to Flagstaff to train with Under Armour, she’s improved her 1500m best to 4:00.04 and run close to sub-two in the 800m.

It should come as no surprise therefore that she was able to match Laura Muir’s burst of speed in the 1500m final, and it was delightful to see her stay strong to secure her maiden British Championship title (4:09.86). It was also her first ever victory over Laura.

Photo: James Rhodes

Laura finished second (4:10.24), with the pair securing their spots in Budapest. Melissa Courtney-Bryant finished third and, having the standard, will likely take the third spot at the Worlds.

The men’s race was one of the most anticipated of the weekend, with four athletes chasing the two available spots on the Worlds team. Running in a downpour (understatement), George Mills took control for much of the race, with the remaining protagonists close behind.

A thrilling last lap saw Neil Gourley finish victorious (3:46.16), with Elliot Giles (3:46.48) close behind in second. The pair will be in Budapest. Whilst making the Manchester podium in third, George Mills (3:46.57) will not be on the team, with Josh Kerr guaranteed the third spot as an Olympic medallist. Matt Stonier, who also had the standard, was fourth (3:46.95).

Two Lap Fun

The front of the women’s 800m went to the form, with Keely Hodgkinson (1:58.26) taking the victory in a Stadium Record, and the fastest at the British Championships since 1996. Jemma Reekie (1:58.93) and Alex Bell (2:00.68) ran their fastest times of the year to complete the podium.

Photo: James Rhodes

Spare a thought for Issy Boffey, who took the pace on for the first lap but faded to finish fifth (2:02.78). Steph Driscoll, training partner of Keely, set a PB of 2:03.05 in seventh.

The men’s 800m lived up to its billing, and exceeded the expectations of the author of this round up! Max Burgin, who had not raced this year before this weekend, took the race by the scruff of his neck to reach halfway in 49.74. He held the pace to 600m, with a commanding lead on the rest of the field.

However, the lactic kicked in on the home straight, and he dramatically fell over the line. It allowed Dan Rowden and Ben Pattison to sneak ahead, with Burgin third. Just three hundredths separated the trio; 1:45.13, 1:45.15 and 1:45.16 respectively. The top three all ran SBs.

Photo: James Rhodes

The steeplechases went to Will Battershill (8:44.19) and Poppy Tank (10:02.77 PB). Impressively, it is the latter’s first year of trying the event.

On the Roads

Most eyes may have been on Manchester, but that’s not to say there was nothing else happening this weekend.

One of, if not, the fastest winning times of the weekend went to Jonny Mellor (28:49) and Gemma Steel (33:11) at the Wilmslow Summer 10k on Sunday. Heather Townsend (33:25), Sally O’Gorman (34:50), Thomas Charles (30:41) and Jason Hall (30:45) ran well to complete the respective top threes.

Plenty of athletes took to the tarmac in search of a fast time with, for the most part, good weather a feature for morning races. Dewi Griffiths (30:58) had a commanding victory of almost two minutes at the Ammanford 10k, with Janneke van Beijnum (41:31) the fastest female.

Kelly Edwards (36:52) and Jamie Hnatushka (33:53) took first place at the Coventry Northbrook 10k, whilst the Evesham Town 10k went to Tom Evetts (33:08) and Tallulah Robin Redmond (38:15). Oliver Randall (31:56) and Annabel Gummow (33:49) recorded fast times and victories at the Chelmsford High Easter 10k.

Still Going

Matthew Sutherland (34:48) and Gayle Lindsay (43:04) had success at the Crieff 10k, as did Lucy Fairclough (38:20) and Matthew Wall (33:18) at the Lancaster Celebration of Running 10k. Charlotte Knowles (38:55), finishing fourth overall, and Tomasz Pyznar (36:37) won the St Aidan’s 10k.

Martin Klavon (35:06) and Belinda Houghton (37:35) recorded victories at the Blackpool Summer 10k. They must like to be beside the seaside!

Ben Kruze (34:17) and Leanne Finch (38:52) won the Holkham 10k. Katie Godof (39:10) and Steven Baldwin (33:16) did the same at the Bedfordshire AAA 10k.

Tom Straw (31:02) ran well to win by almost a minute at the Normanby Hall 10k. Sophie Wallis (33:59) had an even more impressive winning margin of over six minutes from Venika Moverley.

Finally of the 10k races, there were victories for Simon Fraser (34:59) and Charlotte McGinn (43:53) at the Mitre 10k, Susannah Richardson (49:16) and Matthew Hoyle (43:48) at the Stock Lane Stinger, and Tom Hodgson (32:59) and Margaret Beever (40:22) at the Helen Windsor 10k.

Longer Distances

There were a flurry of longer races this weekend also. They included the Lancaster Celebration of Running Half Marathon, which provided wins for Callum Queen (78:58) and Suzanne Walsh (98:38). Doubling the distance, Emily Williams (3:32:26) and Rod Smith (2:51:48) crossed the line first in the associated marathon.

Fancy something a bit more challenging? Maybe the Snowdonia Trail Marathon is for you. This weekend Nerys Jones (5:00:21) and James Hoad (4:04:10) were victorious. The ultra-marathon went to Becky Hoare (7:28:57) and Ricki Wynne (5:45:31). Meanwhile the half marathon went to Oliver Radford (1:51:01) and Amy Lowe (2:13:57).

Gavin Corey (74:42) and Louise Smith (87:01) won the Great Rossa Run. The Hollybank Eccup 10 went to Matthre Grieve (53:09) and Eilidh Bell (58:55).

Ending with the Ironbourne Marathon. Craig Burrows (2:50:49) and Hannah Claydon (3:23:40) added their names to the winners list. The race saw the top three run inside three hours.