20th December 2010

FARAH AND THOMPSON RETURN FOR AVIVA GB & NI

20 December 2010

Following a hugely successful summer, Mo Farah and Chris Thompson (coach: John Nuttall/Mark Rowland) will return to the cross country fold as part of an 18-strong Aviva Great Britain and Northern Ireland team to take on the USA and a European Select in the Bupa Great Edinburgh Cross Country in Holyrood Park on Saturday 8 January.

The outstanding track duo – first and second respectively over 10,000m in the 2010 European Championships in Barcelona -  will lead a nine man senior team in the 8km International Team Challenge in Edinburgh, while the combined under-23/under-20  team includes the full team of Aviva GB & NI junior gold medallists from the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Portugal last weekend.

Farah – who is currently training at the UKA/London Marathon altitude training camp in Iten, Kenya – said: “I’ve enjoyed a lot of success in 2010, particularly on the track, and I want to build on that next year. I’m currently in the middle of a great block of focused of training in Kenya and I’m looking forward to returning to compete for the Aviva GB & NI team in Edinburgh alongside the boys that did a good job for us out at the European Cross.”

Ian Stewart, UKA’s Head of Endurance said: “We’ve had a brilliant 2010, most recently in the European Cross Country Championships where we finished top of the medal table. It’s great that we’ve got an early opportunity to continue the forward momentum for UK endurance running with a high quality international competition so early in the New Year. The junior boys were brilliant in Portugal winning team gold and a few of those are now going to gain even greater experience from stepping up  to the under-23 age group for the first time, while with Mo and Thommo we’ve got our strongest guys back out there with the seniors.”

Nine athletes per team will compete in the International Team Challenge – the fourth leg of this winter’s IAAF World Cross Permit series and a BBC televised meeting – with the first six athletes to complete the course receiving a score based on their position. The event will be run under IAAF rules and the team with the lowest overall score wins.

AVIVA GB & NI TEAM     

SENIOR MEN

John Beattie (John Nuttall) – Newham & Essex Beagles; Mo Farah – Newham & Essex Beagles; Tom Humphries (Phil Champ) – Cannock & Staffs AC; Ryan McLeod (John Nuttall) – Tipton Harriers; Lee Merrien (John Nuttall) – Newham & Essex Beagles; Phil Nicholls (Bud Baldaro) – Tipton Harriers; Scott Overall (Robert Chapman) – Blackheath & Bromley; Chris Thompson (John Nuttall/Mark Rowland) – Aldershot, Farnham & District); Andy Vernon (Nick Anderson) – AFD

UNDER-23/UNDER-20 MEN

 

Andy Combs (Mark Hookway/Mick Woods) – Tonbridge AC; Ben Connor (Jerry Hall) – Derby AC; Robbie Farnham-Rose (Mark Hookway) – Tonbridge AC; Mitch Goose (Tim/Pauline Ash) – City of Norwich; Ashley Harrell (Tim/Pauline Ash) – City of Norwich; Derek Hawkins (Lawrie Spence) – Kilbarchan AC; Jonny Hay (Mick Woods) – AFD; John McDonnell (John Stoker) – Luton AC; Ryan Saunders (Mick Woods) – Bournemouth