03 October 2016 

Great Scottish Half Marathon, Glasgow, 2 October

Callum Hawkins (coach: Robert Hawkins) showed his Olympic Games marathon performance was no fluke as he smashed the Scottish Half Marathon record by a full two minutes to win the Great Scottish Half Marathon.

It was a truly sensational run by the younger of the two Hawkins’ brothers, as he beat the likes of Moses Kipsiro by over 30 seconds, crossing the line with his head in his hands in disbelief. His 60.24 time moves him to second on the British rankings behind only Mo Farah (Alberto Salazar) and sixth on the European equivalent.

On any other day Chris Thompson’s (Mark Rowland/Alan Storey) run would have been the talking point as he finish fourth in an impressive 61.58. It’s no secret that Thompson has been plagued by injuries, an Achilles operation the latest setback, so it was great to see the 35 year old back to something like his best.

The British women were also on form, Lily Partridge taking third place in 71.39 behind Betsy Saina and Doris Changeiywo. That run was a return to form for the Aldershot, Farnham and District athlete, having struggled since the European Half Marathon Championships in July.

Partridge was closely followed by local girl Beth Potter (Mick Woods), the 10,000m Olympian revising her half marathon personal best by over a minute with a 72.07 run.

Fresh from his Paralympic Games debut, Derek Rae (Ron Morrison) took 10 seconds off his half marathon best, with the Fife T46 athlete finishing an impressive 27^th in 71.46.

In the 10km race that takes place on the same day, Jonathan Hopkins (Ridley Griffith) and Jo Moultrie (William Parker) were the winners in personal bests of 30.21 and 34.19 respectively.

Results: http://www.runbritainrankings.com/results/results.aspx?meetingid=153723

Cardiff Half Marathon, Cardiff, 2 October

Dewi Griffiths (Kevin Evans) was the leading British finisher, the Welshman running 63.14, a personal best by almost a minute as he finished in eighth place behind a string of Africans. It was a similar story in the women’s race as Rachel Felton (Christopher Frapwell) finished fifth 74.03, a season’s best and not far outside her lifetime best.

Results: http://tdleventservices.co.uk/race-results.php?event=2462

Southend 10k Classic, Southend, 2 October

Adam Hickey (Eamonn Martin) produced a 29.58 winning performance on a very windy day at his local race to see off his nearest rival by over a minute.

Results: http://www.chiptiminguk.co.uk/ps/results/Southend%2010K/48700

Chile Pepper Festival, Arkansas, USA, 1 October

Alex George (Paul de-Camps) led his University of Arkansas teammates to victory at their home cross country meeting as he finished second in 23.33 over the 8,000m course, an impressive run.

Results: https://xc.tfrrs.org/results/xc/10850.html

Paul Short Run, Pennsylvania, USA, 1 October

Kieran Clements (Ricardo Santos) showed he is in great form at this early point in the cross country season with a second place finish in 23.38, to lead his Iona teammates to victory. Also part of that team is Liam Dee (Santos) who finished twelfth in 23.57.

Results: http://www.lehighsports.com/sports/2014/6/20/PaulShortResults.aspx?path=paulshort

Washington Invitational, Seattle, USA, 1 October

Amy-Eloise Neale was third in the women’s race at her home meet, posting a time of 19.47 for the 6,000m course.

Results: http://powerof10.info/results/results.aspx?meetingid=183401

Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, Indiana, USA, 30 September

The British women were in great form as New Mexico’s Alice Wright and Calli Thackery (both Joe Franklin) finished second and fifth, separated by Bethan Knights (Shayla Houlihan) who runs for UC Berkeley. Wright clocked 16.16 for the 5,000m distance, with Knights five seconds back and Thackery running 16.30.

Results: http://www.und.com/sports/c-xc/recaps/093016aad.html