7th November 2016
Weekend Update
7 November 2016
Age UK Leeds Abbey Dash, Leeds, 6 November
Jonny Mellor (coach: Steve Vernon) and Eilish McColgan (Liz McColgan-Nuttall) took the spoils on a wet and windy morning in Leeds, both winning by the narrowest of margins.
In the men’s race just five seconds separated the top three as Liverpool Harrier Mellor prevailed in 29.12 over fellow countrymen Adam Hickey (Eamonn Martin) and Graham Rush, ensuring England took the team title. For Rush it was a personal best by some 45 seconds.
In the women’s race, McColgan stopped the clock at 32.52 but couldn’t stop England taking the team title, with Scotland second. The Olympic 5,000m finalist went inside 33 minutes for the first time, to get the better of Katarina Wooton (Harvey Rose) and Josephine Moultrie (William Parker) who rounded out the podium places.
Results: http://results.sporthive.com/events/6193714252423891968/races/395713
New York Marathon, New York, 6 November
2016 Paralympian Simon Lawson (Ian Thompson) produced an impressive display of wheelchair racing to finish sixth in a competitive field in New York. Lawson crossed the line in 1:40.12, in a race won by the Switzerland’s Marcel Hug, who completed his season winning all six major marathons in 2016.
In the women’s wheelchair race, Jade Jones (Ian Thompson/Tanni Grey-Thompson) came through in sixth place in 2:03.16, with compatriot Mel Nicholls (Job King) just two places behind in eighth clocking a time of 2:13.10.
Scottish Athletics National Short Course XC Championships, Renfrew, 5 November
Laura Muir (Andy Young) returned to racing with a bang on bonfire night, the British 1500m record holder streaking away from the field early on to retain her 4km title. As you’d expect it was a dominant performance from Muir, who took victory by 40 seconds from GB cross country international Rosie Smith (Bryan Mackay), who just got the better of Morag MacLarty (Derek Easton).
In the men’s race, Falkirk Victoria Harrier Ben Stevenson (John Pentecost) took advantage of a few missing Olympians to take his first Scottish senior title. Running a well-judged race, the multiple-time Scottish international moved through in the closing stages to take the win ahead of Tewoldeberhan Mengisteab.
English Cross Country Relay Championships, Mansfield, 5 November
In this classic early season cross country relay around Mansfield’s Berry Hill Park, Aldershot Farnham & District romped to victory in both the men’s and women’s races with their Olympians putting in star performances.
In the women’s race Steph Twell (Mick Woods) ensured the team in red, white and green were never headed, as she produced the quickest leg of the day before handing over to Louise Small and Emily Hosker-Thornhill (both Woods) who ensured the club would continue their dominance in women’s endurance events.
It was a similar story in the men’s race as Olympian Andy Vernon (Nic Bideau) took the AFD quartet from fourth to first on leg three, opening up a gap that could and never would be closed. Joshua Grace (Woods) ran a quality first leg to put the Hampshire club in fifth, a run that later turned out to be one of the top ten fastest of the day. Harvey Dixon (Woods) gained a place on leg two before Vernon tore through the field and out of site. In the end Jonny Hay (Woods) had a relatively simple task, and he brought Aldershot home clear of runners-up Tonbridge and late movers Bristol & West AC, who took the bronze.
It was Tonbridge who took a closely fought under 20 men’s title ahead of AFD and Preston Harriers. The University of Birmingham took the junior women’s title, whilst Harriet Knowles-Jones (Paul Roden) posted the fastest time of the day by almost 30 seconds, which bodes well the for the European Cross Country Championship silver medallist ahead of the 2016 edition of that event.
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