Highlights from the Great South Run – Elite Ladies Field.
Having myself run a speedy 3k SEAA Cross Country Relay leg at Wormwood Scrubs Saturday I felt ready to take on the competitive field at the Great South. Also having left unfinished business in 2014 when I didn’t finish feeling very ill I knew quitting wasn’t an option. It was also Zoe’s first 10 mile and my 2nd in the last 2 weeks. Having known that it was a coastal race knew it was going to be windy.
A classy line-up of over 30 women at the start lead off by none other than Tirensh Dibaba ( eventual Winner) Zoe and I battled through the headwind until the turning point at 8 miles with the last 2 miles virtually wind free. I finished 23rd in a respectable time of 60:22 ( although disappointed not to break the hour) and then Zoe V Smith (28th) not far behind and in a PB of 61:57 giving her a confidence boost and a platform for a half marathon in the next few weeks.
The men’s race saw a fantastic time posted from Chris Tompson who led the field from the start and completed in a time of 47:23 ahead of his AFD team-mate Andy Vernon in 48:08. This was still not enough to beat Richard Nerurkar’s British Record of 46.02 ( Cabbage Patch).
Priority for me now is to focus on the GB50k Doha
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