Distance Running News, 20-24 June

25 June 2018

Ben Price continued his rich vein of form with an excellent personal best at the Bristol and West 5000m meeting held in Yate. Price was one of three Cheltenham runners in the lead pack of seven athletes that followed the pacemaker through the opening kilometre in 2:58. An identical second kilometre meant the group reached 2000m in 5:56, with Harriers Richard de-Camps and James Chantler-Mayne falling off the pace at the start of the third kilometre. This left Price in a pack that included the Bristol pair of Jack Bancroft and Ben Robinson, as well Chiltern’s Allan Stewart and Taunton’s Phil Burden. The pacemaker stepped aside after taking the athletes through 3000m in 8:55, with the Bristol athletes then pulling clear as Price tracked Burden whilst a further gap opened over Stewart. Still following the Taunton runner, Price passed through 4000m in 11:59 with a personal best almost certain, but with his prospect of a sub 15 clocking looking less likely. The GB elite duathlete responded by moving up into third and reached the bell in 13:50, before his 71 second last lap stopped the clock a 15:01.89 for a 23 second PB. However, this left Price in fourth as he was pipped on the line by just 0.11 seconds by the fast finishing Stewart as Bancroft (14:45.14) and Robinson (14:47.68) impressively took the top two spots. Alex Lee moved through from the second pack to finish eighth in 15:20.46, before de-Camps and Chantler-Mayne completed the top ten with 15:23.80 and 15:25.80 respectively. In thirteenth Eliot Taylor set a track PB of 15:41.51 that matched his best road time for the distance, whilst Charlie Jones was one place behind with 15:50.32. In the B race Dave Aubrey excelled as he lowered his PB to 16:06.68 for sixth place and veteran Mark James improved on his recent road form with 16:24.95 for eleventh position. Gareth Edwards ran a well-paced race in the D event to lower his PB to 17:42.39 for ninth, with teammate Martin Soakell one place behind with 17:52.97. The E race saw Ian Giles record 19:14.07 for eleventh place whilst Rachel See stopped the clock at 19:42.17 for fifth place in the F race.

At the British Milers’ Club Grand Prix event in Loughborough, Rachel Longstaff followed up her excellent 17:08.62 PB from the previous weekend’s England under 23 Championship with a ten second improvement to her1500m PB as she recorded 4:34.55 for third place in the ladies’ D race. Dan Owen was in action in the men’s 5000m C race where he attacked the race from the start to pass through 3000m in 8:44. Despite fading in the later stages, the Midland Champion still posted a season’s best of 14:54.71 for tenth position. In the A race Rhys Park finished in 23rd position in 14:55.93. Midweek BMC regional action saw Richard de-Camps continue his fine 1500m form as he won the 1500m A race at Tipton in a season’s best of 3:58.55 on an evening where conditions were not conducive to fast times. Meanwhile at the meeting to mark the opening of the new Birmingham University track Jacob Pickering finish fifth in the mile B race in a time of 4:32.62. On the roads Marcus England contested the Swansea Half Marathon where he ran isolated in fifth place for the last 11 miles of the race for a time of 71:49. After returning to action with a win at the Bourton Hilly Half last weekend, John Parker found an even tougher 13.1 mile event as he won the North Devon AONB off road event in a time of 87:15. The fastest parkrun by a Harrier this weekend came from Dave Tomlin at the Kingsway event in Gloucester where he finished third in a course PB of 16:56.