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McColgan and Rowe win Vitality London 10,000 races

Eilish McColgan won the Vitality London 10,000 women's race, while Jack Rowe claimed victory in the men's event.

McColgan, who was 15th in the 10,000m at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, finished in a time of 31 minutes 36 seconds.

Lucy Reid (32:17) was second and Lily Reid (32:37) third.

Rowe crossed the line in 29:14, with Seyfu Jamaal second in 29:42 and Tewelde Menges third in 29:55.

David Weir won the men's wheelchair race in 22:13, while Martyna Snopek triumphed in the women's wheelchair event in 38:37.

The 10km race is held in central London on a route that passes famous landmarks including Nelson's Column, St Paul's Cathedral, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament before finishing at Buckingham Palace.

Eilish McColgan and Jack Rowe lead Vitality London 10,000 fields

Distance runners are part of 20,000-strong line-up the streets of London on Sunday with the Westminster Mile on Saturday

Fresh from her 67:45 at the Great North Run and victory at the Big Half earlier this month, Eilish McColgan heads the line-ups for the Vitality London 10,000 on the roads on Sunday (Sept 22).

About 20,000 runners will take part in the event the closed roads of the British capital on a route that travels past iconic landmarks such as Admiralty Arch, St Paul’s Cathedral, the Bank of England, Somerset House, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey, before finishing in front of Buckingham Palace.

Jack Rowe, the men’s winner at the Big Half and 2023 Vitality London 10,000 winner, leads the men’s fields.

Also taking part are Jo Pavey, a three-times winner of the Vitality London 10,000 and five-times Olympian, plus wheelchair racer David Weir.

The previous day, on Saturday (Sept 21), the Vitality Westminster Mile will see athletes of all ages and abilities take on the route around St James’s Park.

This includes the British Milers’ Club Bannister Mile where runners will try to break four minutes in the 70th year since Roger Bannister became the first person to run under that mark.

The inaugural BMC Bannister Mile features Joe Wigfield, ranked eighth-fastest man in the country over 1500m this year (having set a personal best of 3:36.09 in July), and Katie Snowden, fourth-fastest woman over the distance in the UK in 2024 who narrowly missed out on qualification for Team GB at the Paris Olympics.

There will also be some veteran records on the line with current masters indoor champion over 1500m, James Thie, and world-record setting hairdresser-turned-steeplechaser, Kirstie Booth, targeting history in the over-45 categories.

Eilish McColgan wins the Big Half in London

In today's Big Half Marathon in London, Eilish McColgan took the women's title, finishing with a time of 69:14, marking her return to the half-marathon scene after over a year.

Jack Rowe won the men's race clocking 1:02:58,  making a strong impression as well. The event, which celebrated its seventh edition, brought together over 16,000 participants and highlighted the vibrant diversity of London’s communities.

The race route passed through key boroughs like Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Southwark, and Greenwich, ending at the iconic Cutty Sark. 

Eilish posted this, "Loved being back out on the streets of London! ?? 

"It's been two loooong years since I last ran Big Half, so it was great to come away with the win. 

"I felt a bit flat and sluggish from the start, but I suspect racing in over 85% humidity whilst on day one of your period isn't the recipe for peak performance. 

"However, the support and cheers around the course kept me motoring through to the finish! There is nothing quite like racing in the UK. 

"One race down, several more to go."

Sir Mo Farah finishes fourth on farewell to London racing at Big Half

Sir Mo Farah bade farewell to racing in London after finishing fourth in his penultimate race at the Big Half on Sunday.

Farah’s last results saw him finish eighth in the Great Manchester Run 10K in May and ninth in the London Marathon the previous month.

The Big Half was Farah’s last race in London, with the final race of his career taking place at the Great North Run on Tyneside next weekend.

Jack Rowe came first in the elite men’s race with a time of 01:01:08, narrowly edging out fellow Briton Mahamed Mahamed who finished in 01:01:16.

Andrew Butchart was next to cross the line before Farah finished with a time of 01:02:43.

Calli Thackery finished first in the women’s elite race, with David Weir earning the top spot in the wheelchair race.

Farah reflected on an “emotional” day as his career approaches its end next Sunday.

He told BBC Sport: “It was quite emotional today because I haven’t been feeling well this week, I’ve got a bit of a cold.

“I didn’t know if I could do the race, then I was thinking about all the people coming out here and I’m not going to get another chance.

“I came out today, gave it my best but you can’t take anything away from Jack, he’s been working hard for the last three years and he’s deserved that win.

“It’s just nice to see youngsters coming along, grabbing that chance and believing in themselves.

“As I said, when you’ve achieved everything it must come to an end at some point. I’m getting on a bit and I’m kind of just looking forward to taking a break and hopefully being involved in sports, but just spending time with my family.

“Honestly, without the crowd and support I’ve had over the years it wouldn’t be the same.”

Eilish McColgan storms to course-record-smashing win at The Big Half in London

Eilish McColgan has done it again. At The Big Half 21.1K in London on Sunday, McColgan determinedly chased down victory in 67 minutes, 34 seconds, knocking over two minutes off of Charlotte Purdue‘s course record of 69 minutes, 51 seconds. McColgan was followed by Purdue in 70:15 and Samantha Harrison in 70:22.

Scotland’s McColgan, who withdrew on Friday from a much-anticipated 2022 London Marathon debut due to a condition called rebound hypoglycemia, left fans with no doubt as to her running ability. Her victory caps off a remarkable season for the athlete, including Commonwealth Games gold at 10,000m and a new British half-marathon record of 67:26.

The 2023 London Marathon returns to its regular timing in April, so McColgan will not have to wait an entire year for her London Marathon debut.  “It is disappointing and if it was up to me I would probably try and batter on, muscle through, but I know that is my heart speaking. The sensible decision is to get everything right for April,” she told press.

Legendary British athlete Sir Mo Farah ran to his third win at The Big Half in 61 minutes, 49 seconds, in what was only his second race of the season. In May, Farah lost a 10,000m race to amateur runner Ellis Cross, sparking rumours of retirement.

He announced his intention to return to the TCS London Marathon in July, and quelled some of the talk around his career with Sunday’s performance, breaking away from the pack with three miles to go. Farah was followed by Jack Rowe in 62:04 and defending champion Jake Smith in 62:10.

Mo Farah warms up for London Marathon with his third victory in the Big Half

Sir Mo Farah enjoyed a timely return to form ahead of next month’s London Marathon with a third victory in the Big Half.

The four-time Olympic champion suffered a shock loss to club runner Ellis Cross at the Vitality 10k in London in May to spark further talk of retirement.

Farah helped silence some of the external noise with an impressive run on this occasion in the capital and crossed the finish line in Greenwich with a time of 61 minutes and 49 seconds after storming clear of his nearest rivals during the last three miles of the 13.1-mile course.

It was only the 39-year-old’s third-fastest run in the Big Half but still enough to edge out Jack Rowe and defending champion Jake Smith, who finished second and third respectively.

Eilish McColgan won the women’s elite race in record time.

Scotland’s Commonwealth Games gold medallist Eilish McColgan claimed victory in the elite women’s race with a record time of 67.34 minutes but unlike Farah she will not be competing in the London Marathon after it was announced on Friday.  

Eilish posted, "67:34. Course Record

"An atmosphere running the streets of London! Happy to take the win and knock over 2mins off the course record.

"Tough running solo over the last half of the race but it was more of a challenge not to smile with everyone cheering us along." 

Farah told BBC sport, “Today wasn’t easy but most important is the win and it is nice to be back."

“It is really nice to see my family here and so many people come out. It is family-friendly but most importantly for me, it is the streets of London and just the support and atmosphere, it is brilliant and makes you want to come back every year again and again.

“The key thing for me today was to try and win, no matter what happened.

“It was to play around with things, pick up my drink and all practice ahead of the London Marathon.

“I’m excited, I’m looking forward to it. The last seven weeks it has been good, I’ve got consistent training going, so I’m happy with where I am. The next step is this afternoon I’ll fly out and get ready for the next four weeks, get my head down and see what I can do.

Farah was competing for just the second time in 2022 and eager to bounce back from his disappointment in May.

After being part of a five-man group for the first half of the London event, the multiple gold-medal winner used his experience to pull away after refuelling at the 11-mile mark.

His winning margin was slower than his 2018 and 2019 victories but provided the British athlete with a confidence booster ahead of taking on next month’s London Marathon.

Fellow Olympian McColgan will not be competing in October’s 26.2-mile race having been hit by a reaction to taking on fuel during long practice runs.

The issue has been identified as rebound hypoglycemia, a common occurrence among endurance athletes which leads to reduced blood sugar levels and means there is not enough glucose in the blood to meet the body’s demands.

But McColgan stuck to water on Sunday and bettered Charlotte Purdue’s time of 69.51 minutes last year to show she will be a force to be reckoned with if she can compete as planned in the 2023 London Marathon.

Mo Farah and Eilish McColgan will lead 16,000 strong field at The Big Half

The Big Half – London’s community half marathon – returns on Sunday (September 4) with an exciting mix of world-class racing, fundraising and community celebrations.

Leading the elite fields will be recently crowned Commonwealth Games 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan, multiple Olympic and World Championships gold medalist Sir Mo Farah, and Paralympic star David Weir.

Strong domestic fields

McColgan will be up against the reigning The Big Half champion Charlotte Purdue in the elite women’s race. A exciting domestic field also includes European Championship and Commonwealth Games performers Samantha Harrison and Calli Thackery with Olympian Steph Twell and Welsh star Clara Evans expected to make it a very competitive race.

In the men’s race while two former winners, Jake Smith and Chris Thompson, will be among those challenging Farah in the elite men’s race. They will be joined by the winner of the 2022 Vitality 10000m, Jack Rowe, 2016 Rio Olympian Ross Millington and straight off the back of a 17th place finish at the European Champs mararthon Phil Sesemann.

Commonwealth Games marathon champion JohnBoy Smith will renew rivalries with Weir in the elite men’s wheelchair race, while Commonwealth Games marathon silver medalist Eden Rainbow-Cooper is the one to watch in the elite women’s wheelchair race.

The wheelchair races will start at 08:25 and the elite men and women plus the masses will get under way at 08:30. The action will be shown live across the BBC from 08:10 to 10:30 on BBC iPlayer, the Red Button and BBC Sport website, and on The Big Half Facebook page.

Festival of running

In addition to the elite races, there will be more than 16,000 The Big Half participants, including more than 3,000 people from community groups across London. Also included in The Big Half is the New Balance Big Relay, where teams of four can take on four legs of the 13.1-mile distance, and The Big Mile, a family-friendly event over the final mile of the route.

Charlie Purdue and Jake Smith enjoy Big Half victories

Around 12,000 runners took part in 13.1-mile event in London on Sunday

Charlotte Purdue and Jake Smith put in solid performances on the roads of London as they struck victory in the Vitality Big Half on Sunday (Aug 22).

In her third win in the women’s race, Purdue improved her own course record to 69:51, which bodes well for her chances at the Virgin Money London Marathon on October 3.

In the men’s race, Smith clocked 62:06 to beat Jack Rowe by five seconds and the Cardiff runner will hope to go quicker still when he lines up in the Great North Run on September 12.

Around 12,000 runners set off in various waves as part of the return of mass participation running following the pandemic. In the race to finish first woman home, Purdue ran with Samantha Harrison in the early stages before pulling away in the second half of the race. Harrison held on for second in 70:40 as Natasha Cockram was third in 72:46.

Next came Hannah Irwin in 73:24 followed by Naomi Mitchell in 74:24 and Verity Ockenden in 74:35.

“It’s good to be back running with a crowd,” said Purdue, who was racing for the first time since February 2020 due to injury. “I was happy with the time. I was more bothered about ‘racing’ it than the clock, though. I’ve been training really hard for London Marathon so wasn’t sure how tired I’d be, although I felt okay.”

On her build-up to the London Marathon, she said: “My main aim is not to get injured and to keep training consistent and get to the start line healthy.”

Smith was part of a group with Rowe, Mo Aadan and Phil Sesemann mid-way through his race but he broke away at around nine miles and held his advantage over the chasing Rowe despite multiple nervous glances over his shoulder in the latter stages.

Smith ran 62:06 with Rowe clocking 62:11, Aadan 62:28 and Sesemann 62:47.

In fifth Andrew Heyes ran 63:10, followed by Matt Clowes in 63:40, Jamie Crowe in 64:19, Ollie Lockley in 64:26, Doug Musson in 64:36, Calum Johnson 64:38, Jonny Mellor 64:44 and Josh Griffiths 65:11.

“I came into this race as the fastest and had the pressure to deliver so to come away with the win is amazing,” he said. “It’s the first race I’ve done when they bring you forward on the start line (to introduce you to the crowd). After that I just put my head down and tried to race it.

“My aim was to throw in surges throughout and then go hard with about 5km to go. I ran a negative split as well which I’m really happy about.”

Sam Kolek won the men’s wheelchair race in 50:37 as Nikki Emerson won the women’s wheelchair category in 67:38 after Shelly Woods punctured.

Holly Archer wins European 1500m silver after being reinstated on appeal

British athletes added three more medals at the European Indoor Championships in Poland on Saturday evening.

The most dramatic came in the women’s 1500 metres, where Holly Archer celebrated winning silver only to be disqualified and then reinstated on appeal by the British team.

There was pushing and shoving throughout a scrappy race but Cambridge athlete Archer was singled out alongside Spain’s Agueda Munoz, who was also penalised.

A counter appeal was eventually rejected, and Archer said: “That was the longest wait ever. It was supposed to be half an hour but it turned into three hours. I feel absolutely delighted. To come so close and then get it taken away, I’ve been on a roller coaster, but I’m really happy to finally get that silver.”

British team captain Jodie Williams and pole vaulter Holly Bradshaw both collected bronze medals.

Williams has made the move up from the shorter sprints to 400m and was rewarded with her first individual medal at a major event since 2014 behind exciting young Dutch winner Femke Bol.

Williams, 27, ran a personal best of 51.73 seconds, and said afterwards: “It’s crazy. I came here to do a job and it’s job done. Last time I came to European Indoors I got fourth so I had to upgrade that.

I’m really happy. I got a bit boxed in, so I got a bit worried for a second. I knew I could do it. I just dug in and I’m really glad.”

Bradshaw had targeted gold but failed with her three attempts at 4.70m and had to settle for joint third alongside Belarusian Iryna Zhuk behind Swiss winner Angelica Moser and Tina Sutej of Slovenia.

The 29-year-old said: “You can’t sniff at a European Indoor medal, but I’m incredibly disappointed. I felt great. The other girls handled their jumps really well and I just didn’t quite jump as well today.

“It’s been one of my best indoor campaigns ever. Of course it’s disappointing to finish like that but, on the whole, I’ve made some really good progress and stepped it up a notch and I feel like a completely different athlete.”

Britain’s first medals of the event came on Friday in the women’s 3,000m with gold for Amy-Eloise Markovc and bronze for Verity Ockenden.

There is a strong possibility of more female success in the final of the 800m after the young trio of Keely Hodgkinson, Isabelle Boffey and Ellie Baker all qualified for the final.

Baker said: “I’m so happy. It just shows how dominant our GB middle distance girls are. I’m so proud of them as well as myself. I can’t wait for us to put on a show for everyone tomorrow.”

Jamie Webb won his semi-final in the men’s event to secure his progress but team-mate Guy Learmonth missed out.

Andrew Robertson was disappointed to miss out on a medal in the men’s 60m final, finishing fourth in a slower time than he ran in both the heats and semi-finals. Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs was a clear winner in a world-leading 6.47secs.

Robertson said: “It’s very disappointing. I’m getting to the stage where I should be running low 6.50s consistently. Jacobs running 6.47s is a fantastic time, but I should be at least challenging him with the way I’ve been running. It wasn’t a good performance tonight.”

Scotsman Andy Butchart looked impressive in qualifying for the final of the 3,000m, winning his heat in the fastest time, while Jack Rowe also made it through.

Andrew Pozzi carries strong British hopes of a medal as the reigning world indoor champion in the 60m hurdles and is looking to regain the title he won in 2017.

He stormed through the first of five heats in 7.52s, the joint-fastest time of the morning, and said afterwards: “It was a really good time. I had a great reaction from the blocks, which I’ve been missing from the indoor season, so that was really encouraging.”

In the women’s event, there were good runs from sisters Cindy Sember and Tiffany Porter, who safely qualified for the semi-finals. Sember’s time of 7.99s was her fastest since 2017 while Porter clocked 8.04s.