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First England Road Championship of 2020 this weekend

This Sunday's VeloRunner-Envisage Alsager 5 will incorporate the England 5 Mile Championships - the first Road champs of 2020.

This event is also the first of our 2020 Champions of the Road which offers individuals and club teams competing in three or more of our Road championship events the opportunity to become the outright England Athletics Champions of the Road. Click here to find out more about our Champions of the Road series.

Vying for top spot in the women's race are a number of quality athletes; Jess Judd, Kate Avery, Beth Potter, Sophie Cowper ((Rotherham Harriers) and Kate Holt are all entered.

Jess Judd (Blackburn Harriers & AC, Mick Judd) has already won her County and Regional cross country events this month and is one to watch with her running pedigree. Kate Holt City of Stoke AC, Alan Morris) also won her County XC at the start of the year and had an excellent run of results from 3000m to 5 Miles last year. Kate Avery (Shildon AC) won the recent (8k) Stirling Cross Country, and recently returned from Seveille where she competed for England.  After competing mostly at cross country and on the track, she takes to the road in ALsager for her first competitive 5M distance for 8 years. Olympian (and now concentrating mainly on triathlon) Beth Potter took 3rd at last October's Leeds Abbey Dash 10k.

The fast and flat course is ideal for clocking good times as well - and the men should be quick with Jonny Mellor (Liverpool Harriers, Steve Vernon) and Emile Cairess (Leeds City AC,  Philip Townsend) heading the field.

More used to the track and cross country U17 Ethan Hussey (Leeds City AC,  Andrew Henderson) will be another to watch making his 5 Mile debut - he won the English Schools' 1500m last year, and took bronze at the England U20 champs.

Emile opens his 2020 season having been in the top ten of last year's 10k, 10M, 10000m and 5000m UK rankings as well as top 3 in a number of cross country events of similar distance. Whereas Jonny also races his first event of 2020 with 2019 rankings of 4th and 5th in the 5M and 5k respectively, 11th in the 10M, and 4th Brit in last year's London Marathon. Andrew Miles is showing early form and has already run three events this month, with PBs in both 3000m and 5k.

2013's event winner Gemma Steele said, It is a good grounding for elite club runners wanting to make the step to international level with it being flat and fast honest course."

Click here for event website.