Harrison and Manthorpe crowned England Athletics 10k Champions
Samantha Harrison (Charnwood, Vince Wilson) and Alfie Manthorpe (Sheffield & Dearne, John Wood) took advantage of fantastic racing conditions at the Telford 10km to claim their national titles.
Going through 5k in 15:58 the Charnwood athlete already had a 10 second lead over the chasing group of Kate Holt (City of Stoke, Alan Morris), Hannah Irwin (Cambridge & Coleridge, James Thie), Philippa Bowden (AFD, Helen Clitheroe) and Naomi Mitchell (Reading AC, Nick Anderson). Harrison, returning to shorter distances after running a Commonwealth Games standard in October's London Marathon, put in a strong second lap to break her own course record and slice over 30 second off her 10km PB running 32:07. Kate Holt claimed the silver medal also in a PB time of 32:29 after a fantastic year. Northern Irish athlete Hannah Irwin was the third athlete over the line in 32:49 leaving Philippa Bowden to claim the bronze medal in the England champs with a huge PB of 32:55. Naomi Mitchell rounded out a full set of PBs for the top five running 33:20.
The men's race was a much more closely fought affair with a big group of 45 athletes covering the first 5km in under 15 minutes with Lucian Allison (Lincoln Wellington, James Thie) on the front . The bunching of the field lead to some inevitable slowing of paces at the dead turn at the bottom of the course allowing Paulos Surafel (TVH) to hit the front joined by Lucian Allison, Matthew Clowes (Cardiff AC) and Alfie Manthorpe (Sheffield & Dearne, John Wood). Under 23 Manthorpe had the turn of speed to claim victory and the England title in a new PB of 29:06. Lucian Allison built on his 5th placed finish at the England 10000m championships to claim the silver medal also running 29:06 (29:09 on the gun) with Matt Clowes securing the bronze in 29:08 just edging Paulos Surafel into 4th with 29:11.
The Telford 10k is one of England's most competitive 10k races with a fast, downhill starting course attracting some incredible fields. This year was no exception with 34 women running inside 36 minutes and 45 men inside 30:30. The race also attracted many of the country's best masters athletes as it acted as a qualification race for the England Athletics Masters 10k which takes place at the 2022 Bristol 10km.
England Road Running Manager, Tom Craggs was on hand to award the medals "Congratulations to the 6 medallists and their coaches and all the competitors today. Dave and the team at Telford 10km do an incredible job in attracting the best domestic talent every year and they were blessed with ideal racing conditions today."