Terrific times at Telford 10k: England 10k Championships
The England 10km Championships returned to Telford over the weekend. With wet and windy conditions rivalling the snow of last year, it was a well-fought battle on the road for the athletes.
Known for its lightning fast times and fairly flat surface, there were 52 men dipping under 30 minutes, with 23 women breaking 34 minutes.
After the first lap in the men’s race, it was the Welshman Dewi Griffiths (Swansea, Kevin Evans) who was accompanying Marc Scott (Richmond and Zetland) over the line clocking 14:51 for the first 5km. They were very closely followed by a tight pack of seven athletes, with Highgate’s Alex Lepetre (Highgate) leading the chase pack.
Putting his foot on the gas in the second half of the race, Scott showed his speed and pulled away from the group to take the title (28:36) with the battle for 2nd to 4th place very much still to play for. It was the brothers from Milton Keynes who claimed the final two spots on the podium with Charles Wheeler (MK Distance Project, James Bennett) just pipping his brother George (MK Distance Project, James Bennett) over the line, despite finishing with the same time (28:40). Falkirk’s Scott Stirling ran a stellar race, but just missed out to the Wheeler brothers.
In the women’s race, there was a fantastic range of contenders from 800m specialist Alex Bell (Pudsey & Bramley, Andrew Henderson) to previous England half marathon representative, Lauren McNeil (Hallamshire).
After the first lap, it was Lauren McNeil who was in the lead with eventual winner, Georgia Bell (Leeds City), hot on her heels. Alex Bell came through in 6th place chasing the athletes ahead of her. Remaining close throughout Georgia Bell and Lauren McNeil had a change of leadership, with Georgia putting in a surge to finish on top, three seconds clear of the Hallamshire athlete in 32:23. Lauren crossed the line in 32:26 with Olympian Alex Bell completing the England podium (32:59).
England 10k Championships results
Men
1st Marc Scott 28:36
2nd Charles Wheeler 28:40
3rd George Wheeler 28:40 (28:39 chip)
Women
1st Georgia Bell 32:23 (32:22 chip)
2nd Lauren McNeil 32:26 (32:20 chip)
3rd Alex Bell 32:59 (32:56 chip)