Perfect seaside weather at the biggest race of the weekend

Perfect weather greeted the start of the Simplyhealth Great South Run 10 mile event in Portsmouth over the weekend.  

Chris Thompson (handicap -6.6) and Eilish McColgan (handicap -3.1) reigned supreme on the south coast as they took the Great South Run titles. Under the autumn sun, Thompson secured an unprecedented hat-trick of victories as he pulled clear along the Portsmouth seafront to set a 10 mile personal best of 46:56.

Now 37, Thompson is arguably in the form of his life as he heads towards the New York Marathon, proving so as he saw off the challenge from his teammate, Andy Vernon (handicap -6.7), who finished some 30 seconds back. Running on tired legs after winning the Manchester Half last weekend, Vernon still ran a personal best of 47.23, with Petros Surafel (handicap -2.6) third in 48.05, also a PB.

In the women’s event, the race followed a similar pattern with McColgan showing great poise to take the title in the longest race of her career to date. McColgan’s fellow Scot Steph Twell (handicap -2.3) was the one forcing the pace with defending champion Gemma Steel (handicap -1.0) also in tow, eventually creating a small gap, but McColgan stayed calm and reeled her in. Running along the seafront together, McColgan had the strength to move clear inside the final mile to break the tape in 54.43, Twell crossing the line in 55.16.

Some of the biggest races were (click on highlighted link for results): 

*Provisional results

Elsewhere Andy Davies (handicap -3.2) and Rachel Felton (handicap 0.0) were  in winning mode at the Stroud half marathon.  

Paul Mizon (handicap -2.3) was a comfortable winner at the Cambridge Town & Gown 10K in a PB of 31:38. Emma Hodson was the women's winner in 37:07.