Podium Classic wins for Hauger-Thackery and Okrafo-Smart

Calli Hauger-Thackery runs 15:04 for 5km at Barrowford event in Lancashire just six days after winning European half-marathon bronze in Rome

With the Podium Classic in Barrowford on Saturday (June 15) being graded, Calli Hauger-Thackery just made it into the sub-15-minute event but ended up just outside that mark with 15:04, as 41 men finished in front of her.

She was easily the fastest woman on the day, though, and her time was just outside her 14:58 best, set over this course in 2022, for the Paris Olympic marathon-bound runner, whose 2:22:17 last October in the United States secured selection.

Hauger-Thackery’s run came less than a week after she took individual bronze when leading the GB women’s team to gold at the European Championships in the half-marathon.

Up ahead and in his first recorded pure running event of the year, triathlete Solomon Okrafo-Smart improved his best by two seconds when just getting the nod here in 14:18.

The triathlete set his previous best here last August after placing seventh in the under-20 Inter-Counties at Prestwold over a year ago.

It was another under-20, Scotsman Reiss Marshall, who was just headed, but who also set a personal record as 11 more piled in after a close race, under 14:30.

There was also a personal best for Stacey Smith in the B race with a 15:51 clocking. The 2006 and 2008 English Schools 800m silver medallist went on to win the England junior 1500m title in 2009 before taking time out, then returning in 2018 for a British 1500m indoor silver. Smith then returned to competition again last year.

A Race Overall: 1 S Okrafo-Smart (Abs Tri, U20) 14:19; 2 R Marshall (Fife, U20) 14:14; 3 B Kebede (CleM) 14:20; 4 G Taylor (Valley St) 14:21; 5 F Brodie (Morp) 14:23; 6 B Alcock (Bed C) 14:24; 7 A Durant (Sheff & D) 14:24; 8 J Fallon (Craughwell) 14:25; 9 G Chalmers (Leeds) 14:25; 10 E Jennings (Dundrum) 14:26

U20: 3 A Thompson (Fife) 14:56

Women: 1 C Hauger-Thackery (Hallam) 15:04  

B Race Overall: 1 A Royle (Corst) 15:23

M40: 1 B Butler (Wake) 15:24

Women: 1 S Smith (NSP) 15:51; 2 K Olding (TVH) 16:12; 3 H Townsend (Leeds) 16:16; 4 G Lynch (Dundrum) 16:21; 5 S Latham (Harrow, U20) 16:25; 6 C McKnespiey (Leeds); 16:25; 7 S Potter (Leeds) 16:26; 8 K Hawkins (Tip) 16:26; 9 K Wood (York) 16:35; 10 M Ryan (Dundrum) 16:38

C Race Overall: 1 T Brown (Alt) 16:08

M60: 1 J Convery (Bing) 17:23; 2 S Watmough (Warr) 17:54

Women: 1 I Holt (B’burn) 16:27; 2 J Patel (SB) 16:40; 3 Millie Jordan-Lee (AFD) 16:43

W40: 1 R Burns (Liv) 16:42; 2 E Raven (K&C) 18:13

D…