International athletes rubbed shoulders with Brits with PBs galore in Cardiff on August 24, plus news from the Antrim Coast Half
Bute Park was at its picturesque best as the series came to a close and saw a 5km victory for the Adidas- sponsored Baldvin Magnusson in 13:47.
The 25-year-old Iceland-born athlete, who won European under-23 5000m bronze in 2021, won by a second from Jack Kavanagh and Matthew Ramsden.
Magnusson’s time was outside his track best for the distance of 13:20.34, set in Spain in April, but was enough to see off the challenge from his rivals after the trio had broken away.
There was a breakthrough for Holland Sports’ Jack Kavanagh who had three victories this summer in the National Athletics League Premiership.
That was for Woodford Green with Essex Ladies and his effort here moved him up from a 14:21 time and 17th in this event last year, to hack 15 seconds from his previous best with 13:48.
This was one second to the good of third placed Matthew Ramsden, whose 13:49 helped his sports goods company sponsor to a team victory and was half-a-minute inside his own previous best.
Baldvin Magnusson (Paul Stillman)
The women’s race was taken by Herne Hill Kiwi Georgie Grgec with 15:34, some 13 seconds to the good of Jess Gibbon, who just got the nod for second ahead of Wales’ Beth Kidger.
Grgec’s time was 11 seconds inside her previous best set back in May in another Podium race, which came after a 41st place in the World Cross-Country Championships.
The previous week, Jess Gibbon, the South of England cross-country champion, had posted a personal best 5km of 16:03 at Colchester, but went 16 seconds quicker here with 15:47. Kidger was also in new territory with the same time after moving up from ninth here last year.
Behind, Holly Dixon and Poppy Tank were also inside 16 minutes and, as in the men’s race, there were a plethora of other personal bests.
Very deep in the women’s field and in her umpteenth race of the year, top ranked and multiple age group champion Olivia Forrest improved her best to 16:34. The 15-year-old was not too far ahead of Reading’s Lizzie Sheridan’s 16:48, whose own new mark put her second on those under-15 rankings.
Podium Home Nations 5km (Paul Stillman)
Overall (5km): 1 B Magnusson (Adidas) 13:47; J Kavanagh (ENG) 13:48; 3 M Ramsden (Adidas) 13:49; 4 J Escalante-Phillips (BLT) 13:53; 5 J Cann (Adidas B) 13;56; 6 F Curtin (P’pridd) 13:58; 7 J Ward (Oxf U) 14:00; 8 A McMillan (SCO) 14:00; 9 P Norman (Adidas) 14:01;…
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