Rory Leonard on breaking the British 10km record

The European under-23 10,000m champion reflects on his Valencia race and the journey that has led him to become a British record-holder

Rory Leonard made history last weekend (January 12) in Valencia as he broke the British 10km record with a remarkable time of 27:38. The 23-year-old slashed six seconds off the previous mark, which was held by both Mo Farah and Emile Cairess.

Farah’s time came in the 2010 Vitality 10,000, while Cairess matched it in Valencia three years ago.

While Leonard’s victory was impressive, running through 5km in 13:45, he admits it wasn’t entirely unexpected, explaining that breaking the record had been his goal all along – despite feeling some struggles around the 3km mark.

Leonard wasn’t the only Brit with a standout run in Valencia. Charlie Wheeler finished as the second-fastest Brit and also ran quicker than the previous national record and Leonard’s training partner, Efrem Gidey, broke John Treacy’s 40-year-old Irish record by three seconds with 27:43.

Though Leonard hadn’t raced a 10km on the road since 2022, his recent performances showed him he was on the right track.

At the European Cross Country Championships in Antalya, Leonard placed ninth overall, finishing as the top Brit and winning team bronze. He also earned a spot on the British team for the European Championships in Rome last summer, running the 10,000m.

The last 10km Leonard ran on road was when he ran 29:03 in Bordeaux in 2023. The year before that he lived in America while studying at the University of Arkansas, where both his parents honed their running.

His father Tony was a former British international, while his mother Sharon was a medallist in English Schools and National Cross Country championships. However, Leonard reflects on the move to Arkansas as something that wasn’t the right fit for his development as an athlete.

Now, Leonard trains with Team Makou, a professional group supported by Hoka and coached by Andy Hobdell. The team, which includes athletes such as Callum Elson, Scott Beattie, Ellis Cross, Efrem Gidey and Sarah Astin, has been making waves with stellar results.

Rory Leonard (Mark Hookway)

How did it feel to run the British 10km record?

Coming across the finish line, knowing that I’d actually done it was pretty cool because from 5km, you’re in a little bit of panic mode because you’ve never run that fast before on the road.

I felt terrible at 3km. I was feeling pretty…