The Great Run Series drew to a conclusion this year in cool, cloudless and relatively still conditions as 25,000 runners took part in this year’s edition of the Great South Run in Portsmouth which was staged over two days.
The Great South Run is Europe’s biggest ten mile road race and the event has been awarded a five-star certification rating by European Athletics Running for All.
The weekend kicked off with the 5km which featured one of the country’s breakthrough athletes of the season in race walker Tom Bosworth, who finished sixth in the 20km walk at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in a British record of 1:20:13.
Bosworth elected to walk the distance and set the runners a challenge: to try and run the distance faster than he can walk it.
She's off, near the front, @Garmin is on for pace!The number of people is insane, good luck everyone! @hannahmills1988 #GreatSouthRun pic.twitter.com/AEq8YVHndS
— Saskia Clark (@ClarkSaskia) October 23, 2016
While slightly outside his British record of 18:54.18 in his first competitive race since the Olympics, Bosworth crossed the finish-line in 20:10 and was beaten by just 40 runners. The prize for those finishers was free entry into next year’s edition of the Great South Run.
“Starting off with the front runners meant we set off at a good pace which actually really helped me. It was a lot faster than I thought it would go which just shows I haven’t lost too much fitness.
“I think I did all right, I don’t think they will be too disappointed – not too many free entries next year!” he joked with reporters after the event.
But the pinnacle of the weekend was Sunday’s ten mile event. The race has been won in the past by all-time distance running greats such as Sonia O’Sullivan, Derartu Tulu, Paula Radcliffe and Vivian Cheruiyot and Tirunesh Dibaba added her name to that illustrious roll-of-honour.
Tirunesh Dibaba and Chris Thompson were victorious over ten miles at the Great South Run in Portsmouth on Sunday. #GreatSouthRun pic.twitter.com/kwBPkrtSi6
— Running for All (@runningforall) October 24, 2016
On her racing debut at the distance, Dibaba clocked 51:49 ahead of team-mate Senbere Teferi (52:51) with Elizeba Cherono from the Netherlands third in 53:54.
There was a British winner in the men’s race for the first time since Mo Farah in 2009 with Chris Thompson closing his season with victory in 47:23 with Andy Vernon - who beat Thompson in the Great Birmingham Run last weekend - second this time in 48:09.
The event gave participants the chance to run through Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard, passing iconic landmarks such as HMS Victory, HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose Museum. Organisers have estimated that four million pounds was generated for charitable and not-for-profit causes from this year’s race.
Entries are open for the Great South Run, Great South Run 5k and the Junior and Mini Great South Run which will take place over the weekend of October 21-22 2017.
Runners signing up for next year’s 10 mile event can take advantage of 25% off their entry fees, for a limited time only. For more information, visit Greatrun.org/South.
The European Athletics Quality Road Race standards act as an assurance for road runners throughout Europe. They distinguish between races that respect the standards and those that haven’t sought certification or assessment. They form the foundation of Running for All, a strong recognisable brand for running activities throughout Europe.
More information on Running for All:
Website: european-running4all.org
Twitter: @runningforall
Contact: [email protected]