Abbie Donnelly won individual bronze and inspired Great Britain to team gold in the women's marathon, while their men's team-mates also impressed on a tough, twisting Birmingham course that was considerably kinder in temperature than the heatwave that had gripped the earlier days of these championships.

Sunday morning brought a different feel to Birmingham 2026 than much of the week that preceded it. After days of soaring temperatures across the track and field programme, the marathons were run in cool, overcast conditions of 12°C – a considerable relief for the 100-plus athletes who tackled a demanding, multi-lap course through the city, cheered on throughout by crowds who turned out in numbers despite the early start.

It proved to be a memorable morning for the British women in particular. Abbie Donnelly claimed individual bronze in 2:27:33, finishing behind only Hungary's Lili Anna Vindics-Tóth and champion Alisa Vainio of Finland, while her performance combined with those of her team-mates to secure Great Britain the team gold medal - successfully defending the title they won in Rome two years ago.

Competing in only her third marathon and her first at a major championships, described the race as one of constant surges rather than a steady effort. "It was quite difficult. At different parts of the race I think different people felt good so it would surge and then slow down," she said. "That last bit was about trying to go with the surge, as you never know when that would be the final break. I forgot about that hill at the end so I was trying to push up that hill."

The magnitude of the occasion was not lost on her. "It means everything. I have never done a home champs before, so to have the crowd shout 'Abbie Donnelly' was an incredible experience," she said. "This is my third marathon, so I feel like I am still learning different parts of it which is really exciting. I have not done a championship marathon before, so it was a completely different experience. It went a lot quicker, as there are so many people who you are properly racing against."

On the team result, she added: "Incredible, we were all talking about it yesterday, wouldn't it be good to win a gold like we won in Rome, so to win in Birmingham, we are so proud."

Natasha Wilson was second Brit home in fifth in 2:27:54 and was thrilled with the team outcome even without an individual medal of her own. "I am really happy with that. I think we have team gold," she said. "It would have been nice to get an individual medal, but Abbie got that bronze, so at least it was one of us. Last night when the team staff said, 'make sure you pack your podium gear', I think that was surreal in itself. We were together as a team last night, and such a good environment... nice to go out together in those stages and then about as fast as we could go, as it was about time rather than position."

Rose Harvey, 14th in 2:30:34, admitted it had not been her day individually but took satisfaction from the collective result. "It wasn't a great day for me personally, but a team gold is - I was going to say silver lining but let's say a gold lining, especially at a home champs it's really special," she said. "I knew it was going to be tough, you're either going up or down at any point so it was quite hard to get into a rhythm."

Louise Small, 22nd in 2:33:32, spoke of a course that tested every runner in the field. "Oh my goodness, it was like a washing machine, it kept going round and round. I had no idea where I was, but I loved every minute of it," she said. "I had so much support out there: family, friends. Loads of people from my partner's YouTube channel, Jog On, so many people in orange. I honestly felt like everybody out there was cheering for me."

She did not escape the physical toll, either: "It was absolutely brutal, by the last lap I was starting to get cramp in my right calf, and I was like, no, no, no. Then I got cramp in my quads and I was just trying to feather it and not go too hard too soon but you want to keep that momentum going. I was just trying to pick off as many girls that were coming back to me at the end."

Clara Evans-Graham completed the scoring team in 34th, clocking 2:40:01 after what she described as a genuinely difficult day. "That was really tough. I had a really bad day, but I just tried to keep going as I knew there was a team prize, so I tried to keep running," she said. "It was probably the hardest course I have ever done. It was a really good crowd and loads of support and flags - it was really nice but it was tough!" Like her team-mates, the collective achievement meant plenty: "It means a lot. I was in the team that won gold in Rome two years ago, we really wanted to win a team prize and try to defend our medal so happy the girls could do that and I could be part of it."

At the front of the women's race, Vainio was dominant from the gun, leading every single intermediate split from 5km through to the finish and winning by close to five minutes in a championship record of 2:22:26.

The men's race, held earlier in the morning, was won by Germany's Amanal Petros in a championship record of his own, 2:09:11, in a tightly-packed finish that saw the top nine finishers all inside 2:09:47.

Petros said: "I am someone who learns from my mistakes. I just chose one of the best tactics. I was going very well but it was not easy. At the beginning, I was going back and front, back and front - it took a little bit of energy, but I made the right decision to move.

"The road was very hard and was one of the biggest challenges today. It was not easy. In the end. I am very happy that I managed it. I trained 200km per week in Kenya, the home of champions, at 2500m. I prepared very well for this one and I was also very well mentally and physically ready."

Britain's Mahamed Mahamed led through 10km before eventually finishing seventh in 2:09:43, admitting afterwards that he had hoped for more. "Today was a tough day, I wanted more. I finished seventh but I do believe I could do more," he said. "When you are running with those guys it's tough, there's a European and a world champion medallist in the race. I just didn't have the kick right at the end. I am really happy with my performance, I was pushing at the front from the beginning. I am still learning with each race that I do, this is my fifth marathon. I am trying to progress and develop with each marathon that I take part in."

Tewelde Menges was the next Briton home in 40th (2:19:45), while Jonny Mellor ran 2:27:56 in 50th, leaning heavily on his support network to get around a course he found more testing for its constant change of direction than for any hills.

"I had loads of friends and family around the course, they were all spread out on the loop. That's probably the only thing that got me round the course," Mellor said. "I think I did stop at one point and they were there to say, 'get through it, keep going'. It's been about 11 years as a marathon runner and there have been ups and downs, I'm proud of myself for getting through it today."

On the course itself: "There were so many twists and turns, that's what I found really tough today, not the hills but the twists, there were a lot of short turns which my old ankles didn't enjoy."

Looking ahead, the 39-year-old has one eye on a new age category: "Some recovery after this, I might have a little longer than usual because my body feels like it needs it after a really tough build up, I turn 40 in December and I'd love to be in a position to chase some of those British records next year as a veteran 40."

There was disappointment for Weynay Ghebresilasie, though, who did not finish after pulling out at the 15km mark.

There was a neat piece of symmetry to round off the weekend's distance running. On Saturday, Sweden's Andreas Almgren had smashed a longstanding championship record, taking down Martti Vainio's 48-year-old 10,000m championship record of 27:30.99 from Prague 1978. A day later, in the marathon, another Vainio - Finland's Alisa, no relation to the Finnish 10,000m runner whose name had stood in the record books for so long - added her own name to the history books by shattering the marathon championship record too.

Vainio said: "I just ran from the start and felt so strong all the way. I knew I was going to run fast and just waited to see if someone was coming with me, but I just ran alone. It was pretty easy but my left leg got sore in the last lap. Still, I felt so strong. I knew I had to push myself to run fast but it felt good.

"To win a European gold for Finland means a lot to me - it all goes to my family. I really enjoyed this event. I need to keep believing that I can stay so strong and do it again. This was my big plan for the last two years and I do not have any other plans right now. I prepared in Finland as I like to train at home very much.

"I have never been to the Olympics, so maybe that is another milestone for me. Andreas Almgren (SWE, men's 10,000m champion) is my idol. I did not go to the stadium last night (to watch him) as I was already asleep. But I watched it this morning. He was great."

Marathon Men: 1 Amanal Petros (GER) 2:09:11 CR; 2 Pietro Riva (ITA) 2:09:18; 3 Gashau Ayale (ISR) 2:09:21; 4 Suldan Hassan (SWE) 2:09:24; 5 Tadesse Getahon (ISR) 2:09:31; 6 Valentin Gondouin (FRA) 2:09:34; 7 Mahamed Mahamed (GBR) 2:09:43; 8 Haimro Alame (ISR) 2:09:45; … 40 Tewelde Menges (GBR) 2:19:45; … 50 Jonathan Mellor (GBR) 2:27:56

Marathon Women: 1 Alisa Vainio (FIN) 2:22:26 CR; 2 Lili Anna Vindics-Tóth (HUN) 2:27:21; 3 Abbie Donnelly (GBR) 2:27:33; 4 Nóra Szabó (HUN) 2:27:39; 5 Natasha Wilson (GBR) 2:27:54; 6 Rebecca Lonedo (ITA) 2:27:55; 7 Sofiia Yaremchuk (ITA) 2:28:02; 8 Carolina Robles (ESP) 2:28:07; … 14 Rose Harvey (GBR) 2:30:34; … 22 Louise Small (GBR) 2:33:32; … 34 Clara Evans-Graham (GBR) 2:40:01