National marks aplenty as the country's age group track and field athletes embark on a record spree

British Masters athletes carried on their recent record assault with five reported world records over the weekend and a number of UK marks and it would have been more but for an officiating error at Nuneaton.

The top performance came from M65 John Wright, who a week after setting a British record ran a 24.47/0.8 200m in the Masters Grand Prix in Sheffield. The time bettered the world record age group time by the legendary US Masters sprinter Charles Allie of 24.65.

Wright also set a British M65 record 12.38/0.4 at 100m breaking the joint 12.43 record held by Steve Peters and himself both in  winning world masters golds in 2018 and 2024 respectively.

Another world champion Ian Broadhurst improved his UK 300m hurdles record to 47.72.

Sarah Roberts had already set W75 world records at 800m, 1500m, mile, 3000m and 5000m this summer and in the British Masters 5000m championships at Nuneaton on Sunday she improved her world record from 22:40.15 to 22:30.18.

Why that time looks highly impressive for a 75 year-old it should be pointed out she has run significantly quicker on the road (21:33 in May) and parkrun (21:38) and it's only her 18th fastest performance over the distance this year if you include road and parkrun!

Roberts set off quickly and followed the W55 champion Kate Ramsey through the first kilometre but on the second half she paid for her fast start and had to have a few walking breaks. Clearly with better pacing she can run a lot quicker than her current 5000m record.

The age-grading awarded at the meeting was actually a lot more impressed by Steve Peters' efforts. The 72-year-old sprinting legend just missed his European and UK M70 record with a 26.16 in an open 200m and ran 12.90 in the 100m.

The other world records at Nuneaton came in the rarely run but increasingly more popular 4x800m relays for British W45 and W60 teams.

The W60s took six seconds off USA's 10:45.23 set in July aided by their multiple world record-holder Sue McDonald.

The UK team were given a strong start by Virginia Mitchell who had set an European W60 indoor 800m record behind McDonald in the World Masters indoors in Florida.

Needing an average of 2:41.3, Mitchell gave them time in hand with a 2:32.3.

Elke Hausler, the British Masters 800m silver medalist behind Mitchell, started fast while running in isolation like all her team-mates and found the second lap hard but with a 2:47.7, the team still had some seconds in hand at halfway.

Christine Anthony, a multiple European medallist at 800m and 1500m, kept Britain in contact with the record on the third leg with a 2:49.1.

It meant on the final leg, Clare Elms, who had already set world records this summer at 1500m and mile, needed a time around 2:35 to ensure another record.

Staying controlled and now focusing on more endurance training for the autumn, she held her form on the second lap and virtually matched her UK outdoor record with a 2:29.8 as the team improved the record to 10:38.86.

The W45 team had an even tougher task and it was a much closer call as they chased Ireland's 9:26.49 from last year.

This required an average of 2:21.6 and the team were given a strong start from W45 steeplechase world record-holder Kirstie Booth who led off with a 2:18.

World Masters indoors bronze medallist Maria Shaw matched her best time this year with a 2:24.

Eleanor Carney, who comes from a parkrun background and has never previously competed in a Masters Championships, ran a strong 2:22 and the record was now a definite possibility.

On the last leg World Masters Indoors 800m and 1500m champion started very fast and knew she needed around 2:21 for the record which she did on the button as they timed 9:26.38 to take 0.11 off the record.

The likeliest record breakers of the three UK teams were expected to be the W65 quartet who needed to average just inside 2:57 to beat USA's 11:47.94 from May.

After a fast start from Monica Williamson (around 2:45) and W70 world mile record-holder Anna Garnier, they had plenty of time at halfway.

However, as third-leg runner Jean Fabes completed her second lap and tried to hand the baton to British record-holder Karen Brooks, an official wrongly insisted she had to complete another lap. That extra painful lap obviously cost them the world record.

It would have at least been a British record but even though it was not their fault and they had run extra distance, the team was disqualified. The extremely upset quartet will be given another opportunity in a specially arranged event a day before the BMAF Championships next month.

There was a further world 4x800m record that day though further north in Bury.

There the M35 team were chasing Spain's 7:51.47 from 2016 and they destroyed the record by 17 seconds.

The team of Harry Wakefield, David Proctor, Matthew Revier and Dave Scott needed an average of just inside 1:57 and they put together an average of 1:53.5 to easily run the fastest masters time in any age group in history with 7:34.86.

Wakefield has this year set UK M35 records at 800m, 1500m and mile.

Also at Bury, British masters team manager and former world champion Dean Richardson made a successful comeback with a British M50 record of 4:28.23 to break Tony O'Brien's 4:29.26 from 2021.

The day after her 4x800m record, Clare Elms made an attempt at her own 1500m world W60 record during a mile race.

However, windy conditions thwarted her but she still ran a time that would have been a world record less than a year ago with 5:01.13.  She walked and jogged to the mile line in 5:30.89, a time quicker than her UK indoor record.

While there were no other records in Sunday's BMAF event, there was plenty of top class competition.

Lisa Gawthorne won the overall women's race in a PB 18:16.67 while Nikki Sturzaker won W50 gold in 19:10.87.

M35 Ben Robinson was the fastest man by over a minute in 15:06.38.

Terry Booth won the M55 race in 16:35.86 with World Masters 5000m champion Andy Leach taking M60 gold in 16:56.36.