Andy Butchart, Izzy Fry and Erin Wallace among winners at BMC Watford
Andrew Butchart and Izzy Fry provided a splendid finale to a pulsating evening of running at a blazing hot yet sometimes breezy Woodside Stadium on Saturday (June 12), Stephen Green reports.
In the first BMC meeting at the venue since 2019, Butchart was out on his own after just 1000m and maintained the 62-63-second pace metronomically to run 7:43.57 for 3000m (run within a 5000m race).
The 29-year-old, who was sixth in the 2016 Olympic 5000m, was just two seconds adrift of his Scottish record and was rewarded with a £1000 prize for a BMC members' record. Runner-up Jack Rowe clocked 7:49.71.
Fry benefited from the generous pacing of Jess Judd in the women's 5000m and ran a PB of 15:49.25 to take the British under-23 title as she secured selection for the European Under-23 Championships in Tallinn.
Judd dropped back in the field to help other athletes and three junior women ran the qualifying standard of 17:15:00 for the European Under-20 Championships, which is also in Tallinn next month. These included Alice Garner, who clocked 16:27.84, plus Phoebe Anderson (16:31.20) and Ellen Weir (16:34.29).
In her first track race for three years, Jo Pavey, 47, was reasonably happy to return 16:21.01 as she took 40 seconds off Emma Stepto's UK W45 record.
Osian Perrin also secured selection for the European Under-20 Championships with a Welsh junior 5000m record and BMC members' under-20 record of 13:53.03, inching ahead of Dom Nolan (13:53.54). Isaac Akers took the spoils and European Under-23 selection in winning the 5000m A race in a PB of 13:47.31 ahead of Rory Leonard.
Ellie Baker has made a habit of winning in recent weeks and has run inside two minutes, despite not quite bettering the Tokyo 800m standard of 1:59.50. She struck out from the bell, which was reached in around 57 seconds, to finish with 2:00.45 ahead of Jenny Selman, who improved to 2:02.10.
Racing at her local track, Baker pronounced herself satisfied with her final run as she heads towards the Olympic trials in Manchester in two weeks.
Ben Pattison was a reluctant leader in the men’s 800m A race. His 1:46.80 was a notable win, after a first lap timed around the 54-second mark with Kyle Langford 10 metres adrift in 1:47.62.
Erin Wallace has been a breakthrough athlete this year. The Scottish middle-distance runner, who made her GB debut in the European Team Championships in Bydgoszcz, eased past long-time leader and European Indoors silver medallist Holly Archer in the home straight of the women's 1500m to better her previous lifetime best with 4:08.10.
Clearly fatigued from her European 10,000m Cup heroics the week before, Judd finished third in 4:12.29.
Another breakthrough man is Matthew Stonier and he ran a 1500m PB of 3:39.17 ahead of Tiarnan Crorken (3:39.41) as both were inside the European under-23 qualifying standard, with John Howorth (3:39.85) also inside the Tallinn requirements.
The meeting had started in style with Cameron Chalmers taking the spoils over one lap in 46.07, ahead of Lee Thompson (46.27) and Joseph Brier (46.32).
The organisers would like to thank Watford Harriers for their help in putting this meet on post-lockdown.
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