Clare Elms runs 18:20 clocking on Tuesday in south London

SRI CHINMOY SPEEDY STEEDS 5km, Battersea Park, London, June 10

While there were good overall victories for Brighton Half winner Seyfu Jamaal and Folkestone 10 winner Helen Gaunt, it was W60 Clare Elms who produced the most noteworthy effort with a British best on gun timing with a 18:20 clocking.

While Elms, AW's 2019 and 2024 Master athlete of the year, has over the years set multiple world age-group bests at 800m, 1500m, Mile, 3000m and 5 mile, the W60 5km had proved a difficult target.Fiona Matheson had run 18:22 in 2023 and since turning 60 later that year, Elms had had 14 previous attempts and had run 18:24, 18:25, 18:28, 18:31 and 18:32 this year alone. In the 18:31, on a very crowded start, she had actually run 18:09 on chip time but BMAF currently insist they will only accept best times on gun.

In good conditions at Battersea it proved 15th time lucky as she passed halfway in just over nine minutes. There was a minor panic in the last 30 metres as in negotiating a lapped runner, two men who were battling away almost level with Elms clashed and in the melee, she almost tripped and fell and stumbled across the line.
Unusually Elms headed the male M60 winner in placing tenth overall in the women's race.

The winner Gaunt, who ran 2:36:25 in this year's London Marathon, set a PB of 16:40.

Second was also a W45 Alice Sunderland who got held up at a crowded start. Better known under her maiden name Braham, this run came 30 years after she finished seventh in the 1995 European Junior 3000m.
In fourth overall, Jonathon Poole led home the male vets with a 15:10 one place up on the World Masters 800m and 3000m medalist Chris Loudon.

Overall: 1 S Jamaal (Lon H) 14:31; 2 A Waluotosin (NEB) 14:54; 3 N Bester (Best A) 15:01; 4 J Poole (Serp, M40) 15:10; 5 C Loudon (Camb H, M40) 15:21; 6 B Babaker (Camb H) 15:30

M50: 1 A Bond (Dulw R) 16:25; 2 L Martin (Chelm) 16:47

M55: 1 M Weaver (High) 16:40; 2 D Gillett (S Lon) 17:41

M60: 1 G Meehan (Dulw R) 19:04

M65: 1 D Ogden (S Lon) 18:34

U15: 1 W Hughes (S Lon) 16:51

Women: 1 H Gaunt (Ton, W45) 16:40; 2 A Sunderland (Ealing E, W45) 17:18; 3 G Leyland (Herne H) 17:26

W50: 1 K Sung (M&M) 19:05; 2 D O’Brien (Kent) 19:25

W55: 1 A Smith (S Lon) 19:53

W60: 1 C Elms (Dulw R) 18:20

W70: 1 A Riddell (Serp) 26:07

W75: 1 R Tabor (Dulw R) 26:39