Mo Farah and Paula Radcliffe Racing Bupa London 10,000m This Monday

By  BUPA London 10,000m
May 23, 2011

Jo Pavey will take on Paula Radcliffe at the Bupa London 10,000 on bank holiday Monday (30 May), while Mo Farah faces a formidable challenge from fellow British internationals as he defends the men’s title at this annual road race held on the route of the London 2012 Olympic marathons.

Fresh from her promising marathon debut in London last month, the 37-year-old Pavey will challenge the world record holder in a race that incorporates the first UK national 10km road championships. Pavey finished 19th at the Virgin London Marathon on 17 April in two hours 28 minutes 24 seconds.

Although her 10km best is nearly a minute and a half slower than Radcliffe’s world record, the Exeter athlete is keen to give her illustrious compatriot a run for her money.

“I am looking forward to racing in London over the Olympic marathon route,” said Pavey. “Of course, Paula will be favourite but I have recovered well from the London Marathon and hopefully I can be competitive. It’s great to see Paula back up and running again – hopefully she will inspire us all to some fast times.”

Radcliffe, who’s returning to action after 18 months out of the sport, set the world 10km record in San Juan in February 2003, just two months before she smashed the world marathon record in London, clocking 2:15:25. This will be her first competitive outing since giving birth to her second child, Raphael, in September last year as she looks towards an autumn marathon and the Olympic qualifying time of 2:31:00.

While Pavey will be Radcliffe’s main threat, the 37-year-old mother of two faces a further 10 British athletes who have run 10km in under 33:30, including international cross country runners Julia Bleasdale and Gemma Steel, and marathon internationals Susan Partridge and Alyson Dixon. Partridge ran a PB at this year’s Virgin London Marathon while Dixon won the Brighton Marathon on 10 April.

Farah set a national and course record of 27:44 in the men’s race last year when he defeated Kenya’s world record holder Micah Kogo. This time he faces a group of talented British internationals in a field containing 11 men who have broken 29:30.

Among them are Dan Robinson, the 2006 Commonwealth Games marathon bronze medallist, Andrew Lemoncello, who was eighth in the 2010 London Marathon, Phil Wicks, who was fourth in this race two years ago, and Scott Overall, who was seventh in the recent Great Manchester Run.

Farah is making his first appearance on home soil since February when he broke the European 5000m record in Birmingham’s National Indoor Arena. Since then, the country’s number one men’s distance runner has retained his European indoor 3000m title in Paris and won the New York City Half Marathon in another British record.

All the big names will be going for individual honours in what is the third event in the runbritain Grand Prix road race series, while some 450 athletes will compete for club teams in the UK 10km championships where the first three finishers’ times will count towards the team prize.

Behind them will be up to 10,500 fun runners, celebrities and charity fund raisers looking for lifetime bests and personal satisfaction.

Leading runners and their best times:

Men

Mo Farah                         Newham and Essex Beagles        27:44
Andrew Lemoncello        Fife                                                28:47
Matt O’Dowd                   Notts AC                                        28:48
Scott Overall                   Blackheath & Bromley AC            28:49
Marius Ionescu                Altrincham                                     28:54
Phil Wicks                       Belgrave Harriers                          28:54
Gavin Thompson            Altrincham                                     29:02
Phil Nicholls                     Tipton Harriers                              29:07
Ian Hudspith                    Morpeth Harriers                           29:08
Dan Robinson                 Stroud AC                                     29:12
Russell Dessaix-Chin      Belgrave Harrier                            29:22
Michael Skinner              Blackheath & Bromley AC            30:16

Women
Paula Radcliffe               Bedford & County AC                   30:21
Jo Pavey                         Exeter                                            31:47
Gemma Steel                  Charnwood                                    32:51
Julia Bleasdale                Hillingdon                                       33:00
Lucy Elliott                       Winchester                                    33:02
Justina Heslop                 Clapham Chasers                         33:11
Hannah Whitmore           Charnwood                                    33:11
Susan Partridge              Leeds City                                     33:19
Alyson Dixon                   Chester le Street AC                     33:26
Juliet Doyle                     Charnwood                                    33:27
Caroline Hoyte                Arena 80                                        33:27
Beverley Jenkins            Salford Harriers & AC                   33:28

The Bupa London 10,000 starts and finishes in St. James’s Park and uses Green Park as its assembly area. Runners set off at 11.00am from Birdcage Walk and follow an anti-clockwise route around the City of Westminster and the City of London via Parliament Square, Embankment, Blackfriars Bridge, Queen Victoria Street, Cannon Street, Great Tower Street, Crutched Friars, Fenchurch Street, Leadenhall Market, Cornhill, Queen Victoria Street, Puddle Dock, Embankment, Horseguards Avenue, Whitehall and via Trafalgar Square to the finish in The Mall.

Runners pass many of London’s famous sights, including Westminster Abbey, Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, The London Eye, Cleopatra’s Needle, Tate Gallery, Millennium Bridge, The Monument, Lloyds of London, Leadenhall Market, Bank of England, Mansion House, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Horseguards, Nelson's Column and Admiralty Arch. Buckingham Palace acts as the backdrop to the start and finish.

More: www.london10000.co.uk

The UK 10km Road Championships are open to UK club athletes. Clubs are invited to enter one male and one female team comprising a maximum of six runners per team. The cumulative times of their first three finishers will count towards the team prize. The prize money on offer is as follows:

Individuals: Men & Women (British only)

1 - £2000

2 - £1000

3 - £800

4 - £700

5 - £600

6 - £500

7 - £400

8 - £300

9 - £200

10 - £100

Teams: Men & Women

1 - £2000

2 - £1000

3 - £750

4 - £500

5 - £300

6 - £200

The runbritain Grand Prix comprises five events:

•    Reading Half Marathon – Sunday 20th March

•    Bristol 10k – Sunday 15th May

•    BUPA London 10,000 – Monday 30th May

•    Admiral Swansea Bay 10k – Sunday 25th September

•    EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon – Sunday 23rd October.

Points are awarded to the leading 250 British finishers from the men’s and women’s individual races. The first British finisher is awarded 250 points, down to one point for the 250th British finisher. A runner’s best four individual points scores from the five races counts towards their overall runbritain Grand Prix total. Runners can also gain time bonus points. Prize money is awarded to the leading 10 men and women overall with £3000 going to the winners.

For more details go to: www.runbritain.com/grandprix

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