UK Athletics / Professional Running Scene Thread

Extremely embarrassing showing in the 10000 tonight (excluding everyone that toe'd the line on the track).

Obviously Not10k's was unique and world leading, but there must be some way to get a halfway decent championship race.

10000m running in the UK is in a bad way with turn outs like that. Respect to those who raced - I just wish they'd had more company.

Yesterdays BMC 5000 runners could likely have competed well

British distance runners have all gone soft. Much easier to run in platform shoes and choose a road 10k plus the obsession with the marathon.

I think it's more than that. The event has kicked on massively in recent years while ours really havent. Remember only a decade ago a woman with PBs of 4:07/15:07/31:38 won a world bronze. those times wouldn't get you anywhere near a world champs now.

The discretion heavy selection policies UKA uses means top dogs don't have to race. How many national champs have Kerr, Wightman, Keely, Bell, Muir et al not run their main event or skipped in the last five six years?

We have two women who have set European 10km records on the roads not racing it because UKA given not requirement to. Keith doesn't need it, McColgan

Accidentally hit reply early.

Keith doesn't need it and McColgan isn't even lottery funded anymore (yet somehow Marc Scott is??) so we can't even compel her via a policy that forces funded athletes to compete at X number of national champs.

Add in it being much easier to qualify for the 5000 than 10000 plus there being more money in the roads and the track ten becomes a dead zone.

This was nice to see. I often wondered if it was a bit too much too soon for her with The Olympics. She is a great talent and it seems sensible for her to focus on the U20 champs.

This is right. UKA played silly games and instead of calling it a trial race, only the winner was guaranteed a Euros selection. If it was first three across the line get selected, then we might have seen a field. As it was, it ended up being a total embarrassment of an event in organisational terms - and I emphasise I'm not dunking on the athletes that did show up. But someone like Megan Keith could have turned up and jogged to a 32-low to earn her spot, same for Scott Beattie.

They should also rethink holding the 10000 as a standalone event. When it's not at NOT10kPBs, it just doesn't work. It should be put back into the national champs. Shambolic again from UKA

Even watching live on YouTube I felt second hand embarrassment for how quiet the event was. Was there a dozen finishers across the mens and women's? 0 fans.

No10ks needs saved - BA really needs to do what it can here

Potentially important race for Scottish Commonwealth selections. Over in Rehlingen the whole field didn't go with the pacer. Jemma Reekie tried to make a hard last 400m but got fairly handily outkicked by Sarah Calvert who won the race.

Mind you I have no idea how Scotland chooses their teams, but must be an important win for Calvert.

So, I heard that there was actually a crowd there for the Loughborough International meet that preceded the 10000m races, probably a few thousand people. But there was a gap of 1.5 hours between the end of the last Loughborough race and the first 10000m race because UKA needed to setup some branding. Such a mess. Shambolic organisation.

On a more positive note, Dave Mullarkey ran 13:09 in LA which suggests he's getting towards a competitive standard. He looks like he has real talent and I think he's now with Dark Sky in the US so might actually develop as an endurance runner.

Yes, that's great. Glad to see her going for the age-group championships. Brilliant PB.

Phoebe's first comeback 800 will be the Irena Szewinska Memorial in Bydgoszcz, Poland on Friday alongside Boffey and Reekie according to today's Podium podcast.

Who is coaching Leonard?