Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships 5000m silver medallist Elish McColgan started her winter campaign in fine fashion by winning the Great Manchester Run over 10km in a European women-only record of 30:52 (pending ratification) on Sunday (26).
The time was also a 2021 European-leading time over the distance.
The Scot showed her intention from the gun and passed thrcough 3km in 8:58 with only Sweden’s 2014 European 5000m champion Meraf Bahta for company and the rest of the field almost half-a-minute in arrears of the leading pair.
Bahta was dropped shortly afterwards and MColgan went through 5km in 15:01 – at which point there was excitement mounting that McColgan might challenge Paula Radcliffe’s absolute European record of 30:21 set 18 years ago in 2003 – and then 8km in 24:24 before crossing the line almost a minute in front of the Swede, who finished second in 31:44 and still equalled her national record from 2017.
Really happy to take the win at the Great Manchester 10k this morning! Big PB of 30:52 & 6th fastest European all-time!????
— Eilish McColgan (@EilishMccolgan) September 26, 2021
Gutted to miss the course record of Tirunesh Dibaba by only 3secs.. but found the last 3K into the wind TOUGH. ???? pic.twitter.com/zkNoGa6dR4
Great Britain’s 2012 European cross country U23 champion. Jess Piasecki, was third in 32:01.
"I found it exceptionally tough, but I've run a personal best. I can't ask for much more really," reflected McColgan, who moved up to sixth on the European absolute all-time list although the five women in front of her includes two other Britons: Radcliffe and her mother Liz McColgan.
Great Britain’s Marc Scott, fifth in the Berlin 2018 5000m, took 29 seconds off his personal best to win the men’s race in 28:03.
Elsewhere on the roads around Europe on Sunday, Poland’s Izabela Paskiewicz ran a personal best of 2:27:24 at the Berlin Marathon to finish as the leading European in the women’s race.