Great Birmingham Run victory for Chris Thompson
18th October 2015 – It was a busy day on the roads as PACE athletes participated in three major races across Europe.
There was delight at the Great Birmingham Run for Chris Thompson (GBR), less than a year after surgery to save his running career. Running at the back of the lead group of three for much of the race he showed that the time away had made him lose none of his racing prowess or speed as he had the sprint finish over the final 100m to take victory. Running 63:00 for the half-marathon was a huge step forward as he builds to a full marathon where he will attempt to run the Olympic qualifying time.
In Amsterdam Mike Kigen (KEN) gave a mature display over the marathon distance to take third place in a high quality field. On paper Mike was the eleventh fastest but he ran economically and efficiently throughout hitting 5km splits of just under or just over 15 minutes. In the final 5km the field did begin to show the effects of the cold weather and constant drizzle but Mike worked hard right to the end to cross the line in 2:07:46.
Finally, at the Lisbon Marathon Duncan Maiyo (KEN) also gave a strong performance to take 4th place. In very windy conditions that caused the tempo of the race to fluctuate up and down Duncan crossed the line in 2:13:03.
Article Tags: Chris Thompson, duncan maiyo, Mike Kigen