Moray’s Kenny Wilson is to sharpen up for next month’s London Marathon by competing in the Scottish 10k road running championships at Stirling on Sunday.
The Scotland international hasn’t cut back on his training too much ahead of this weekend’s outing and admits it’s going to be tough to force his way into contention for a podium position.
That’s not to say he isn’t expecting to post a decent time, with his personal best of 30min 20secs, set at the same venue in 2019, being a possible target.
He said: “The priority has been to work on my endurance for the London marathon. But my speed sessions have been going well so I feel there should be a decent 10k in my legs. It will be interesting to find out.
“But I’m not tapering back too much. I’ve cut the mileage a bit but kept the quality. I don’t think tapering works too well for me in any case.
“I’ve always run well at Stirling but never picked up a medal in the 10k championships. My best was in 2017 when I finished fourth and that earned me my first Scotland vest.
“I haven’t looked at the entry list but I know a lot of guys are running well at the moment and have been posting some fast times.”
Marathon training certainly paid dividends for Wilson earlier in the season when he set a personal best time of 14:20 in the Inverness Campus 5k.
He said: “It was a complete surprise to run that fast during marathon training so hopefully I can do well again this weekend.”
Great Britain mountain running international Andy Douglas (North Highland Harriers) will give the race a miss as he prefers to concentrate on preparing for the following weekend’s Home Countries international hill race championships.
The Edinburgh-based athlete missed a couple of weeks of training recently after securing selection for the world long distance trail running championships which have been postponed until 2022.
Andy Butchart (Central AC) will be favourite to win should he decide to take part. The Dunblane athlete, who finished 11th in the Olympic Games 5,000m final last month, won this title in 2014 and has entered again.
Butchart’s clubmate Jamie Crowe is sure to feature prominently. The Dundee-based athlete, who set a course record time when winning the Inverness Campus 5k in July, has enjoyed an excellent summer season, capped by his victory in the 5,000m at the Scottish track and field championships.
Stirling-based Strathpeffer athlete Hamish Hickey will also hope to feature near the head of the field. The Central AC runner has a best time of 31:50 from 2019 but that seems sure to be significantly revised.
Others hoping to do well include Ben Ward (Metro Aberdeen), Ewan Davidson (Moray Road Runners) and Richard Strachan (JS Kintore).
Setback for Bannerman’s hopes
Jenny Bannerman’s hopes of challenging for a medal in the Scottish 10k championships at Stirling on Sunday have been hit by an infection which has required the Inverness Harriers club member to take a course of antibiotics.
This setback comes on top of another viral problem earlier in the summer which left her on the sidelines.
She said: “It has been one thing after another but at least I haven’t had covid. As far back as May I was struggling. I could put in the occasional good training session but then it would take me so long to recover.
“I had to take a complete break for a couple of weeks and I’ve been gradually working my way back since then, but it hasn’t been easy.”
Bannerman, who has a PB of 34:52, made a return to competition a fortnight ago with a win at the Bellahouston 10k in Glasgow where she recorded 36:19.
She added: “It wasn’t great but it was a hilly course and I needed to get a race done.
“Now I’ve picked up this other problem, but hopefully I’ll be fine for Sunday. My aim is to finish the race feeling better than I did at Bellahouston, so we’ll see how it works out.”
Meanwhile, Metro Aberdeen’s Paul Knight looks to be a strong contender for top spot in the Tom’s Cairn 10k multi-terrain race on Sunday.Scotland hill running international Kirstie Rogan (Moray Road Runners) and top modern pentathlete Eilidh Prise (Aberdeen) are expected to be among the leading women. The race, which starts from Deeside’s Birse and Feughside Parish Church, is in its fifth year, has attracted more than 100 entries.
Crawford showing strong form
Kai Crawford goes in search of more honours this weekend when he leads Aberdeen AAc’s 3x800m under-17 age group team in the Scottish relay championships at Linwood.
The Albyn school student is in fine form as shown last weekend when he won the UK Schools Games 800m at Loughborough.
Crawford clocked 1min 53.44sec to shave 0.07sec off the previous mark he set in a British Milers Club meeting at the same venue in July.
It’s the fifth fastest time in this year’s UK age group rankings and the ninth fastest of all-time by a Scot.
He is joined in the Aberdeen line-up at Linwood by Lewis Watt and Duncan Macdonald.
Meanwhile, Hugh Campbell is one of the favourites to win Saturday’s Isle of Skye half marathon which has attracted a capacity field of 700 runners.
The Skye and Lochalsh club member has won five times over the past 10 years and was runner-up to Aberdeen AAC’s Will Mackay when the race was last held,in 2019.
His main opposition is expected to come from Rory Scott (Fife AC), Calum Philip (Central AC),Donald MacAulay (Corstorphine AAC) and Sage Pearce-Higgins (Thames Valley).
Campbell’s clubmate Sarah Attwood, who was fourth in 2019, is among the leading entrants for the women’s division of the race.Tammy Wilson (JS Kintore) is also expected to feature strongly.
Also, the Metro Aberdeen Winter Proms 3k race series returns to the fixture list next month.
The first race is on October 1 with the others on November 12, December 3, January 7, February 4 and March 4. Each runner’s three best times from the six races will count towards the overall results.
Entries must be made in advance at entrycentral.com