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The start lists for the first British Milers Club Grand Prix for 2012 have been released and their there is a lot of talent on show. Athleticos will be there to record every single bit of the action but in the meantime feast your eyes over the athletes scheduled to compete                 BMC 800 A (Mens)   Race : 10       Start : 18 54             Vest Leg       Row No.  No.  BMC Name Club 1 1 1 5311 Niall Brooks U23 Sale Harriers...

The Egg Test - Tom Fairbrother Could these be the answer to all your running prayers?     After chatting to Aaron, one of my best friends who spends most days in gyms as part of his job, we got talking about the things that annoy us about them. My pet hate in gyms, asides from the treadmills of course, is people who read a book whilst on the machines. If you can read about Kim Kardashian or Wuthering Heights while running you are clearly not working hard enough - That book is a struggle on a beautiful summer's day, let alone whi...

It was at the height of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing that former gold-medal winning cox, Gary Herbert, parted with his commentator’s impartiality to instruct all viewers “whatever they are doing, wherever they are, to shout and scream at the TV” because in his inimitable words “the British are coming… The British are coming!” On Lake Shunyi Great Britain’s coxless four of Andrew Triggs-Hodge, Steve Williams, Pete Read and Tom James were hauling back the Australian quartet stroke by stroke. It w...

Three years ago, few could have predicted that Tom Farrell would now be in a position to qualify for the Olympic Games. As prodigious a talent as he has always been, his rise to prominence has been nothing short of remarkable.   On the 29th of April, Farrell ran 13:15.31 for 5000m at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford University in California; a performance that placed him five seconds inside the necessary A standard for Olympic qualification. If he finishes in the top three at the UK trials he will line up at the Olympic...

With the modern emphasis on fast times and improving standards, simply winning a race is grossly underrated. Particularly when that race takes place in your home city on a course that runs through your very own training heartland. Dave Norman did just that last Sunday, and there was no hiding his elation as he crossed the finish line of the Greater Manchetser Marathon in Trafford in a time of 2:24:46.   “I’d say that in terms of performance it ranks alongside my three sub 2:20 performances at London given the appalling weather...

In 2010 Martin Williams ran 2:17:36 at the Seville Marathon to clinch selection for both the European Championships and Commonwealth Games later in that year. When he lines up in London this weekend he is confident that a more aggressive approach to the race and a more sensible approach to training will pay dividends and result in a new personal best. He said: "I'm very hopeful of improving on my PB. I know I've got a faster one in me.  When I ran 2:17 I ran quite conservatively to make sure that I nailed the Commonwea...

New York will dominate the anxieties turning over in the minds of those elite British women lining up at Greenwich next Sunday. More specifically, the ING New York City Marathon and the time Jo Pavey posted there over five months ago. Pavey’s 2hr 28min 42sec clocking will have been drummed into the subconscious’ of Susan Partridge and company by the coaches, families, team-mates and journalists they have mixed with in recent months. The digits will be burnt into the road ahead of the athletes as they suffer through the dying minute...

With a 2:30:00 marathon to her name from London in 2011, Louise Damen is surely one of the main contenders to lead the British challenge. When you consider that last year was her first and attempt at the marathon, and in less than ideal circumstances, the probability of an impressive follow-up on April 14th seems even more likely. Although she finished 22nd female, indeed second Brit behind Jo Pavey, Last year’s race didn’t quite go to plan for the Winchester athlete.   She explained: “Last year I ran the majority of the...

When Ben Moreau takes his first steps away from Greenwich Park on April 22nd, he will be well positioned for an assault on the time that every British marathoner is desperate to achieve. Last year’s build up was largely hampered by a string of injury problems but now, seven weeks out from the big day, the Aldershot Farnham and District man has had an unhampered preparation and is optimistic about his chances of improving on the time of 2 hours and 16 minutes that he set two years ago.   He explained: “I'm happy with my trainin...

Andi Jones has been arguably Britain's most consistent male marathon runner over recent years with nine performances between 2:19 and 2:15 since 2005. However, with the Olympic A standard of 2:12 looming large, the Salford Harrier is hoping that he can turn this consistency into a one-off performance that would see him book his place on Team GB for the London Olympics. Jones believes that his consistency is largely down to the work that he has done with his long term coach, Bob Merrell. Both are hoping that 2012 will see the best result to date...