Fast times traditional year-end event in Lancashire on Tuesday plus news of Boxing Day races in Ayr and Poole

RIBBLE VALLEY 10km, Clitheroe, December 27

This traditional end-of-year event that often rewrites the UK annual rankings again saw some fast times as this year it included the North of England Championships although it was cold, wet and breezy and not ideal for PBs.

Calum Johnson and Jess Warner-Judd, no stranger to winning titles, dominated the races.

Johnson, the former English National and reigning UK Inter-Counties champion on the country, won by half a minute from Rory Leonard in 29:10 to equal his PB set in much different conditions at the Great North 10km at Gateshead in July.

Leonard placed 11th in Turin as part of Britains winning European under-23 team earlier in the month and ran his first sub-30 while Matt Ramsden won a battle for third in 29:50 and the next six were inside 30 minutes, including Warner-Judds husband, Rob, who was seventh in 29:56.

His wife, who ran the 10,000m in all three track championships this summer and was the leading Brit in the recent European Cross-Country Championships, came close to her PB from Trafford in March with 31:19.

Former European champion Gemma Steel was second woman home and went slightly quicker than her Telford 10km run of the week before and her 32:52 was her fastest for six years.

Mollie Williams was a clear third.

Men:
1 Calum Johnson 29:10
2 Rory Leonard 29:40
3 Matt Ramsden 29:50
4 Daniel Bebbington 29:52
5 Carl Avery 29:54
6 Daniel Studley 29:55
7 Rob Warner-Judd 29:56
8 James Knockton 29:58
9 Daniel Dixon 29:59
10 Chris Perry 30:03
11 Lewis Gamble-Thompson 30:20
12 Josh Lunn 30:31
13 David Devine 30:36
14 Brandon Quinton 30:38
15 Adrian Bailes 30:47

M40: 1 Andrew Davies 30:57; 2 James savage 31:08; 3 Ben Fish 32:11

M50: 1 Tony OBrien 32:50

Women:
1 Jess Warner-Judd 31:19
2 Gemma Steel W35 32:52
3 Mollie Williams 33:33
4 Emily Kearney 34:12
5 Carla Davies 34:48
6 Jo Marsden W40 35:52
7 Sarah Johnson 36:08
8 Catherine Allen 36:25
9 Jade Morgan 36:30
10 Helen Smith W35 36:33
11 Hannah Cowley 36:41
12 Alice Wright 37:07

W40: 2 Elizabeth Renondeau 38:13

W45: 1 Hinda Ismail 38:13

W55: 1 Sarah Avery 38:25

POOLE ROUND THE LAKES 10km, December 26

Sam Costley led home his younger brother Max in a time of 31:31 while M45 James Baker was third.

Overall: 1 S Costley 31:31; 2 M Costley 32:28; 3 J Baker 33:09

Women: 1 F Kimber 38:42; 2 L Baker-Little W35 39:31; 3 L Fox W40 40:46

AYRODYNAMIC TURKEY TROT 5km / 10km, Ayr, December 26

Overall (5km): 1 M Monachello (Kilk, U17) 18:29; 2 C Scobie (Ayr S, U17) 18:42; 3 A Maclean (Ayr S, U15) 18:56

Women: 1 I Hubbard (Ayr S, U20) 20:15; 2 I Hubbard (Ayr S, U20) 21:46; 3 L Mitchell (Gnock, W45) 22:02

Overall (10km): 1 R McGavock 33:51; 2 C Ferguson (Kilk) 34:00; 3 M Rimicans (Irv) 34:48

Women: 1 L Baird (Kilk) 38:56; 2 G Blee (Gars, W40) 40:14; 3 K Oakley (Ayr S) 40:18

Distance runner remembers the Bislett Games in Oslo in July 1988 when he won the 10,000m in a British record of 27:23.06

I was still working for Ford at that point officially as a testing and development engineer, testing all of the various components around the car. When I came back from the 1984 Olympic Games, the powers that be there met me and asked: Is there anything we can do to help? 

Id gone to Europe after those Olympics and raced in Cologne and Koblenz, as did Dave Moorcroft, and I spent quite a bit of time with him. He told me that hed tried full-time working, part-time working and being a full-time athlete. He found that by far the best balance had been working part-time and having a purpose each day so that he wasnt just hanging around waiting to train.

So, when Ford came to me, I said I could do with working shorter hours per day from 10am until 3.15pm  and they sanctioned it. From 1984 onwards, thats exactly what happened.

I just absolutely grabbed it and made the best use of it, thinking I was incredibly fortunate to have been given this opportunity. I had plenty of time in the morning: to train, to stretch, to shower, to do breakfast properly and go to work.

I hadnt really changed my winter, I think Id added just a couple of miles to the Sunday run, and I just got better and better and stronger and stronger.

Then, in the transition from winter into spring, I was doing some bigger sessions on the track and they were going fantastically well.

Thats when Mel Batty, my coach, said: You should really dip your toe in the water at 10,000m this season. I thought that sounded like a really good idea.

I was doing big sessions at Basildon and, one time, [1980 Olympian] Barry Smith came over.

I told him: Im looking at running the Bislett 10,000m on Saturday. He joined in, did half a session, then watched the second half.

He said to me: That was absolutely amazing. On Saturday, youre either going to run a blinder or youre going to go too fast and the wheels are going to come off.

I still had to get my head around the 10,000m. Nevertheless, if you are a track runner at 5000m, and physically doing great sessions and mentally theyre tough as well you kind of feel ready for it. And thats what I was doing. 

It had rained a little before the race. The air was slightly oxygenated. It was dead still and cool inside. They scheduled the 10,000m for late evening just before the Dream Mile, which Steve Cram won. It made it a long old day. 

In 1988, I won the 5000m in Zurich and came second in Edinburgh Id had a very good season, coming off a comeback year in 1987. After 1984, I kept suffering Achilles problems, having good winters but tough summers. But, that year, Id raced quite a bit.

Everything was pointing towards 27:30 and the British record in Oslo if it all went incredibly well. That was my opinion. That was Mels opinion. 

Everything suggested it, so I thought I would work my way to the front group, hang on and then really start to think tactically from maybe four laps out, depending how it was going. And thats exactly what happened.

It was a 13:43 first 5km. I was pretty pleased with that, because I felt really, really good and really comfortable. Gradually, it got whittled down to four of us: Hansjörg Kunze of East Germany, Arturo Barrios the Mexican and Salvatore Antibo of Italy.

With two laps to go, I felt the pace was dropping. I heard the time and I just quickly did the calculation. I thought: I dont want this pace to drop because Im well inside the British record. If we do a 65 lap, I can probably run a 55 at least, if not faster. Two minutes for the last 800m was just in my head.

I went to the front, just to keep the pace going, but I felt really comfortable. I had to make sure I was inside the British record. Ive never really thought like that, because Id always thought about winning the race and that was still my priority.

We got to the bell. Barrios and Antibo were there and I let them overtake me, because I quite like attacking from behind. With 300m to go, I thought: I feel brilliant. What am I doing?

Off I went. I thought Id sprint from there to the finish and thats what I did. I think I ran 26 seconds for the last 200m, which is why it was seven seconds inside Brendan Fosters record.

People say about the tactics. You have to be aware that there were some seasoned runners in there and I thought I might be hanging on for dear life towards the end of the race and just using my sprint. But I was feeling good and that was probably the really pleasant surprise.

Two months later, I didnt finish in the Olympic 10,000m final. It was two races. I always felt that it was almost ridiculous: running qualifying heats in the 10,000m. Runners are all different and different physical sizes. As a runner, I was probably more on the heavy side so I didnt think that naturally lent itself to recovery.

Also, I was in great shape for 5000m. I got almost morally pressurised into the 10,000m because I was the British record-holder but I wasnt an experienced runner. I was a much better 5000m runner then.

When I went to the World Championships in Tokyo in 1991, they actually had the heat of the 10,000m on the Friday and the final on the Sunday. At least at the Olympics, it had been Friday and then Monday. I ran 28:23.42 in the heat on the Friday on a really hard track. My legs were not in good shape. When I tried to get massage out there, I struggled. The masseurs had gone to bed when I finished the race.

Now its one-off races at major championships, which is much better. That doesnt make it easy, but it makes it much better because youre not recovering from a 10,000m just before you race the final. Im glad that changed for the better of the sport. 

Kilian Jornets record-breaking UTMB performance this year reminded us he is the greatest trail runner in the world, but what makes him so dominant?

Think of trail running and there is one name that instantly springs to mind. Arguably no one else has dominated a form of running or athletics for as long as Kilian Jornet.

Since winning the first of his four Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) titles in 2008, the Catalan has maintained his status as the worlds best on the trails. Whether its a vertical kilometre that is over in half an hour or an ultra distance endurance test in excess of 100km, he often seems head and shoulders above the rest.

He has won the SkyRunner world series five times and the Hardrock 100 five times one of them with his arm in a sling due to a mid-race fall. He has also won the Western States Endurance Run, the USAs equivalent of the UTMB in terms of status. According to the International Trail Running Associations database, he has lost only one of his last 14 trail races and four since 2015.

After fifth place in the Sierre-Zinal race in August, it might have seemed as if the 34-year-olds best years were behind him. However, his record-equalling fourth win this summer in the UTMB, the unofficial world championships of trail running, destroyed that notion. His time of 19 hours 49 minutes 30 seconds was a record for the race, the first time the 170km route had been covered in less than 20 hours.

So what makes him the best trail runner there has ever been, placing him so far out in front of his peers? Is it one thing or a combination of factors? Nurture or nature? The mental or the physical? It is more than likely a culmination of many aspects that combine to create a trail running superman.

At home in the mountains

The son of a mountain guide, Jornet was raised in the Spanish Pyrenees and lived in a mountain hut at 2000m altitude. He would walk for six or seven hours by the time he was 18 months old and climbed a 3000m mountain aged three.

As well as the cardiovascular advantages bestowed by growing up at altitude, his relationship with mountains has also been crucial to his success. He spent much of his life living in the Alps, where he was able to run at 4000m of altitude from his door. When hes not running in the mountains, he is a record-breaking speed climber and champion ski-mountaineer. The mountains are in his DNA and he is at one with them a 360 mountain athlete as he describes himself.

He says 33-40 per cent of his training volume in other words, up to nine hours per week takes place at higher than 2000m of altitude.

Derek Dalzell is sports science product marketing manager for Jornets sponsor COROS and, as a coach, he has spent much time analysing the athletes smartwatch data. 

When youre raised a certain way and thats whats normal to you, it develops a different skill set thats second nature to him in terms of climate, in terms of being at that elevation, says Dalzell.

Skilful descending

Jornets phenomenal descending ability is another thing that stands out. Whereas some of us waste energy trying to control our descent on perilous-looking technical ground, his technique means he is able to save the hard work for the ups and recover on the downs.

Stats output from his COROS watch during that record-breaking UTMB win demonstrate this. When chasing the fast-starting Jim Walmsley, he was able to use the downhills to recover from the intense threshold pace of the climbs. Over one 23km segment, Jornets heartrate was a remarkably low 119 despite some of that, of course, including uphills.

The one thing that stands out in his UTMB performance was his ability to recover on the downhills and that, to me, comes back to the specificity of training essentially being so good at running in technical terrain that he can be running a 16-minute 5km downhill but his heart rate is actually dropping, adds Dalzell. If Im a tactical coach working with Kilian and we know that he recovers on the downhills then you would tell him to push basically tempo or threshold every uphill because youre going to get your recovery on the downhill.

Fell runner and mountain guide Paul Aitken, who was one of the pacers during Jornets Bob Graham Round record, describes being amazed by the star mans ability on a notorious section between Great Gable and Green Gable. While another pacer, prolific fell runner Andy Schofield, took a less direct line, Aitken and Jornet took the rough section. Jornet ended up taking a King of the Mountain crown for the fastest completion of that section after around 11 hours of running.

He was descending ground that most people would have been on their hands and knees on, so I think thats just an example of how he was eating up rough ground, says Aitken, adding: Im pretty good on downhills, I quite like rough ground. On the [Bob Graham] Round, it was on the descents where the pacers were struggling to keep up with him.

 When I coach people downhill running and I refer to Kilian, the Salomon hashtag Time to Play, I think, epitomises his running style. He uses the terrain and the features on the ground in a very playful way, which kind of reduces muscle fatigue because youre using the terrain to control your feet, slow you down, speed you up. And he really does look like hes acting for that mindset of the seven-year-old running downhill without fear; that playful mindset that strips away the fear but is also a very effective way of controlling speed.

Perfect training

In the build-up to this years UTMB, Jornet did 76 per cent of his training at an easy pace described by him as zones one and two or a pace he could maintain for hours. He trained up to 200km (125 miles) per week, much of which was in the mountains.

While he is known for his long days among the slopes, he also does threshold or tempo work and even did four stride sessions over the year, such as 10x100m, to keep the speed.

The wow factor with Kilians data is the elevation per workout, says Dalzell. Hes getting 4000-8000ft elevation gain on just his average workouts.

However, aside from the specifics, Dalzell believes it is his ability to cross-train that makes him so good. 

In his off-season, when hes doing his ski-mo, doing a tonne of elevation on cross-country skis, his off-season activities are directly aiding his in-season performance, he says. For a lot of athletes its tough to replicate that. An off-season plan needs to allow your mind to free up and recover mentally as well. Yes, [Eliud] Kipchoge will get on a bike every now and then or do yoga but not at the level that Kilian is training in these other sports that also enhance his running. An off-season plan needs to allow your mind to free up and recover mentally as well.

Moving a bit the legs after the long run last week. Nothing better than some scrambling in the backyard. pic.twitter.com/UFqO1ih0Zk

kilian jornet (@kilianj) September 2, 2022

Mental aspects

Aside from physical attributes, the mental aspect is significant, too. Jornet admitted he was suffering the whole way around the UTMB this year so mental toughness is obviously a factor.

However, in addition to that, Dalzell says his oneness with the mountains means he is able to enjoy his training.

When I look at athletes like Kilian or Eliud, when you listen to them talk theyre genuinely happy and they love what they do, says Dalzell. In order to be motivated to do those hard training sessions you really have to enjoy it. It is who they are, it is what they love to do and its a way of life for them.

Sports scientist and marathon runner John Brewer adds: Kilian has the mental durability and single-mindedness that enables him to continually train at the highest level, which means that he can focus on pushing himself to extreme limits, even when things are tough. So his success is due to a combination of both nature and nurture both have made an essential contribution to his high level of sustained success.

Built to run

Jornet has a very slight build but it has been noted that his quads and calves are quite big compared to those of a road or track runner. It is that which enables him to power up the hills. His VO2 max has been put between 85 and 92ml/kg/min the latter would be among the highest ever recorded.

Brewer adds: To be as good as he is, you have to have the genetic characteristics which predispose you to elite endurance running. These include the potential for a high oxygen uptake capacity, a light but strong physique and plenty of slow-twitch muscle fibres, which are resistant to fatigue. 

A craft honed in the Lake District allowed British teenage talent Jess Bailey to become a world champion in Thailand

The Lake Districts rugged fells and the dramatic mountainous landscapes of Northern Thailand will forever be linked. While thousands of miles separate the two spectacular locations, the challenging terrain on Jess Baileys Cumbrian doorstep set her up for a dominant gold medal-winning performance in Chiang Mai at the inaugural World Mountain and Trail Running Championships last month.

Her victory in the junior classic up and down race was impressive, but her positive attitude is arguably even more so. 

The best team in the world, she said in the immediate aftermath of the event. The past week in Thailand has been one of the best of my life and spending it with these guys has made it even better. I am honoured to have been part of such an epic team.

The 16-year-old is a wise head on young shoulders. Prior to Thailand she had never travelled outside of Europe, but with her race taking place on the final day of competition she chose to embrace the Asian culture alongside a young British quartet who shared her enthusiasm, ambition and a maturity beyond their years.

Ive never done anything like it before, it was amazing, she reflects. Because our race was the very last day wed watched most other people race. There was just one race after us, so there was real hype building up to it. We had such a lovely week, though. We went to little markets and we saw some elephants the experiences we had were great. I thought as the week went on wed all get a bit more nervous, but that didnt happen at all.

The immediate bond which developed between the athletes, and their resultant all for one, one for all mentality, created a healthy environment where issues were raised and dreams were shared. 

We were really good friends from the off, even though we didnt all know each other well, says Bailey of fellow team gold medallists Rebecca Flaherty, Ellen Weir and Emily Gibbons. As soon as we went away we did everything together. We did face paints for the opening ceremony and for the race, we listened to music and we got ready together. 

We were talking to each other before the race and the concern was how narrow the paths were. We knew we had a really good chance of a team prize so we said that, on the way down, if there was a GB runner trying to get past, then it wasnt about impeding your own performance, but moving to the side to let them through. We were really all in it for each other and that makes a great bond.

Preparation was also key to such impressive global success and Bailey credits the support of British Athletics in giving them the best opportunity to maximise performance. 

From a personal point of view, the teams early arrival into Thailand and focused build-up in contrast to her usual school days enabled her to relax, while ice vests and special ice-cold bandanas on race day also made a difference in hot and humid conditions. 

We learned a lot in our preparation, she says. I learned about how I cope with the heat. It turns out, if youre there for a week, you actually start to get used to it so quickly. I learned about how my body reacts to travel. Obviously this is just one trip, but its great to know how you respond.

Hot baths I hate them, but we did a lot of them and I think they worked. We got up early before we went so the timing was better, just those little things. I thought the time difference would be awful but it was fine, so it was just those little bits and bobs that made up the bigger picture.

We also walked the course twice. We never walk fell running courses, but we all had a great race pretty much, so it obviously works. 

In conquering the 6.4km, 224m+ course on Doi Suthep, Great Britain and Northern Ireland dominated the individual and team standings.

Bailey was second to the summit behind team-mate and eventual silver medallist Flaherty, but proved strongest on the descent to win individual gold and lead the team to the top of the podium.

The winning performance was delivered on the global stage in Thailand, but it was made in England. 

The Leven Valley athlete, coached by Matthew Long with the support of her dad and local coach Pat Miller father of GB Paralympian Dean grew up on the fells and cross country, long before she added track running to her mix.

We didnt do much specific fell training because actually mountain running is really like cross country, although theres obviously a bigger hill in it, she says. Fell running is different again, its more extreme, its going up then bombing it down a hill, while mountain running is more trails. Obviously, depending on where you live, your training can naturally include more hills. We just did our normal cross country training and then because we do our recovery runs on the hills anyway and we have that available, it naturally works.

European under-18 3000m silver medallist and UK School Games 3000m champion in 2022, in addition to world mountain champion, Baileys talents extend well beyond off-road. Its an interesting and rewarding mix, but it may not be sustainable long-term.

For now, were okay, but Ill definitely go toward track and cross or cross and fell running [in the future], she says. Were definitely very aware that track and fell running isnt necessarily the best mix, and at some point well go one way or the other, but at the moment its just about enjoyment, building up strength and getting as many experiences as we can. Theyre like polar opposites but I love them so much. Theyre great in their own way.

READ MORE: GB go one-two in under-20 world mountain champs

Bailey has had an exceptional career to date, her track and mountain performances backed up in recent years by other high-profile results including winning English National and English Schools cross-country titles, as well as the Mini London Marathon.

At only 16, the potential pressure and expectation of a successful future can be intimidating, but the wisdom and maturity of this down to earth young athlete is reassuring and refreshing. In spite of all shes achieved, she doesnt feel like shes got a lot to live up to.

Ive had quite a lot of good races so far, but if you start putting pressure on yourself, I dont think that works, she says. Also, people dont care. Its easy to get caught up in it all and think, If I run a really bad time next year people will look at me and think, Oh, what happened to her? but they dont care. Im doing this for myself. You try your best. If you get ill or injured, you cant control that, youve just got to keep plugging away, really.