Strength and conditioning coach Andy Kay explains why now is the perfect time to spot your shortcomings

This can be a crucial time of year for many track athletes. With the summer season quickly becoming a distant memory, its now when the important foundations are laid for what lies ahead next summer. 

With training intensity a little lower to begin with, there is an opportunity to work on the extra elements which can prove invaluable further down the line. Its where some backwards thinking away from the heat of competition can help you get ahead. 

Andy Kay, founder of Pure Performance, is a leading strength and conditioning coach who has worked with Jake Wightman since 2016 and was part of the backroom team which helped lead the Briton to world 1500m gold earlier this year. 

At the start of every season, Kay will profile the athletes he works with to identify their biomechanical weaknesses. Working on those not only becomes the first port of call but also provides the purpose and direction to the off-track training programme he will put together. 

With a background spanning multiple sports, the Royal Marines and now making a big impact in athletics, he believes that running and strength and conditioning are now working more hand in hand than they perhaps did in the past.

Here, he outlines why and how making it a part of your programme can help pay real dividends.

How would you sum up strength and conditioning and what you do?

Strength and conditioning is a term used for work thats designed to either improve performance or reduce injury.

My job is to give the athlete as much time and capacity as I can for them to spend on the track because thats ultimately where theyre going to get faster.

But theyre not going to do that if theyre injured or only capable of putting in a small percentage of what they could if they had, say, greater running economy, were more efficient or were springier.

Imagine your bodys a race car and youve got to get faster on the track. Were the guys in the pits that keep it in top condition, if you like. Strength and conditioning is very much an accessory but the better you get, the more important it is.

Why should an aspiring athlete be doing it?

If you look at the big picture, there are certain factors around performance and injury that youre not going to get from running alone.

A big one for me is tendon stiffness and reactivity, which is crucial in the production of force. 

In simple terms, how springy are you? The only way to really improve that is through plyometrics or heavy isometrics basically overloading the tendons and ligaments more than you will through running. 

From an injury prevention perspective, tendons in particular respond and get better through loading. Thats long, eccentric or isometric loading, which is the opposite of what running is.

If you want to get better quickly and stay healthy, thats the only way to do it. 

Unless youre naturally very good, and you dont really get injured, then at some point youre going to need to use some kind of strength and conditioning to improve or get back on the track.

Is it all about lifting weights?

Definitely not. The strength side is only one piece of the puzzle. A lot of the time we spend in the gym will be on things like isometric holds that can be a leg press or a squat rack with weight but, equally, it could just be a doorframe or just using a lifting strap and using that to create tension.

A lot of the work we do also involves plyometrics such as jumping, landing and reactivity again, no weights involved. Theres a lot of conditioning work, too, which is very much just bodyweight.

What are the biggest mistakes you see athletes making with strength and conditioning?

The classic one is treating gym sessions like its a track workout or the old school circuit mentality where the only aim is to just be tired. If the only aim is fitness and being tired then youre doing something wrong if youre not getting that from running, because running will get you fitter for running than burpees ever will.

For some people that approach will help but, as soon as youre reasonably good as a runner, its not what you need. 

Also, picking workouts that arent suitable or youve just pulled off the internet its just a waste of time unless youve picked something thats going to benefit you. 

Have a good reason to do something and finding that only comes from working backwards from the sport and from your own issues and injuries in the past.

For all the athletes I work with, we do quite an extensive profile at the start of every season just to see where their weaknesses lie. We work on those first.

What simple steps can a runner take to make themselves more robust?

Start small, focusing on capacity and localised conditioning to injury-prone areas.

For example, if you can get to the point where you can do 20-30 single leg calf raises, youre going to have a much more bulletproof Achilles, calf, plantar fascia and shins than you would have had before and for very little cost.

It definitely helps to build up your core, too, with lots of planks and side planks to start off with. Then hip conditioning, with exercises like glute raises get to the point where you can do lots and lots of these prehab-type exercises.

Its very hard to overdo it and theyre the things that will give you a tangible difference in terms of feeling it in your running.

You can also look at plyometrics and working them into your warm-ups. Just 10 minutes before you run, you can do some isometric holds, some light pogo hops, some squatting to get mobility in your hips theres lots you can do. If you do that before every run and you run five times a week then thats quite a lot of volume. 

Build the foundations. I always say treat it like a running season so have your winter first lots of volume, lots of capacity work, really drill the skills before you go into your intense block where you start to lift weights and get more aggressive with it. Similar to running, progressive overload relies on gradually increasing intensity. 

Fantastic elastic giving Jake Wightman firepower

If you look at him early on, it stood out that Jake wasnt very reactive from a landing and jumping perspective. If you spend a lot of time on the floor, in any jump, it shows that youre not able to produce force quickly.

Why does that matter on the track? At top speed your foot is on the floor for less than 0.1 seconds, so you havent got very long to produce force. If you and I run at the same speed and youre able to apply more force in a short space of time, Im going to hit my top speed sooner and youll be able to overtake me.

Im not overly concerned with someone being very strong because you dont have time to express strength in running you have time to express extreme speed and power.

That meant we spent a lot of time on making him springier and building elasticity into the tendons through lots of jumping and lots of repetitive, pogo-style, low-level bouncing work. 

If you look at him now, hes so elastic, its unreal. The amount of power he can produce and the height he can jump its fantastic. We did some testing with British Athletics on his peak force output and even with calf raises alone he can produce four times his own bodyweight in both legs. Its twice as much as the benchmark theyd set. 

Hes super, super powerful now and that was always the aim because the springier you are the more elastic you are, the less energy you have to put into every step and therefore the less oxygen you use and the faster you can go. 

Thats just an example of working backwards from the sport to find the most minute physical qualities that I can improve which will eventually feed up the chain and take seconds off the clock.

For more information you can visit ppconditioning.com or follow Andy Kay on Instagram: @andykay_performance

He also recommends the book Strength and Conditioning for Endurance Running by Richard Blagrove.

The 38-year-old is the undisputed king of marathon running but he has plenty of goals left as he reaches the twilight of his career

Marketing professionals would call it cut-through. The rest of us would probably call it just being famous. Whatever term you choose, for such a slight man, Eliud Kipchoge is beginning to possess an extraordinary amount of power. 

The Kenyan, who has become king of all he surveys in the marathon running world, is bringing levels of attention to his sport in ways not really seen since the days when Usain Bolt bestrode the sprinting scene. 

He wasnt even running at this years London Marathon, yet still Kipchoges presence was the dominant one. Even if he hadnt been on hand to offer advice to runners at the pre-event expo, give out medals at the mini marathon and then the full showpiece event the following day, it was still his recent achievements which dominated the majority of the chatter certainly around the elite races. 

If youd asked the average sports fan who they thought likely to be charging down The Mall in first place its virtually certain that few could have named a single one of the main contenders. But, even if they might not know Kipchoges name either, they are certainly aware of that guy who broke the two-hour barrier.

Whatever the purists might say about the pre-conditioned time trial where Kipchoge clocked 1:59:41 in Vienna three years ago, it has changed attitudes around marathon running. No human is limited, was the oft-repeated phrase around that project. It remains, Kipchoge says, his proudest achievement to date because it has caused a collective mindset shift, not least in himself.

It captured the imagination and set the clock ticking on when (not if) that barrier will be broken in a conventional big city marathon in the future. Absolutely, it is possible, he tells AW without hesitation. I can confirm that.

The quirk of the rejigged post-pandemic calendar which meant London remained an autumn race for one more year resulted in this edition falling in the immediate aftermath of Kipchoge adding another chapter to his growing legend. 

No one has run around the British capital route faster than he has, but Berlins even speedier route is fertile ground for him. The 38-year-old had won there three times previously and broke the world record there in 2018 by running 2:01:39. His first taste of the race, back in 2013, had been when he came second to the now disgraced Wilson Kipsangs 2:03:23, which was then the fastest time ever. 

There were bold noises emerging from the Kipchoge camp this time, something which doesnt tend to happen without good reason. Some doubted what he might be able to do he isnt getting any younger, after all but the world wanted to know.

I didnt delay my long run [to watch that day], said British international marathon runner Charlotte Purdue. But one of my training partners, Stewart McSweyn, ran with his phone so he could tell us what was happening. I think he had about one per cent battery left, though, so we had to rush back to see the finish.

It was worth the effort. In Germany, Kipchoge went flying through the halfway mark in a breathtaking 59:51. It was around one minute faster than he had planned to go and meant the second-half pain he had to battle through was very real but, still, as he broke the Brandenburg Gate finish line tape, the world record had been lowered by an eye-popping 30 seconds. Even the double Olympic champion looked surprised. 

The whirlwind of attention which followed is in stark contrast to the spartan, almost monastic existence he leads when training back in Kenya. At home, he might still be in charge but he is also one of the team and will do his fair share of chores around the Kaptagat training base in the Kenyan highlands. Everywhere else, he is running royalty. 

Even in recovery mode, there was still lots to do and he was whisked to London for the aforementioned string of engagements and appointments. 

We meet in a hospitality area on The Mall just as some of Britains most promising youngsters are about to put themselves through their paces in the Mini Marathon. Emerging from an entrance at the far end of the room, its the presence of accompanying publicists, management and a camera man which signals he is on his way. Even security guards were present at his expo appearance. 

Kipchoge is known as a man of few words, which has only added to the intrigue around him and makes his growing fame all the more remarkable. Whereas Bolts athletic talents were perfectly allied to his gifts as a showman, Kipchoges serene, understated approach instead tends to let his deeds do most of the talking. 

When he does speak, it is usually to impart a carefully considered nugget of wisdom. A wide, flashing grin is not usually too far away, either even early on a Saturday morning in autumnal England as he greets me with a warm handshake. 

The smile is very much evident when I ask how he celebrated his Berlin brilliance. 

I had a long call with my family at home, he says of speaking to his wife Grace and their three children. They sent me some videos of them standing and cheering as I crossed the finishing line.

What do his daughter Lynne and sons Griffin and Jordon make of it all?

My daughter is 15 now and understands clearly what is going on, he adds. The boys have a little bit of an understanding of what the win means. The boys are showing that they love running but I will be giving them autonomy to choose the sport they like.

They will have a good teacher, should they decide to go into the family business. Kipchoge, one of four siblings who were raised by their mother after his father died when he was young, has been coached since he was a teenager by Olympic steeplechase medallist Patrick Sang and admits he learns something from every race and every training cycle. 

There is nothing complicated about what he does. Hard work, plenty of rest and writing everything down are the foundations upon which his career is built.

Simplicity is a recipe for success, he adds. That is what keeps you on the course.

I get a real plan one plan only and work on it to make sure I achieve it. If I dont achieve it then I go back and set the plan again.

Rarely, however, does he fall short. Kipchoge has only been defeated twice in his marathon career. There was that loss to Kipsang nine years ago, while the 2020 London Marathon, at which he had an ear problem, saw him finish eighth. These are the exceptions to his utterly dominant rule. 

What does he think sets him apart?

I think its the professionalism that Im showing in the sport. I am really treating running as a profession and as a career. 

Many of his rivals would argue that they, too, are doing likewise, but Kipchoges approach helps him to develop the mental armoury he has become so well known for possessing. 

When you are doing the right things in the right way then your psychological path is really strong.

It means that, when things dont go to plan and, for example, he goes roaring through a halfway split too quickly, panic doesnt set in. 

I was not disappointed when I saw the times, he says of his opening in Berlin. That was actually a huge motivation for me. I went through the half marathon in under an hour, which is good. It meant I would not miss a world record.

Also, to run a half marathon in under an hour and still feeling well is a good sign that running a normal major marathon in under two hours is possible.

One thing Kipchoge has not had to contend with in many of his performances has been other contenders. So often victory is assured miles in advance and it usually ends up coming down to a battle between him and the clock.

Is that how he likes it or would he not prefer to see a threat emerging, someone to key off, work with and, fundamentally, battle against?

I always run my own race. I always treat myself as the best. I always say that if anybody wants to run my race as well then he is welcome and we will journey together. 

When I am standing on the start line of a marathon, I have it in my mind to run my own race and what I am doing there is crucial for the end of the race.

I can imagine few of the current crop of athletes lining up to accept the invitation. While there are a lot of athletes in the pipeline who will be doing well [in the future], Kipchoge currently sits in a league of his own when it comes to the marathon. He lets out a hearty laugh, though, when I ask if hes aware of just how intimidating his standards are. We move together, he says when the chuckling stops. 

Kenenisa Bekele, whom Kipchoge acknowledged as being the greatest distance runner in history, is the man who has come closest to reaching the same standards over 26.2 miles. Time, unfortunately, seems to be running out in terms of being able to see a true clash between these titans. 

The Kenyan is certainly aware that he is being lauded as the best marathon runner the world has ever seen. Asked if he views himself that way, too, he insists that is for others to decide, alluding to the fact that he knows he cant do what he does without the help of those around him.  

I appreciate the sentiments of the people, he continues. I am an African and my mentality is different. You cannot shave yourself. You need to go to the barber shop to be shaved. Another person can see you and elevate you to the standard of the greatest of all time. I respect what people have been saying and if they have decided that I am the GOAT then Im happy.

That doesnt mean he is about to ease back, however. Now is the time to recover and think but there is clearly more to come.

Another Olympics is on my bucket list, running all six marathon majors is also on my bucket list (since this interview Kipchoge has announced he will run the Boston Marathon in April) but for now I have no plan. I just want to get back to training, to recover and make sure that I rest well.

Its a new challenge every day. I have never mastered it. After Berlin I need to relax and then start again from zero. Its a new challenge and I want to work on it to lift myself.

The inspiration I want to instil in people is still my driver. When people get inspired by what you are doing, then they can be inspired to push limits because they are seeing you doing the same. Thats a positive thing. Its what makes me get up in the morning and want to push my limits, too.

No sooner has our interview ended than a slightly startstruck mother hesitantly steps forward with her young son for a picture. It isnt long before something of a queue begins to form. It isnt just the worlds best athletes who want to get close to Kipchoge.

Duo triumph at South Shields as we bring you a round-up from recent cross-country events in Britain

With winter now kicking in across the UK, domestic cross-country events are becoming muddier and chillier. Our latest round-up includes the North Eastern Counties Championships and South of England Inter-Counties.

NORTH EASTERN COUNTIES CHAMPIONSHIPS, South Shields, December 10

Despite temperatures no higher than 2C and in wintery conditions, New Marske Harriers hosted the event in occasionally sunny weather, Martin Duff reports.

The senior mens race scored six in the team competition and Morpeth, led by second-placed Carl Avery, were comfortable team winners ahead of Gateshead for whom Inter-County winner Calum Johnson retained his title.

The 2020 English National champion was also second in this event twice, in 2017 and 2019, but it was his first race in nearly two months after a 48:00 fifth spot in the Great South Run.

Morpeth also had Dan Dixon a distant third and it was a similar result in the senior womens race where Catriona MacDonald and Jane Hodgson were minor medallists, but behind race winner Philippa Stone, who won by nearly a minute. The Middlesbrough Mandale runner was third in the English National junior race back in 2017.

The under-20 and under-17 women ran and scored in the team race together but it was the younger Charlotte Dillon who got the better of under-20 winner Millie Breese, as these two were clear of the rest.

The younger mens groups scored in the team battle separately and Josh Blevins was an easy junior mens race winner but only two under-20 mens trios closed in.

Joseph West moved up from fifth last year to win the under-17 event for Middlesbrough Mandale. Liam Roche just got the decision on Alex Boyer for a close second.

The Middlesbrough-based pair of Eden Creasy and Jacob Brown and were under-15 race winners.

Ben Beale took the under-13 boys race, while Olivia Murphy led twins Nell and Kitty Graham to a clean sweep in the girls event, as their Birtley continued their recent good form.

Men TEAM: 1 Morpeth 45; 2 Gateshead 167; 3 Sunderland 197; 4 Tyne Br 251; 5 NSP 302; 6 Wallsend 333; 7 NE Project 406; 8 Durham 411; 9 Elswick 416; 10 Houghton 467

U20 TEAM: 1 Morpeth 13; 2 Sunderland 28

U17 TEAM: 1 Morpeth 11; 2 Middlesbrough (Mandale) 25; 3 Darlington 36; 4 Tyne BR 54; 5 Elswick 70

U15 TEAM: 1 NSP 27; 2 Darlington 44; 3 Tynedale 50; 4 Gateshead 52; 5 Tyne Br 57; 6 Blaydon 75

U13 TEAM: 1 Darlington 17; 2 NSP 41; 3 Gosforth 51; 4 Blaydon 53; 5 Morpeth 54; 6 Wallsend 57

Women TEAM: 1 Morpeth 45; 2 Gateshead 54; 3 NSP 72; 4 Gosforth 98; 5 Elswick 128; 6 Tyne BR 134; 7 Heaton 136; 8 S Shields 149; 9 Tynedale 182; 10 Jesmond J 213

U20/U17 TEAM: 1 Gateshead 27; 2 NSP 29; 3 Durham 52; 4 Elswick 57; 5 Gosforth 76

U15 TEAM: 1 Darlington 22; 2 Middlesbrough (Mandale) 28; 3 Tynedale 31; 4 NSP 37; 5 Elswick 57; 6 Gosforth 86

U13 TEAM: 1 Birtley 6; 2 Darlington 37; 3 Gateshead 39; 4 Morpeth 49; 5 NSP 54; 6 Gosforth 68

SOUTH OF ENGLAND INTER-COUNTIES, Horspath, Oxford, December 10

Rachel Wiseman might have run in the South of England Masters Championships that was held alongside this event but instead won the senior womens race for Essex, Martin Duff reports.

In the summer she had won the Southern inter-county 5000m title and tops the UK W40 rankings in that event and the road 5km. Behind, Eliza Hawthorne was the first of several Surrey placers who took the team title.

Numbers in the womens race were significantly less than in the younger age groups, with just six of the dozen qualifying counties having teams and, as is normal in this fixture, there was no senior or junior mens inter-county competition.

There were more women in the under-20 race, albeit less teams, but this age group continues to show signs of retaining athletes as they move up the age groups. Here, Alice Garner had one of the biggest wins coming home more than 200 metres clear of Hattie Reynolds as she led Hampshire to a team win.

Ben Peck has been challenging all winter and here got the better of Sam Plummer in the under-17 mens event and led his Suffolk squad to a solid team win.

There was a close race in the under-17 womens race before Yasmin Kashdan got home ahead of Annie Mann but her Sussex team were easily headed by Bucks who packed four in the top 11 home.

Alex Lennon has been dominating in the under-15 boys events this winter but here was pushed by Noah Scott-Donkin but still led Surrey to a team win.

Isla McGowan is on a purple patch of results, despite being headed in the Milton Keynes UK cross fixture and here enjoyed a 50-metre margin over Katie Pye, who led her Surrey quartet to their team win.

Surrey dominated the under-13 girls race but their runners were headed to the line by Sussexs Isabella Buchanan. While George Watkin narrowly won the under-13 boys event.

Surrey came out on top in the overall team stakes with five wins, including a clean sweep of the two youngest age groups.

U17 Men TEAM: 1 Suffolk 48; 2 Essex 53; 3 Hants 65; 4 Herts 72; 5 Kent 75; 6 Surrey 85; 7 Cambridgeshire 107; 8 Sussex 129; 9 Oxfordshire 148; 10 Norfolk 172

U15 TEAM: 1 Surrey 38; 2 Kent 42; 3 Essex 49; 4 Sussex 78; 5 Suffolk 87; 6 Hants 107; 7 Norfolk 135; 8 Cambs 139; 9 Oxon 140; 10 Middx 53; 11 Herts 219; 12 Bucks 290

U13 TEAM: 1 Surrey 34; 2 Kent 55; 3 Essex 56; 4 Sussex 67; 5 Herts 93; 6 Middx 111; 7 Hants 169; 8 Bucks 17; 9 Oxon 194; 10 Cambs 201; 11 Suffolk 277; 12 Norfolk 365

Women TEAM: 1 Surrey 18; 2 Essex 33; 3 Sussex 71; 4 Kent 95; 5 Oxon 106; 6 Suffolk 165

U20 TEAM: 1 Hants 37; 2 Surrey 42; 3 Kent 59; 4 Sussex 77; 5 Middx 95

U17 TEAM: 1 Bucks 20; 2 Sussex 66; 3 Kent 67; 4 Middx 97; 5 Hants 117; 6 Essex 121; 7 Surrey 122; 8 Oxon 124; 9 Cambs 160; 10 Herts 167; 11 Suffolk 321

U15 TEAM: 1 Surrey 53; 2 Kent 86; 3 Suffolk 91; 4 Hants 98; 5 Middx 110; 6 Cambs 114; 7 Sussex 115; 8 Bucks 124; 9 Essex31; 10 Norfolk 151; 11 Oxon 162; 12 Herts 185

U13 TEAM: 1 Surrey 16; 2 Essex 40; 3 Sussex 45; 4 Hants 92; 5 Kent 108; 6 Bucks 133; 7 Middx 147; 8 Oxon 180; 9 Suffolk 198; 10 Herts 220; 11 Cambs 294; 12 Norfolk 376

SOUTH OF ENGLAND MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS, Horspath, Oxford, December 10

In a joint match with the South of England under-20 and young athletes inter-county match, southern masters again tackled the notorious Horspath hills, Martin Duff reports.

Despite the sunny weather, the frosty and bone hard ground had ruts and the surfaces were uneven but as the day wore on some of the going cut up.

The first three men were away from the rest before Michael Eccles, who was third last year, won for Bure Valley over David Fewell and Paul Howard. Craig Halsey was a well beaten fourth but helped Brighton & Hove City to a comfortable team win.

Behind, Ben Paviour moved up an age group and got the better of last years M50 champion Steve Winder but who, in any case, had opted to help his Epsom club to M40 silver team medals by moving down a group.

Andrew Leach and Morris Tarragano were in ahead of fellow M55 Ben Reynolds while, after just turning 60, Mark Cursons topped his new age group. The biggest winning margin was by M65 Tim Jones who was nearly two minutes ahead of David Wilcock.

The over-70 men had to run with the women and saw three-time M75 International Masters winner Peter Giles enjoy a narrow victory over the younger Des Michael in the over-70 race.

The women were all over-40 as the South of England do not recognise W35s as Masters. There, Alexandra Cook, who only competes sparingly, won her second major race in a week after winning the Chiltern League seven days earlier. The Wycombe Phoenix runner just prevailed over Gaby Carnwath with a third W40, Lisa Bailey, also close. They were followed home by a bevy of over-50 runners led by 56-year-old long time cross-country international Lucy Elliott, for a strong Winchester trio, who took team gold.

A minute later, Sophie Biggs led the W50s ahead of Kathy Bailey. Four minutes down, Lynda Hembury, who tops the road rankings and who has not been headed in her age group for more than a year, led home the W65s.

Men

M40: 1 M Eccles (Bure) 33:38; 2 D Fewell (Chelm) 33:48; 3 P Howard (B&H) 33:56; 4 C Halsey (B&H) 34;39; 5 B Paviour (Herne H, M50) 34:43; 6 S Winder (E&E, M50) 35:07; 7 S Coombes (Herne H, M50) 35:18; 8 M Shore (THH, M45) 35:19; 9 T Jens (Strag, M45) 35:24; 10 J Caignard (Win) 35:31

M45: 3 A Hamilton (BMH) 35:4 9; 4 R Bidgood (Win) 35:58; 5 D Lloyd (Wyc P) 37:06; 6 S Williams (Newq & P) 37:17

M50: 4 D Burbidge (High) 36:56; 5 F Campbell (Head RR) 37:48; 6 F Donnelly (Read RR) 38:16

M55: 1 A Leach (NHRR) 35:52; 2 M Tarragano (B&H) 36:04; 3 B Reynolds (THH) 36:25; 4 M Tennyson (G&G) 37:11; 5 J Ratcliffe (Herne H) 39:24; 6 T Booth (G&G) 39:59

M60: 1 M Cursons (Harrow) 38:35; 2 R Beswick (B&B) 39:09; 3 D Ogden (S Lon) 39:10; 4 C Finill (Harr) 39:37; 5 P Cousins (Hay H) 40:15

M65: 1 T Jones (VoA) 42:51; 2 D Wilcock (Barn) 44:47

Overall TEAM: 1 Brighton & H 24; 2 Epsom & E 44; 3 Herne H 46; 4 Winchester 64; 5 Bure V 72; 6 Harrow 110; 7 Headington RR 111; 8 Thames V 118; 9 Guildford & G 126; 10 Thames H&H 130

M40 TEAM: 1 B&H 19; 2 E&E 34; 3 Winchester 47; 4 Bure V 52; 5 TVH 79; 6 Head RR 90

M50 TEAM: 1 Herne H 16; 2 G&G 38; 3 Read RR 40; 4 Highgate 63; 5 Winchester 80; 6 Head RR 83

M60 TEAM: 1 Barnet 51; 2 Haywards H 51; 3 Reading 62; 4 Winchester 78; 5 Hillingdon 80

M70 race: 1 P Giles (HW, M75) 29:29; 2 D Michael (Barn) 29:38; 3 S Plested (ESM) 30:32

M75: 2 P Newby (THH) 36:22

TEAM: none closed in

Women: 1 A Cook (Wyc P, W40) 23:23; 2 G Carnwath (Herne H, W40) 23:25; 3 L Bailey (Strag) 23:31; 4 L Elliott (Win, W55) 23:43; 5 S Biggs (Strag, W50) 24:42; 6 K Bailey (Win, W50) 25:09

W45: 1 K McIntyre (Strag) 25:34; 2 S Winter (Strag) 25:58; 3 M Hall (Gard CR) 26:01

W50: 3 S Fry (Ebourne) 25:19; 4 J Brown (Ebourne) 25:22; 5 J Gandee (Win) 25:33

W55: 2 A Critchlow (W4H) 25:35; 3 L Lumber (Ebrne) 27:37

W60: 1 J Davies (Read RR) 28:08; 2 R Thevenet (Strag) 29:41

W65: 1 L Hembury (Tring) 27:53; 2 G Hueter (Oxf C) 32:36

W70: 1 R Pilbeam (Totton) 38:21

Overall TEAM: 1 Stragglers 19; 2 Winchester 20; 3 Eastbourne 44; 4 Winchester 70; 5 Barnet 76; 6 Reading 102; 7 Reading RR 103; 8 Portsmouth 110; 9 Hillingdon 113; 10 Stragglers B 123

W40 TEAM: 1 Stragglers 15; 2 Portsmouth 49; 3 Reading 63; 4 Stubb G 73; 5 Hillingdon 76

W50 TEAM: 1 Winchester 10; 2 Eastbourne 23; 3 Winchester B 45; 4 Hillingdon 64; 5 Read RR 80

W60 TEAM: 1 Read RR 22; 2 Stragglers 25

More to follow

Chair Ian Beattie and CEO Jack Buckner aim to get the governing bodys accounts back on track in 2023

UK Athletics chair Ian Beattie says the governing body is confident of bouncing back from a precarious position that includes making a 1.8 million loss during the last financial year.

As major domestic events returned following the pandemic-related lockdowns, UKAs total revenue during the 12 months up to March 2022 was 18.1m compared to 12.9m the previous year, which coincided with the height of the Covid outbreak. But costs during the 2021-22 period also rose from around 13m to 19.6m, which resulted in a 1.8m loss.

This means the organisations reserves in March 2022 were just over 400,000 compared to 2.2m at the end of the previous financial year from 2020-2021.

Reasons for this include dwindling commercial sponsorship which includes the end of Mullers support, the costs of operating during a pandemic and major staff changes that included the replacement of a chief executive and Olympic head coach. Former CEO Jo Coates, for example, enjoyed a package of 226,163 before she resigned.

Beattie says: Jack (Buckner, the new CEO) and I are very aware that no organisation can sustain losses at this level for an extended period of time and were focused on turning the financial position around.

In the quest for new sponsors, a couple of potential deals were almost completed this autumn but were scuppered at the last moment partly due to the wider economic turmoil in the UK. But another commercial deal has gone through and is set to be announced in the new year.

The new sponsorship is not expected to be a massive game changer but will give UKA a much-needed cash injection which will provide stability while other steps are taken to improve the finances of the organisation.

Crucially, UKA confirm the elite athlete support programmes will not be affected by any of this either as they are supported by the National Lottery. Beattie and Buckner also insist the governing body is not about to go bust, as its predecessor, the British Athletic Federation (BAF), did in 1997.

Buckner, who began his role as chief executive halfway through this summer, said: We believe athletics is a fantastic sport and we want to get it back to where it should be. So we want to make it more profitable and sustainable.

We saw what athletics did this summer at the Commonwealth Games. It will require some really smart financial management to get the momentum back into the sport again. It can be done, but were coming off a period of decline so we have to be realistic at the same time.

The news broke on Monday (Dec 12) following the publication of UKAs annual accounts from 2021-22. You can click this link to see them in full.

Beattie, who has been in his role as chair for one year, said in a statement: It is fair to say UKA has had both a challenging and exciting year. Challenging in that we have encountered changes in leadership in key areas across the organisation and the potential disruption that can bring. Challenging in that like many sports exiting the tough conditions of the pandemic we too are still feeling the knock-on effect of those difficult few years.

But so very exciting to see our athletes competing at three major championships across one summer, enjoying successful performances and enjoying the ability to stage events once more in front of spectators.

This successful backdrop is one which will help us build for the future but for now UKA has to focus in the short term on ensuring we turn the corner from our current financial position.

The accounts we are publishing today show the organisation made a 1.8m loss in the financial year 2021-22. There are multiple reasons that UKA finds itself in this position, but in overall terms the financial commitments made in recent years have exceeded the income that we have been able to generate, compounded by a significant shortfall in the commercial area.

The severe cost challenges from operating during the pandemic and the impact on event income has remained a factor in the 2021-22 financial year. A number of changes in staffing structures and associated payments have also added to this pressure, as have significant unbudgeted but essential costs incurred in the safeguarding area.

As a result, I as Chair, our CEO Jack Buckner and the senior team now in place at UKA have been working hard on a number of areas to ensure that we turn around our financial position, rebuild our reserves and reverse the downward trend in our finances.

Beattie continued: It is important that I underline that these results and the plans we will put in place do not impact upon the performance team or the World Class Programme operations, which continue to be well supported by UK Sport and the funding we are provided from the National Lottery.

Some of the changes we have already implemented in the last few months includes making staff and structural changes with some high-salaried positions removed from the structure, whilst maintaining expertise and knowledge within the organisation. You will already have seen that UKA last month secured the right to host the 2026 European Athletics Championships alongside our partners in Birmingham. This is fantastic news for the sport and alongside the World Indoors taking place in Glasgow in 2024 demonstrates the trust in UKA for delivering major championships. It gives the sport an excellent platform to look forward to in the coming years.

Whilst we are unable to disclose more details at this point, we can say that we will have a new commercial arrangement to announce in the new year. This will provide us with greater financial stability and will give us more time to rebuild the organisation, with a view to increasing our commercial income in future years.

Finally, it is worth noting that this year we have begun the transfer of some areas of activity to our colleagues within the home country athletics federations, including some areas of development work in the officials and coaches area, along with lower level competition licencing. We believe that these changes are the right way forward for the sport, placing responsibility with the home countries who are better placed to perform this work.

No one likes to present a significant loss in their financial results, and we are very aware that the organisations reserves have reduced significantly over the last few years. However, we are now taking the steps needed to turn this around, in what remains a very difficult environment.

I am confident we are now on track to see better results in the future and that we have the management team in place to deliver, led by CEO Jack Buckner. I have been delighted at the support we have had from our many partners in the sport since I took on this role, and with the strong relationships we have already formed. I look forward to working even more closely with them, and with the management team, in the years ahead.