2019 Outdoors

[LuckySpikes]

Alice Wright will be making her half marathon debut in Houston on 20th Jan. She's now part of the NAZ Elite training group based in Flagstaff, Arizona. Dewi Griffiths is entered in Houston also.

This Saturday sees the Great Stirling Cross Country (on BBC1). They seem to have scrapped the individual junior races and replaced it with a mixed junior relay.

[LuckySpikes]

The new stadium in Eugene won't be ready for this year's Diamond League meeting so the meeting will be held instead at the Stanford University track at Palo Alto. Whilst it's a great venue for the Payton Jordan meeting, with only 2,000 seats I'm not sure that it's the best choice for a Diamond League meeting.

[LuckySpikes]

Ah, so close for Emily Sisson in the Houston Half Marathon! Just 5 seconds outside Molly Huddle's American Record with 67:30. Brigid Kosgei won in 65:50. Alice Wright will probably be disappointed with her 73:17 debut?

Pretty decent run for Dewi Grifiths, 61:44 in 8th. Shura Kitata won in 60:11.

It was very, very cold with wind chill making it feel like -4C.

[LuckySpikes]

https://www.englandathletics.org/athletics-and-running/news/new-competitions-series-launched-champions-of-the-road/

Good idea, somewhat akin to the successful USA Running Circuit series of championship road races - https://usatfrunningcircuit.runnerspace.com/ - that frankie cahill & I enjoy so much. Now, the next step is to make sure that they're all streamed/broadcast!

[LuckySpikes]

Nice breakthrough at 10,000 for Scot, Sarah Inglis, based in Vancouver. She ran 32:36 for 4th in today's Pacific Pursuit race in San Diego. Some of her other PBs - 4:12 in 2016, 15:35i in 2019 and 73:36 for the Half in 2017.

Alice Wright ran 32:56 in the same race. Kellyn Taylor won in 32:13.

[briantyler]

She is now part of the NAZ Elite training group.
happy wheels unblocked

[treadwater1]

78.89 from Harry Hughes, his first throw in 18 months

[treadwater1]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuRlNb7AmA-/?utm_source=ig_twitter_share&igshid=15mpjwj3l2j3v

[mattrh17]

Best throw by a Brit since 2012! Hopefully both he and Whiteaker can finally push the event forward and we can have a couple of 80m+ throwers again.

[JimEvs]

Fantastic news for Harry - this is very exciting for UK javelin. Can't wait to see what he does next!!

Also saw on BBC that WvN is back with a 47s 400 this week - hope he can get back to his best this year!

[Ursus]

Fantastic from Harry. Wasn't expecting to read that!

He's right that the block was awful. Kind of reminded me of Breaux Greer. Definitely more to come.

Taylor Campbell just short of his PB with 73.21 in the hammer.

[larkim]

Does the intercounties at Loughborough this weekend count as 2019 outdoors? Not exactly a stacked set of fields - bigger opportunities at the big half?

[LuckySpikes]

Does the intercounties at Loughborough this weekend count as 2019 outdoors? Not exactly a stacked set of fields - bigger opportunities at the big half?

The Loughborough Cross Country is also serving as the Trials for the World XC Champs later in the month. Glad to see that British Athletics has reversed their initial policy to select only 2 athletes for each senior team, so now we will now be sending full teams.

[larkim]

Yes, but there's something of a dearth of higher profile athletes actually running the intercounties. With Vernon, Griffiths, etc all in marathon prep and running the Big Half this weekend, and previous big names like Butchart, the Brownlees (ok, not for a few years), the men's race doesn't look full to the brim of a high quality GB team in the making. Not to knock the XC specialists, and of course athletes like Mohamed Mohamed, but it doesn't look like the late signalling of potential for GB vests to be earned in the seniors has really attracted many to throw their hats into the ring - possibly because the decisions were made too late so plans were already in place for focus on the road this year.

Women's event, as ever, looks higher quality - at least in terms of "bigger names".

[LuckySpikes]

Slovak Athletics are doing an excellent job with the streaming of the European Throwing Cup, on all day today & tomorrow on YouTube. It's a proper TV-level production.