A_secret_town_drenched_in_blue.txt
Great North Run Eilish McColgan third as Sheila Chepkirui wins women's race - BBC Sport.txt
McColgan third in Great North Run as Chepkirui winsImage source,flay de bingo PA MediaImage caption, McColgan was taking part in her third Great North RunPublished7 September 2025Kenya's Sheila Chepkirui claimed victory in the Great North Run women's race as Britain's Eilish McColgan finished third.The Scot trailed Chepkirui and Vivian Cheruiyot in the final stages and, despite a late push, she failed to overhaul the Kenyan pair.Chepkirui won in one hour nine minutes and 32 seconds, with her compatriot Cheruiyot five seconds behind and McColgan 10 seconds adrift of the winner."It was really nice but there was a lot of wind," said Chepkirui, 34.Taking part in her third Great North Run, McColgan was aiming to emulate her mother Liz by winning the race for the first time."It was tough conditions today," said the 34-year-old. "We had a headwind pretty much the whole race until that final mile, so times were sort of out of the window early doors. "We were a lot slower than we set off last year. There was no rain compared to last year and the crowds were out in force so it was a special day."In the men's race, Kenya's Alex Mutiso, 28, raced away in the latter stages to win in 1:00.52.Belgium's Bashir Abdi was six seconds behind in second place, with Kenya's Abel Kipchumba - who won last year's race - nine seconds off the winner in third.Ben Connor was the highest-placed Briton in the men's race as he came in fourth in 1:02.57.Fellow Briton Sean Frame took control of the men's wheelchair race early on and claimed victory in 49:24 as he added to his win in 2021.Simon Lawson finished second in 52:38 and another Briton, Anton Shepherd, was third in 54:21."A bit of a headwind all the way but it was an amazing race," said Frame. "I was second last year, it didn't bother me that much. I just focused on this year - putting on the best performance I could and just use my strengths - and it paid off."Great Britain's Mel Nicholls won the women's wheelchair race in 1:05.24, with Rita Curuccu, of Italy, second in 1:22.22. "It was so much fun, I loved it," said Nicholls. "The wind was crazy."A lot of it is uphill but it certainly felt it was all uphill."Rowe, Warner-Judd, Weir and Rainbow-Cooper win at Big HalfIn The Big Half - a half marathon race in London - there were wins for Great Britain's Jack Rowe, Jess Warner-Judd, David Weir and Eden Rainbow-Cooper.Rowe equalled Mo Farah's record by winning the event for a third time.He claimed victory in 1:04.08 as he finished ahead of Mo Aadan, who was second in 1:04.46, and third-placed Weynay Ghebresilasie (1:04.53)."It was a really good, fun race," said Rowe. "There was a big group of us out there and it was quite hard to push a fast pace as it was windy at times, which made it quite cagey, but also fun to race in."Warner-Judd, who was diagnosed with epilepsy after collapsing during the European Championships 10,000m final in Rome in 2024, crossed the finish line in 1:10.35.Fellow Britons Abbie Donnelly (1:11.24) and Samantha Harris (1:11.40) were second and third respectively. "It has been a really hard year," said Warner-Judd. "I wanted to have a track season but, basically, every time I go on to the track it's like I can't remember the race, so I've started trauma therapy and that seems to be really helping."I wanted to do the track and make the team for the Tokyo World Championships, but it became really obvious early on that just wasn't happening. "The training and everything was fine, and that made it more frustrating - I was probably in the shape of my life but I've basically had to start again. "I am hoping with the therapy and stuff that I can come back to the track, but to be honest I am really enjoying the road and it's a fresh start."Weir won the men's wheelchair race for a record fourth time, while Rainbow-Cooper won the women's wheelchair race in 54.31. Weir, who collided with a vehicle during training just over six weeks ago, beat his own record by 20 seconds as he crossed the finish line in 46.58secs."I've not raced for a while after the accident in July and have been left a bit rusty, so I am very happy to have set a course record - but I still think there is more in the tank," he said."I was going at 21mph when I had the accident and had to go to the hospital to get stitches. I had punctured a hole in my arm and my whole back was grazed. "Fortunately, there were no breaks but I had to take two weeks off, so I've only had a month to get back into shape really - this has been good going into the Berlin Marathon."Related topicsAthletics
