Meeting Start Time: 4:30 pm
Closing Date: Closed
Spectator Entry is free
The timetable has been updated to move the women’s 1500 A race to 18:28. This means that other 1500m races after this time may be 9 minutes later than originally.
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Meeting Timetable – HERE
Meeting Start Lists – HERE
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Prizes for all races will apply to the fastest times irrespective of heat
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ST MARY’S GRAND PRIX PREVIEW
IN the after-glow of the Commonwealth Games in Scotland and the lull before the thrill of the Europeans in Birmingham, St Mary’s is the only place to be this weekend for the fifth and final adidas/sportsshoes.com British Milers Club Grand Prix of the season.
“It just shows what can happen when you get the right date in the calendar,” said Grand Prix director Tim Brennan.
“Obviously we have athletes who were at the Commonwealths (nine in total) who are in the UK looking to race and there are some really top athletes who didn’t make it for Birmingham.
“They also want to race and as there isn’t much else on in Europe this weekend to avoid clashing with the championships next week St Mary’s is very much the place to be.”
That fact coupled with the BMC’s reputation for slick organisation and reliable pacemakers means the races on Sunday are arguably the best quality we have seen this summer for the GP circuit.
Such is the depth in quality that Brennan and meeting director Craig Winrow who is Centre Coordinator and Performance Coach at St Mary’s, said the decision had been made to award prizes to the fastest runners no matter which heat they find themselves in. So the timetable now shows A1 and A2 races for the men’s 800m.
“We find ourselves in a position where we have top quality guys with PBs of 1:44 and 1:45 in the A2 race,” added Brennan.
“But we work hard to ensure a good balance in all our races.”
The women’s 1500m A race is a case in point. A trio of top Canadian runners are entered having all appeared at the Commonwealth Games last week.
Tokyo Olympian Gabriela Debues-Stafford, who has set Canadian records for the 1500m, mile, 3000m and 5000m, finished 15th (15:09.66) in the 5000m in Glasgow and is joined by Lucia Stafford (fourth in the mile behind the Aussie clean sweep) and Grace Fetherstonhaugh, who came sixth in the 3000m steeplechase.
In addition, Australian Linden Hall was seventh in the 5000m at Glasgow (14:55.28) while there is also a strong presence from the Home Countries in the 1500m A race.
England’s Ava Lloyd and Scotland’s Sarah Calvert finished sixth and seventh respectively in the mile at Glasgow while the Wales pair of Melissa Courtney-Bryant (mile heats) and Cari Hughes (eighth in the 3000m steeplechase) are all entered.
What an opportunity that presents for the likes of British runners Holly Dixon and Kate Axford.
Dixon will be full of confidence having smashed her 1500m PB in the Oordegem meeting, in Belgium, last weekend improving from 4:08.95, set when finishing runner-up in the BMC Grand Prix at Stretford, to 4:05.14 to go 10th in the UK Rankings.
Likewise Axford continued her comeback, which saw her win the 3000m at the Watford Grand Prix last month, with a PB of 4:07.93 behind Dixon in Oordegem. Axford also squeezed in a PB 2:04.43 800m at the BMC Regional meeting in Leeds. Molly Hudson, a Grand Prix winner over 1500m at Loughborough University on top of a third at Trafford at the start of the season also races..
“We want to give our leading British runners an opportunity to test themselves against international talent, who on paper are faster than them, so that they may get dragged around to a quick time,” said Brennan.
A field of that quality certainly raises the prospect that the BMC Allcomers record in a women’s only race of 4:03.02, set by Sarah McDonald at Trafford in 2023, could be under threat. The fastest female time ever was set by Lisa Dobriskey with 4:00.64 in a mixed race, also at Trafford, 18 years ago.
The impressive BMC men’s 800m record of 1:44.40 was set by Ben Pattison four years ago and it is not impossible with the calibre of the fields in the A1 and A2 races that we could see a serious challenge to that as well.
Fresh from finishing eighth in the mile at Commonwealth Games for England Archie Davis is among the leading contenders in the 800m A1 race.
Davis has been enjoying good form with a PB of 3:51.09 in Josh Kerr’s world mile record race at London last month – also notching up a lifetime best of 3:33.56 for his 1500m split – and he was runner-up at the BMC Grand Prix at Watford in a season’s best of 1:46.89.
The 27-year-old will certainly be looking to go quicker than that and may have one eye on his lifetime best of 1:44.72.
He faces strong British competition in the shape of Dave Race (1:45.80 this season), plus the trio of Callum Dodds, Finley McLear, who was third at Watford and Elliot Savage, fourth at Watford, who boast season’s bests of 1:46.32, 1:46.74 and 1:47.37 respectively.
And there are a couple of strong runners from overseas, too, with Spain’s Eric Gonzalez (PB 1:46.50) and Canadian Leroy Russell (PB 1:46.66).
The A2 race is stacked as well with 23-year-old American Sam Whitmarsh leading the way. Whitmarsh ran a season’s best of 1:46.17 in Oordegem last week and reckons he is in shape for a 1:45 clocking.
Abubaker Haydar Abdalia of Qatar has run a PB of 1:45.65 already his season while Samuel Phistrom of Sweden ran his PB 1:46.64 this summer.
Throw in a strong British contingent including Piers Copeland and James McMurray and it would be no surprise if the A2 race turns out to be quicker.
“Prize money will be given to the fastest men overall from both races,” confirmed Brennan, ensuring that there will be be no lack of motivation to make sure both races are quick.
The women’s 800m field is headed by Australian Georgia Griffith, whose PB of 1:59.22 was set barely a year ago in Germany. Last weekend the 29-year-old, who won bronze in the 1500m at the World Indoors last year, won the 5000m (14:44.64) in Oordegem so her range is impressive.
Leading the British challenge is in-form Lucy Armitage, who ran her PB of 2:00.45 at the UK Championships in June and is ninth on the national rankings. Armitage warmed up with a win at the BMC Gold Standard Meeting, in Watford, on Wednesday clocking 2:02.10.
Also in the field is Grace Vans Agnew, who finished just behind Armitage at the UK Champs and has a season’s best of 2:00.64.
The women’s B race is also strong with the inclusion of British and English Schools champions and UK No 1 U16s runner Maisie Mullett, who ran her PB of 2:05.43 when finishing third at the Trafford Grand Prix in May.
There is a very competitive line-up for the men’s 3000m including Ben MacMillan, Dominic Nolan and Ireland’s Shane McEvoy, who are al looking towards 7mins 50secs while int he women’s race St Mary’s student Mia Waldman is sure to get a lot of local support.
The first race is at 4.30 and the packed 37-race programme culminates with the men’s 3000m at 20.37. Entry for spectators is free but if you can’t make it in person, check out the live coverage provided by Vinco at: www.vincosport.com
