Glasgow-bound: Babcock race hosts our Scottish 10k Champs

Thursday 11th May 2023

Photo by Darren Borzynski

Road Race GP for 2023

Scottish road running medallists will be fighting for podium places again this weekend at the Scottish 10K Champs.

The Babcock 10k will take place in Glasgow on Sunday (at 10am) and Shettleston Harriers are our hosts for the event this year for the first time.

And there’s great racing in prospect on Sunday morning around a flat course at Glasgow Green with this the second of three events in the Babcock 10K Series.

Scottish National championship medals are up for grabs for individuals and teams as well as Masters in ten-year bands from V40, as is now the case for all our road championship events.

With a field of over 700 runners, the interest at the elite end may centre around visiting English athlete, Calum Johnson.

The Gateshead athlete is a former National Cross champion and has a rapid PB for 10k on the road at 28:49 from Valencia in January. Calum then clocked 2:13 in the Seville Marathon in February.

Looking to challenge will be a host of recent Scottish medallists from the Half Marathon, 10-Mile and 5K events this spring.

That list (not exhaustive) would include the likes of Jamie Burns, Fraser Stewart, John Bell, Ryan Thomson, Michael Ferguson, mike Christoforou, Peter Avent, Kenny Wilson, Calum Phillip and Fraser Gilmour.

In the Masters age groups, we expect to see Darrell Hastie, Ewen Cameron, Stephen Allen, Stephen Wyllie, Dave Thom, Ed Norton and Alex Wood.

Scottish 10,000m Men’s medallists Jamie Burns, Michael Ferguson and John Bell are all expected to race on the road at Glasgow Green (photo by Bobby Gavin)

The men’s team medals look certain to be contested by Central, Shettleston, Aberdeen, Cambuslang and Corstorphine AAC.

In the women’s race, the team medals could be contested by Edinburgh Uni Hare and Hounds, Shettleston, Cambuslang, Inverclyde AC and Aberdeen AAC.

Sonia Samuels is looking forward to a visit to Glasgow. The Sale Harriers athlete won the Babcock 10ks in Helensburgh and Shettleston last year and ran 2.28 in last year’s Berlin Marathon at 42, having represented GB in the Rio Olympic Marathon.

A number of top Scots will look to challenge for the top three, including Dundee Hawkhill Harrier Natasha Phillips, who has already won Scottish Half Marathon and Scottish 10-Mile golds and took silver and U20 gold at Silverknowes over 5k.

We’re also expecting to see solid runs from Nynke Mulholland, Eilidh Bell, Constance Nankivell, Jenny Bannerman, Clare Stewart and Naomi Lang.

In the Masters age groups, the start-lists include: Sara Green, Lesley Bell, Michelle Sandison, Julie Johnston and Fiona Matheson.

Fiona Matheson of Falkirk Victoria Harriers on her way to a superb run at the Scottish 5K Champs (photo by Bobby Gavin)

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Road Race GP for 2023

This is the final event in our 2023 Road Race GP series.

Athletes have been landing shares with performances which hit certain time standards and later will share £4000 in prize-money (£2000 for men; £2000 for women).

The standards for 10K are as follows:

Men A Standard – Sub 30:00; Men B Standard – Sub 30:30

Women A – Sub 34:30; Women B Standard – Sub 35:00