Portsmouth and Southsea will welcome up to 25,000 runners this weekend for the Great South Run, an event which has been a mainstay on the running calendar since 1990 and graced by all-time distance running greats such as Paula Radcliffe and Sonia O’Sullivan.
The Great South Run is Europe’s biggest 10-mile race and the event has been given a five-star certification by European Athletics Running for All.
The two-day event starts tomorrow morning with the 5km run which includes a race within a race as Britain’s leading race walker Tom Bosworth has challenged runners to cover the distance faster than he can walk it.
“I think the challenge to run faster than I walk is a great one. No one has any idea how fast race walkers can go and when they hear my British 5km record, some are stunned,” said Bosworth at the event launch in May.
What is your 5km PB?
— Running for All (@runningforall) October 21, 2016
Tom Bosworth can walk it in 18:54 and he is challenging runners to take him at that distance in the #GreatSouthRun! pic.twitter.com/b3GbBJ9j9O
Bosworth finished sixth in the 20km walk at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in a British record of 1:20:13. His lifetime best at 5km stands at 18:54.18 but having only resumed training after the summer season, Bosworth is targeting a finish-time between 20 and 21 minutes.
Not only can runners who finish ahead of Bosworth claim the scalp of an Olympian, they will also receive free entry into the 2017 edition of the Great South Run.
But the highlight of the weekend is the 10-mile race on the Sunday which is headlined by world 5000m record-holder and three-time Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba who will face European half marathon silver medallist Veronica Inglese from Italy and British Olympians Alyson Dixon and Jess Andrews.
The men’s race is a largely domestic affair with last weekend’s Great Birmingham Run winner Andy Vernon looking for back-to-back wins against Chris Thompson and Scott Overall.
The runners will take on a course through Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard, passing iconic landmarks such as HMS Victory, HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose Museum.
The European Athletics Quality Road Race standards act as an assurance for road runners throughout Europe. They distinguish between races that respect the standards and those that haven’t sought certification or assessment. They form the foundation of Running for All, a strong recognisable brand for running activities throughout Europe.
More information on Running for All:
Website: european-running4all.org
Twitter: @runningforall
Contact: running4all@european-athletics.org