Murray on form in Yorkshire Run (From The Northern Echo)

Murray on form in Yorkshire Run

11:23am Tuesday 8th September 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

CHESTER-LE-STREET’s Scottish international Freya Murray ran the race of her life to win the big BUPA Great Yorkshire Run, out-sprinting former World Cross Country Champion Benita Willis- Johnson in a thrilling finish.

Willis-Johnson, who won the Great North Run in 1994, tried to drop 25-year-old Murray in the final mile in Sheffield City Centre, but the UK 5,000m champion hung on and proceeded to beat the former Olympic Games marathon runner by one second in a personal-best 32 mins 28 secs.

Murray, who just missed out on selection for last month’s World Championships in Berlin, is being hailed as Scotland’s best distance runner since Liz Mc- Colgan and Yvonne Murray.

Flattered by the accolades Murray said: “They are definitely massive role models and anything I can do to be like them would be great.

“Liz still keeps in touch and I spoke to Yvonne last month so they are very supportive and it would be great to reach that standard.”

Murray hopes to repeat the altitude training in Boulder, Colorado, under the guidance of UK marathon record holder Steve Jones which, she feels, sparked so much improvement to her performances this year.

Supported by the Scottish Women’s Athletic Association, Murray hopes to return to the USA at the end of next month. “I hope it will help me and others to keep progressing,”

she said.

Murray’s time hoisted her from 23rd to second place in the UK 10K rankings, seven seconds ahead of triple European junior cross country champion Stephanie Twell.

Willis-Johnson, who has also joined the Chester-le- Street club while working for Brendan Foster’s Nova International in Newcastle, will clash again with Murray in this weekend’s BUPA Great Capital Run 5K in London.

■ Two North-East athletes, Ricky Stevenson (New Marske) and Nick McCormick (Morpeth), helped England set a new national 4x1500m record in the Ivo Van Damme meeting in Brussels at the weekend.

As Kenya set a new world record of 14 mins 36.23 secs, eclipsing the oldest record in athletics, set by Germany in 1977, England finished fifth in 14 mins 54.57 secs, beating the UK record of 14:56.8, set by a British Milers’ Club squad in Bourges, France, in 1979. The individual times were: Andy Baddeley 3 mins 39.0 secs, Stevenson 3:43.3, McCormick 3:44.7 and Mark Draper 3:47.6.

■ Chester-le-Street’s England international Alyson Dixon finished sixth and fifth Briton in the Bristol Half Marathon in a pb 73 mins 40 secs, 20 seconds inside the qualifying standard for the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Birmingham next month. The women’s race was won by Bristol and West’s Claire Hallissey in 72.03.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)