Duo in hunt for hat-tricks (From The Northern Echo)

Duo in hunt for hat-tricks

9:16am Saturday 4th September 2010 in

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DEFENDING champions Ian Hudspith and Angela Hibbs will both be chasing hat-trick victories in tomorrow’s Tees Pride 10K in Middlesbrough.

And some of the UK’s top middle-distance runners will be contesting the two Elite Mile races beforehand.

Hudspith, who will be 40 later this month, won the Middlesbrough Tees Pride 5K in May before going on to finish third as defending champion in the Blaydon Race on June 9 – his only two road races this year. The Great Britain international’s only other competitive outing was in the UK Championships 10,000m, when he finished 15th in 29 mins 55.56 secs.

The Morpeth Harrier won last year’s Tees Pride 10K in a time of 30:9, 26 seconds slower than his first victory in 2008.

His main challengers tomorrow are expected to include Belfast’s Paul Pollock, who has a personal-best of 30:38 from his 2008 success in the Bangor Classic 10K, while New Marske’s Andrew Wiles, fifth at Acklam last year, has a pb of 30:58.

Hibbs, who has not raced on the roads since finishing runner-up in the Tees Pride 5K in May, faces a stiffer challenge from last month’s Darlington 10K winner, Rosie Smith, of Durham.

The 29-year-old Chester-le- Street athlete won the event last year in 35:57, one of nine road-race victories, and she brought her best time for the distance down to 35:54 winning this year’s Blyth Valley 10K.

Scottish international Smith, the reigning Northeast cross country champion, is a relative newcomer to the distance but won comfortably at Darlington in a time of 35:27 in only her third attempt at the distance and will be looking for further improvement tomorrow.

The Middlesbrough Elite Mile will include Scottish champion Alistair Hay, who will be competing in the Commonwealth Games next month, and European finalist Colin McCourt, who this year won the European Team Championships 1500m in Norway.

Morpeth Harriers’ top UK 1500m junior, Laura Weightman, will partner England international and UK 3K steeplechase record holder Helen Clitheroe in the women’s race, with Shildon’s Kate Avery representing the North-East.

The women’s mile starts at 10.25am, with the men’s race at 10.30am. The Tees Pride 10K starts at 10.45am. Entries are now closed.

■ Tynedale Harriers host the North-East and Veterans tenmile championships tomorrow in their annual road race between Hexham and Ovingham.