2k enter the Telford 10k this weekend
Just under two thousand runners will descend on Telford Town Park on Sunday for the 41st Telford 10k Road Race.
Organised by Telford Athletic Club, the event has rapidly grown in prestige and is now considered one of the country’s premier races, attracting both a top-class international standard field and hundreds of runners of all abilities chasing a personal best. The event is now split into four separate races to manage the different speed of entrants.
The top runners will be competing in the first race at 10.00, which is specifically for male athletes aiming to run faster than 30 minutes and 30 seconds. A second elite race for top women and men under 37 minutes follows at 10.35.
The multi-lap course is known to be very fast, and while a section of the Silkin Way is closed due to a sinkhole, the revised route still uses the park paths, starting at the Southwater Town Park entrance. It will offer a fantastic opportunity to see some of the fastest road runners in the country in action.
The race first started in 1984 around the streets of Wellington, before moving to the traffic-free setting of the park in 1998 due to increased Sunday traffic. The event has seen massive growth, with last year’s 1,311 finishers a stark comparison to the 90 who completed the course in 1999.
Last year’s men’s winner, Jack Rowe from Aldershot, set a new course record of 28.01. This year’s women’s field is equally high-calibre, including course record holder Samantha Harrison from Nottingham, who ran 31.10 in 2022.
Runners from Shropshire to look out for include Alison Lavender, who is representing the Midlands, Thomas Telford School teacher Sophie Hurst, and Church Stretton’s Beth Rawlinson.
Race organiser Dave Mansbridge is pleased with the high standard of entries. He said: “I am delighted with the quality of the field assembled this year, with the race again chosen to host an inter area competition.”
Teams representing the North, the Midlands, the Armed Forces, and North Wales will be taking part, alongside an inter-university team race. The winners will collect prize money of £500, with a £250 bonus for a new course record. If conditions are right, Mr Mansbridge expects to see 30 men break the 30-minute barrier.
