Eilish McColgan, Alicia Monson storm to British and American records in California
While McColgan ran 0.23 seconds clear of the British record, Monson smashed the American best by 10 seconds
Photo by:
Kevin Morris
Great Britain’s Eilish McColgan and American Alicia Monson both ran to national 10,000m records at Saturday’s Sound Running Ten meet in California, crossing the line in 30:00.86 and 30:03.82, respectively. McColgan won the race and managed to just dip under Paula Radcliffe‘s 20-year-old British record by 0.23 seconds. Finishing just behind McColgan in second place, Monson had much more breathing room when it came to the American record, as she beat Molly Huddle‘s national best by 10 seconds.
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A record-breaking race
Going into Saturday’s race, McColgan owned the second-fastest 10,000m time in British history with a PB of 30:19.02, a time that she ran in the Netherlands in 2022. This time was still well off Radcliffe’s national record of 30:01.09, but that didn’t stop her from shooting for history on Saturday. Monson’s situation was quite similar to McColgan’s, as her PB of 30:51.09 was near the top of the all-time American ranks (she entered the race as the seventh-fastest American ever) but still far behind Huddle’s national record of 30:13.17.
McColgan and Monson took control of the race right from the start, and after just two laps, they had opened up a four-second lead on the next closest runners. By the halfway mark, that lead had grown to more than 20 seconds, but McColgan and Monson had yet to separate from each other by more than a few tenths of a second. Their 5,000m splits were 15:09, which was far off national record pace for either woman.
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Over the next 5K, though, they increased their speed considerably, and with one lap to go, they were still right next to one another and battling for the win. With 300m to go, McColgan made her move and pulled away from Monson, flying to the finish, to the win and to British history. Monson crossed the line three seconds later. Both women met the world championships 10,000m standard of 30:40.00. Mexico’s Laura Galvan added a third national record to the results list with a 31:04.08 finish.
The men’s race
The men’s 10,000m in California may not have seen national records like the women’s race did, but it was no less exciting. Multiple men were in the mix for the first half of the race, but with each passing lap in the last 5K, Americans Woody Kincaid and Joe Klecker drew further and further away from the rest of the field. They remained side by side until the last 400m, when Kincaid laid down a 55.96 closing lap and pulled ahead of his compatriot. Kincaid crossed the line in 27:06.37, stopping the clock just in front of Klecker’s 27:07.57. Kincaid and Klecker both set PBs in California, and their times beat the worlds standard of 27:10.00.
For full results from the Sound Running Ten, click here.
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