Eilish McColgan wins women's Vitality 10K race in 30:23!

Eilish McColgan, photo copyrighted by Vitality 10,000

Eilish McColgan just ran a brilliant 5k, and now a brilliant 10k! I was asked if she will be in medal contention. I think she gets better as she gets longer, I think she is getting deadly over 10,000m and that the marathon is most definitely in her future.

This piece is by Stuart Weir.

Eilish McColgan wins women’s Vitality 10K race

Eilish McColgan, photo copyright by Vitality 10,000

The only disappointment in Eilish McColgan’s win in the Vitality London 10K was that she was two seconds off the British and European 10K record
The Vitality London 10,000 returned to central London today (Bank Holiday Monday 2 May) for the first time since 2019 – with an explosive elite race that saw Eilish McColgan win but fall short of Paula Radcliffe’s 19-year-old European and British record of 30:21 – winning the women’s race in 30:23. However, that time meant she did beat her mum’s, Liz Nuttall’s (formerly McColgan) Scottish 10K record of 30:39, set in Orlando in 1989.

Mum and daughter, Liz McColgan Nuttal congratulate Eilish McColgan, photo courtesy of Stuart Weir

“I am gutted to have missed the British record by a couple of seconds,” said McColgan after the race. “I probably didn’t believe I could do it, so I went into the race thinking I’d be happy to run 31:40, but I’m in much better shape than I give myself credit for.

“To be honest, I only saw the clock when I turned the corner towards the Finish Line, and I thought ‘Oh my god, I could make it in time!'”

Eilish McColgan enjoying the victory at Vitality 10k, photo copyright by Vitality 10000

Speaking about making her debut in the Vitality London 10,000 McColgan said: “It’s my first time at the event and I loved it. The crowds were brilliant, and you get other runners cheering you on too, so that really helped when I felt tired – there’s no time to switch off.

“I think I probably ran a 200m PB in the push for the Finish Line, I was so desperate to get the record, but hopefully there will be another opportunity to go for it again later this year.”

Women’s results

1 Eilish McColgan 30:23
2 Jess Piasecki 31:28
3 Samantha Harrison 31:44
4 Clara Evans 32:35
5 Steph Twell 33:45

There was another Scottish win in the women’s wheelchair race, with Samantha Kinghorn taking the crown in 24:45, followed by Eden Rainbow-Cooper and 2019 winner Shelly Woods in third.

Jeff Benjamin

Jeff Benjamin has written for 30 years for American Track and Field along with RunBlogRun. The Former President of the Staten Island AC & Chair of the Staten Island Running Association was the 5th man scorer for his Susan Wagner High School NYC XC City Championship team. Also a member of the College of Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame for XC, Jeff currently serves as the LDR Chairman for USATF NY. A passionate (or fanatical) follower of the Sport, some of Jeff's subjects have included Sebastian Coe, Emma Coburn, Eamonn Coghlan, Matt Centrowitz, Jim Spivey, Galen Rupp, Joe Newton, Tom Fleming, Ajee’ Wilson, Bill Rodgers, Allan Webb, Abel Kiviat, Jordan Hassay, Marty Liquori, Caster Semenya, Rod Dixon, Carl Lewis and Jim Ryun as well as Book Reviews and articles covering meets and races in the Northeast U.S.

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