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Mellor in mind to break barriers as Britons hunt Olympic times
Running an Olympic qualifying time will be the only goal in mind for most
of Britain's elite marathon runners at the 2020 Virgin Money London
Marathon on Sunday.
Yet the country's leading man this year and favourite for the British title
over the gruelling distance has a more ambitious aim in mind – to break the
magic 2:10 barrier and put his name among a select band of Britons who have
achieved the feat.
Jonny Mellor made a huge breakthrough at the pre-lockdown Seville Marathon
this February, when he took more than three minutes from his personal best
with 2:10:03, well inside the Tokyo standard of 2:11:30, making him the
17th-quickest Briton of all time.
That put Mellor in pole position to join the pre-selected Callum Hawkins on
the GB marathon team at next year's Games and he starts Sunday's race
knowing another good performance will virtually seal his ticket to Tokyo.
But Mellor, who's improved his best by more than eight minutes in the last
three years, isn't prepared to rest on his laurels as he enters Sunday's
tussle for UK honours.
"I've always thought I was capable of running two zero-something," said the
33-year-old just two days before the race. "If I can come away with another
qualifying time, that's goal number one. But if I can get under 2:10 then
I'd be delighted."
Indeed, he would be only the 18th British man to run sub-2:10, joining such
notable names as former London Marathon winners Hugh Jones, Mike Gratton,
Charlie Spedding and Steve Jones, not to mention current British record
holder Sir Mo Farah and Hawkins himself, who ran 2:08:14 in London last
year and has twice placed fourth at the World Championships.
For Mellor, knowing he has the qualifying time "in my back pocket" means he
can run with less pressure than his rivals.
"It is a factor but there are also very talented lads in the field," he
said. "A lot are capable of running the time, but it does give me
confidence.
"The way I've been feeling in training and at altitude is much the same as
the build-up to Seville. And I've benefited this year from having a
training partner in Ross Millington too, so that's been a big help.
"Obviously, with the marathon you just don't know sometimes, but I'm
confident I've done everything I need to.
"When I ran in Seville, I never thought the next one wouldn't be until
October," he added. "I'm so grateful to the London Marathon for putting
this on. I'm delighted to be here and privileged to be on the Start Line.
I'm really looking forward to it."
Millington makes his marathon debut on Sunday in a loaded British field of
14 men. One of Mellor's chief rivals will be the evergreen, ebullient
39-year-old Chris Thompson, who's hoping to rediscover the form that took
him to 11th overall on his debut back in 2014 when he ran 2:11:19.
A repeat performance would put the former European 10,000m silver medallist
in sight of a second Olympic appearance, his first on the roads.
"If I can be in Jonny's shoes after the weekend, I'll be ecstatic," he
said. "We want a handful of athletes with the time and then we can have a
shoot-out in a marathon next year. That would draw quite a bit of fun.
Hopefully I can be in the mix."
Thompson said he views Sunday's race as "a free hit" – "an opportunity that
two or three months ago didn't exist".
"I can't remember the last time I've gone this long without racing," said
Thompson, who's last pre-Covid performance was at The Vitality Big Half in
early March, when he was runner-up to Kenenisa Bekele, a man he had
expected to meet again on Sunday's Start Line before the Ethiopian pulled
out today with a calf injury.
"At first, [during the lockdown] I really took a back seat and rested up,
recharged the batteries. I didn't do much at first, watched a lot of
Netflix," he said.
"But once the London Marathon came on the table I've been looking forward
to this weekend. It's not been the most normal of build-ups but I've
enjoyed it more than any other.
"Everyone is chasing that time and this race has given us the opportunity.
Let's see what we can do.
"I'm going into this feeling it can be a springboard. I'm not putting
barriers in the way of that. If I run quick, great.
"But the marathon is a cruel mistress. It can throw up anything. I've done
what I can and we'll see what happens. Roll the dice."
One of those who'll be rolling alongside him is his old friend and training
partner Mo Farah, who's turning out as a pacemaker for his fellow
countrymen. Farah, who set the UK record of 2:05:11 when winning the
Chicago Marathon in 2018, has opted to defend his 10,000m title in Tokyo.
"I hope he's pacing us to 25 miles," joked Thompson. "I'm sure it's going
to be interesting for him to run at our pace, but hopefully that means he
can run to just short of the finish."
"The longer he can go, the better," agreed Mellor. "It's an honour and
quite unique to be able to line up alongside him."
Farah and Hawkins have been the spearheads for a revival in British
marathon running over the last few years. And there's been progress on the
women's side too, where an emerging group of road runners is finally
stepping out from behind the long shadow of Paula Radcliffe and her
world-beating achievements.
One of those is Steph Twell, a long-standing British international and
former world junior 1,500m champion, who is making her London Marathon
debut on Sunday at 31.
Like Mellor, Twell is in the enviable position of having bagged the Tokyo
standard already when she set a Scottish record of 2:26:40 in Frankfurt a
year ago, well inside the women's qualifying time of 2:29:30.
That made her the sixth-fastest British woman of all time, ahead of such
names as Priscilla Welch and Liz McColgan. But with Jess Piasecki and
Charlotte Purdue going even quicker last year, Twell knows she needs
another strong performance on Sunday's looped course.
"I am here to race," she said. "I hear the course is fast, so I don't want
to limit myself. There's a great opportunity. This is part of building
momentum for next year to make sure I am ready and fresh for a big Olympic
year."
Despite years of experience, the self-coached Twell calls herself a
"fresh-faced marathon runner" with "room to explore". Sunday's race will be
only her third over the distance, but it's already an event she relishes.
"I don't know my full potential in this event yet, so I don't think this is
the final roll of the dice or my signature marathon," she said. "That will
come with even better preparation and more experience. I still have to put
that package together so I can show a signature performance further down
the line.
"My main aim for next year is to have the best impact for Britain at an
Olympic Games and I don't know if that is at 10K or marathon yet. This is a
chance to see what I can achieve.
"I've known from a young age that the marathon would be something I
eventually turn to. I love long runs, I love the marathon as a community
event, and I love the training, so all that has been a string to my bow.
I've never been afraid of the hard work.
"It's my first female-only race, and a British championships too, which is
really important to me. This is an opportunity for me to grow again. The
time will count too."
For Lily Partridge Sunday's showdown is all about the time. With Piasecki
and Purdue not among the seven-strong field of Brits, Partridge has a
chance to add her name to the four who already hold the standard.
Partridge bettered the all-important mark at the 2018 Virgin Money London
Marathon when she clocked 2:29:24, placing eighth overall in the women's
elite and first Briton home. A similar result on Sunday would be just the
ticket for the 29-year-old.
"I have full focus on the Olympic standard," said Partridge. "That's the
goal for the weekend, to make sure I come out ready for next year with what
I need for the Olympics
"I need to focus on qualifying, whether that be from a top-10 finish or
getting inside 2:29:30. My run in 2018 got me both of those so a repeat
would be great."
- 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon Elite Fields
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