Race preview: Bupa Great Yorkshire Run - Sunday October 9, 2011
Jo Pavey will be aiming to continue her recent impressive form after returning from injury when challenging for the Bupa Great Yorkshire Run women's title, at the fifth staging of the 10k race in Sheffield on Sunday.
Pavey, although now fully committed to a marathon career and already holding the qualifying time for next year's London Olympic Games, still remains a formidable competitor over shorter distances.
The event will see the 37-year-old former Bupa Great Manchester Run title holder and this year's Bupa London 10,000 winner feeling comfortably at home when she bids to succeed the injured Scot, Freya Murray, as this year's champion in Sheffield.
Pavey, who is scheduled to run in the New York Marathon early next month, made a successful return to competition after coming fourth in the Bupa Great North Run three weeks ago, confirming the foot injury which kept her out of the summer's IAAF World Championships Marathon is mended.
Now, after that encouraging half marathon display, she will be determined to increase her speed, before travelling to New York.
Apart from Ireland's highly experienced Olympian and World Championships representative Maria McCambridge, Pavey faces a domestic field which she will respect even though they do not possess her world class stature.
The biggest threat should come from Gemma Steel, third a year ago in Sheffield and who, showing vast improvement since then, finished 16 seconds behind Pavey in the Bupa London 10,000 in a personal best time of 32 minutes 48 seconds, beating World Marathon record holder, Paula Radcliffe, who was third.
Steel, also second at the Great Ireland Run in April, will be joined by other British internationals Lauren Howarth, Laura Deadman, Rebecca Robinson and Lizzie Adams, the Commonwealth Mountain Running gold medallist.
Chris Thompson, last year's European Championships 10,000m silver medallist, will be eager to improve upon his second place in last year's Bupa Great Yorkshire Run, where he was narrowly beaten in a sprint finish by Australia's Craig Mottram.
Mottram's withdrawal from defending his title will still see Thompson face a severe test of his ability with Micah Kogo, the former world 10k record holder and currently this year's fastest man, stepping in as a replacement.
Despite the tough course the 25-year-old Kenyan could, if conditions are favourable, approach the UK All-Comers' record of 27:22, last achieved by fellow countryman Joseph Ebuya at the Bupa Great South Run over 10 miles in Portsmouth last year.
Thompson will be aiming to match the form which gained him second position at the Bupa Great Manchester Run in May behind the legendary Haile Gebrselassie, despite a frustrating summer track season where injury wrecked his chances of competing at the IAAF World Championships,.
The 30-year-old's confidence will be bolstered after placing third in the Run to the Beat half marathon in London a fortnight ago, where in a time trial he clocked an excellent time of 1:02:11.
Andrew Lemoncello, looking towards gaining a London Olympics Marathon place, who was third in the Bupa London 10,000 and seventh in last weekend's Bupa Great Edinburgh Run, will be aiming to improve on his fourth position in Sheffield last year.
Romania's World Championships marathon runner, Marius Ionescu, will also be in the field, while British internationals Stuart Stokes, Ryan McLeod, James Wilkinson and Ian Hudspith will be challengers for a top 10 finish.
Click here to find out more about the Great Yorkshire Run
