Melissa Courtney winning the 2018 Westminster Mile. Pic: Mark Shearman

It’s Muir The Merrier For Melissa In Westminster Mile

Melissa Courtney will put her Vitality Westminster Mile title on the line on May 26 when she faces multiple European champion Laura Muir.

The duo will both be kicking off busy summers which they will hope will lead to the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, which start in late September.

Wales’ Commonwealth Games 1500m bronze medallist Courtney powered to victory in last year’s race in four minutes 35 seconds to claim her first British title which was incorporated into the race.

But she will face stiff competition from middle-distance star Muir when they take to the streets of London.

The last time they met was was at the European Indoor Championships in Glasgow in March where Muir took 1500m gold on home soil with Courtney adding bronze for Britain.

Also in the star-studded field will be 2017 champion Adelle Tracey, European Indoor Championships 800m gold medallist Shelayna Oskan-Clarke – who will make her debut in the event – and Sarah McDonald, the winner in 2016 and second to Courtney last year.

The men’s race will include Cardiff’s rising star Jake Heyward who was fourth in there 1500m at last year’s World Junior Championships.

I’m Alright Jake: Heyward Happy As He Continues Steady Path Towards Tokyo

The James Thie-coached runner will face defending champ Chris O’Hare who is targeting becoming the first man in the history of the Vitality Westminster Mile to break the four-minute barrier.

The following day (May 27) will see the Vitality London 10000 with another strong Welsh entry led by Cardiff’s Charlotte Arter in a race that also incorporates the British Championships.

Reigning British 10000m track champ Arter will be joined by fellow Welsh runner Jenny Nesbitt who was part of Britain’s team at the World Cross Country Championships this winter.

Charlotte Arter triumphing in Cardiff 5k Race for Victory. Pic: Paul Stillman.

The duo will face a field that includes three former winners: defending champion Steph Twell, 2016 victor Lily Partridge and Gemma Steel who won in 2014.

The Vitality Westminster Mile is the world’s biggest timed mile event with races for all ages and abilities, from families to adults, schools, wheelchairs, Masters and Olympians.

A record number of more than 17,000 participants are expected to run the Vitality London 10000 on a course which passes iconic London landmarks such as Admiralty Arch, Nelson’s Column, St Paul’s Cathedral, Mansion House, the Bank of England, the Old Bailey, Somerset House, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament and Westminster Abbey.

 

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