Athletics: McColgan seeks return to winning ways

Athletics

LIZ McCOLGAN has confirmed her entry to the Bupa Great North Run for a fourth successive year and is determined to make up for missing out on a hat-trick of titles.

The Scottish long-distance runner, who first won the event in 1992, added further victories in 1995 and 1996 but slipped to third place last year behind the Kenyan Lucia Subano and her British rival Marian Sutton.

McColgan insists she can return to winning ways in this season's Newcastle to South Shields half-marathon on 4 October, which is expected to attract a record 40,000 entries.

"Last year I felt comfortable in the early stages of the race. I was jogging along feeling great and you can imagine how annoyed I was when I couldn't find the pace to stay with the field," she said.

"I have a special affection for the race. The support I receive from spectators is tremendous and I owe it to them to put things right this autumn."

Richard Nerurkar returns to championship cross-country running in Cardiff on Sunday hoping to seal his place in Britain's team for next month's World Championships in Marrakech. The 34-year-old, who won the English title three times before switching to the marathon, will compete at Bute Park in the Reebok UK Championships, which is also the world trials.