Story added: 18th October 2022

Here's who could be at the front of Run Norwich 2022

With cooler autumn conditions unlocking the potential for course records to be broken, there should be plenty of fireworks at the front end of the race.

We’ve previewed a few of the candidates for the podium places:

Name (bib no, best placed gender finish)

Male

Winning last year’s race was a feeling he’ll “never forget” and our returning champion Logan Smith (#1; 1^st in 2019) is in fine form.

He won the Great Eastern Run on Sunday, and the county champion has run 30:41 on the track this year (Highgate Night of 10,000m), and won the Holt 10k with a course record and road personal best time of 31.12.

A debutant from further afield, Ben Felton (#38; debutant) will be looking to deny Logan back-to-back wins. The Chelmsford AC runner ran 30:56 at the Little Bromley 10k, as well as winning the Norfolk Gazelles Valentines 10k back in February.

Jacob Ocal (#16; 64^th in 2019) only got into running at the later age of 15 after enjoying Mulbarton Parkrun. The City of Norwich Athletics Club (CONAC) athlete now hopes to place high up in the results and recent form has seen him come second at the Trowse 10k with 32:41 and third at the Norfolk County Championships. He has seen his 5k time improve from around 29 minutes to most recently 15:30.

Adrian Mussett (#5; 3^rd ’15 & ‘17) turned fifty this year, and will look to leave his mark in the record books of the M50 age category, as well as challenge for the race podium. The winner of the GEAR 10k in May, he also set a time of 15:20 in the Ipswich Twilight 5k.

CONAC’s James Senior (#6; 3^rd in 2018) is 50:50 for the startline, but a lack of training because of injuries means he feels unlikely to challenge for the top spots; he’ll be tracking the progress of the runners he coaches, having coached Logan Smith, Ben Spratling and Piers Arnold to a 1-2-3 finish in 2019.

James Reed (#48; debutant) moved back to Norwich after a 20-year absence, and will be looking to take on his first Run Norwich.  He has run the third fastest time in the UK for age (over 40), and clocked 15.05 for 5K over the summer.  A few injuries – and one accident (he was hit by a mini bus in Zambia while running) later – he hopes to be an age category challenger.

Ones to watch & age category contenders: Brogan McCawley (#51; Debutant),  Kyle Brooks (#15; 45^th in 2019); Neil Adams (#18; 24^th in 2018)

Female

A new name on the Norfolk running scene, Anya Culling (#7; Debutant), is aiming to add Run Norwich to her growing list of accolades. Always sporty, Anya unearthed a talent for running during lockdown, that was announced in style on the running scene when she was a surprise first European finisher at the Rome Marathon with a time of 2:43 (despite being in the non-elite category).

At the London Marathon, she finished with a time of 2:36, placing her third in the British championship race and 12^th female overall. Other outings have seen her finish first in her age category at Cambridge Half earlier this year, and second at the Asics London 10K.

She’ll be running to raise funds for partner charity Cruse on race day, and Run Norwich will be the first time her Grandma, who is unable to travel long distances, will be able to see her in action.

Due to some health setbacks, last year’s champion Iona Lake (#2; 1^st in 2019) won’t be running for podium places this year, but still plans to run for fun with a friend.

CONAC’s Leanne Finch (#8; 2^nd in 2018) enjoyed podium success back in 2018, and recently ran 37:21 at the Olympic Park.

At the age of 44, Cat Cummings (#9; 5^th in 2017) has enjoyed recent PBs over 5-mile, half marathon and marathon distances, and was selected to run for England Masters. She set herself a target to beat her previous F40 time on the course.

Up one age category to Cat Cummings, Jo Andrews (#49; 3^rd in 2018) will be aiming for age success too, despite being one of the older runners in her category. Her most recent 10k time was 37:11 at Coltishall. She’ll go head-to-head with Sarah Stradling (#221; 2nd in 2015) from Colchester Harriers, who has also enjoyed a Run Norwich podium before.

Ones to watch & age category contenders: Alicia Lacey (#185; debutant), Amy Beck (#122; 13^th in 2019), Juliette Watkinson (#256; 7^th in 2018), Lacey Bareham (#103; debutant), Rosanna Andrews (#95; 12^th in 2019), Phillipa Taylor (#130; 4^th in 2015)

As a reminder, the main top 3 prizes are allocated on gun time.

Official results listings will be ranked by chip time, with age category prizes allocated this way.

Click here to see the course records.