Around 40,000 elite and amateur runners took part in the tenth Great Manchester Run on Sunday but Ethiopian great Haile Gebrselassie won the men’s race for a fifth time in 27 minutes and 39 seconds, while the women’s race was won by Kenyan Linet Masai.
Ugandan marathoner Stephen Kiprotich finished three places behind Gebrselassie, a performance which might not have brought the best of his efforts. Kiprotich beat Gebrselassie to finish third at the Tokyo marathon hence winning the USPA February gong this year.
He is among the Ugandan athletes set to feature at this year’s summer Olympics in London. The elite wheelchair races were won by British athletes Simon Lawson and Jane Egan. Several celebrities took part in the 10km (6.2 mile) run, including musician Peter Hook and actor Michelle Collins.