Parkrun record attempt: Birmingham runner philosophical at missing target

A runner who was the second fastest British woman at the 2018 London Marathon has missed out on breaking a 5km Parkrun world record.

Hayley Carruthers, 25, took part in the Walsall Parkrun earlier and her personal best remains 15:59.

That time is nine seconds off the women's record set last month by Charlotte Arter in Cardiff.

Ms Carruthers ran a time of 16:14 on Saturday but said she felt "privileged to even give it a shot".

"It's an outstanding record, Charlotte is an absolutely cracking runner and to even be competing with that time is an honour really."

"I'm going to give it a go another day and if it happens, it happens and if it doesn't, it doesn't," she continued.

Ms Carruthers, a research radiographer at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital, only started running in 2016 but soon rose through the ranks, representing England at the Toronto Waterfront Marathon in 2018, running a personal best time of two hours and 36 minutes.

In April she will be taking part in the elite race at the London Marathon.

Speaking about being the second placed British woman in last year's marathon, she said: "It's bonkers, I had no idea. I love running and being able to do it at a higher level."

Ms Carruthers only took up running in May 2016 when a friend also started. "I found I really loved it, so I just carried on," she said.

One element of her training programme for this year's London Marathon is to take part in a Parkrun a few days after a race to test how her legs are, as it replicates the end of marathon.

The women's world record for the 5,000m is more than a minute-and-a-half faster than the fastest Parkrun time, standing at 14:11.15, set by Ethiopia's Tirunesh Dibaba at the Bislett Stadium in Oslo in 2008.

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