Bell and Wigfield excel on Friday nights under the lights at the x Mizuno 5km in Battersea on New Year’s Eve, with Claire Elms the world’s best W60.
In perfectly cold but sunny and still conditions, Joe Wigfield and Alex Bell set a competitive 5km PB, with Claire Elms setting a World and UK W60 best in 18:15, Steve Smith reports.
Both Wigfield and Bell win £1,000 for their efforts.
Wigfield, who ran a 3:56.46 mile PB in Dublin last summer, ran the final 100m of the track, with short laps and back laps between the band and the track.
His final 1300m lap was clocked in 3:28 (after previous laps of 3:40 and 3:39) and his finishing time of 13:37 bettered his best set at Battersea in November by a few seconds, and his hard hitting saw off the challenge of Ted Higgins and Italy’s Sebastiano Parolini, both 13.
Higgins recently ran 7:57.31 for 3000m to win the South of England indoor title while competing in his first official 5km race.
His Tonbridge club-mate and former England champion James Kingston destroyed his road PB in 13:43 to finish fourth, while Higgins’ twin brother Jack was also well under 14 minutes on his 5km debut and showed good stamina for someone who has run 1:45.33 for 800m this year.
The first eight had a break of 14 minutes.
2021 Olympic 800m finalist Alexandra Bell continued to show her refinement on the road as she comfortably cleared the last of three larger laps.
Her time of 15:24 gave her a three-second advantage over Hannah Irwin, who also smashed her previous best of 15:02.64 to pass 5000m runner Alex Millard as they hit the finish line. Millard also gets a road PB by some margin.
Bell ran 3:17 1100m for the first small lap, followed by big laps of 4:11 4:06 and then a fast 3:50.
Lauren Church also broke 16 minutes in fourth (15:55), although Rebecca Weston just missed the barrier as she was given 16:00, despite it being her best quality run on the roads since 2013, when she was part of Great Britain’s medal-winning team at the World Championships in Bydgoszcz. Faith Kipyegon was the individual winner on the day as Britain took the team bronze medal behind Kenya and Ethiopia.
W60 World Record for Elms
As a 62-year-old in her first race, Claire Elms shows no signs of slowing down as she finishes 2025 with another world best or record from the first Open races that preceded the elite events.
In August he ran 18:15 on the Kingsley Downhill Overall, certified by the BMAF as the UK’s best.
However, the time would not count for the senior’s best and this race gave him one last chance to set a better legal time than June’s 18:20 at Battersea, which statisticians regard as the current world W60 best.
Having spent most of the last few days in hospital visiting his ailing 93-year-old father, he wasn’t sure he would be at his best.
After being held back at the start, he covered 4km in a seemingly too slow 14:48 (18:30 pace), but feeling strong and passing the younger runners on the track, he used the speed that has set 1500m and mile world records this year, and with a 3:27 final kilo and strong kick, ran an 18:1 bass time of five seconds.
His big 1300m lap times of 4:56, 4:51 and 4:38 confirm his gradual acceleration.
Although he hasn’t broken 18 minutes since 2019, given his strong finish here, he still hopes to do so one last time in 2026 in warmer conditions in the spring.
In the 5km race, the selection of young performances was given to Joseph Skanes, under 17 years of age. The English Schools and Schools International 3000m champion clocked 14:31 on debut to win an exciting A race as he came just seconds off Alex Lennon’s Great Britain Under-20 leader in 2025 (14:29).
Irish 800m runner Louise Shanahan won £1,000 for easily winning the gender-challenged road mile, which saw the women make a decidedly too generous start of 37 seconds. He clocked 4:46, with Max Merrien (4:23) 14 seconds behind.
Elite men (5 km). 1 J Wigfield (Wir) 13:37; 2 T Higgins (Ton) 13:38; 3 S Parolini (ITA) 13:38; 4 J Kingston (Ton) 13:43; 5 T Dodd (Beer) 13:47; 6 J Gray (C&C) 13:48; 7 J Higgins (Ton) 13:53; 8 S Bramwell (Herne H) 13:53; 9 C Brisley (N&EB) 14:02; 10 H Johnson (Salford) 14:05
U20:: 1 B Pye (Hough) 14:12; 2 C Benyan (C&C) 14:24; 3 H Johnson (Luton) 14:25; 4 R Tuck (Chelm) 14:26; 5 W Rabjohns (Pool) 14:32
Elite women (5 km). 1 Near (P&B) 15:24; 2 H Irwin (C&C) 15:27; 3 Millard (En EK) 15:27; 4 L Church (Rade) 15:55; 5 R Weston (En EK) 16:00, 6 D Moresa 16:03; 7 Y Lock (TV) 16:04; 8 F O’Hare (Kire) 16:09; 9 in Fenelli (Belgium) 16:10; 10 J Gibbon (Reading) 4.10pm
U20:1 K Pye (AFD) 16:15; 2 R Flaherty (Bing) 16:20; 3 I Edwards (B&MH) 16:29
W35:1 C Baker (B&W) 16:18
W55:: 1 K Harris (High) 18:12
Open 5 km
Race. 1 J Scanes (B&B, U17) 14:31
U20:1 S Melero (StEP) 14:37; 2 A Smart (Card) 14:37; 3 B Andrews-Callec (Jers) 14:38
B race.
M50:1 S Coombes (Herne H) 16:18; 2 J Priest (Heath) 16:21
C race.
M55:: 1 T Booth (G&G) 17:24
Women: 1 M Blizard (Bed) 5:40 p.m
W60:1 C Elms (Kent, W60) 18:15 (Best of World and UK W60)
Gender challenge mile. 1 L Shanahan (C&C/IRL, W) 4:46
The fastest man. M Merrien (Gue) 4:23
U15:: 1 T Creed (HW) 4:35
Open mile.
W60: 1 G Anthony (C&C) 6:11; 2 L Woolhouse (Vets) 6:23
W65:: 1 P Whiter (Stragh) 6:25
