The 800m runner shows what he can do at the Novuna UK Indoor Championships in Birmingham after injury disrupted his 2025 campaign.
This time last year, Ben Pattison was injured and on crutches. With that in mind, he’s just happy to be fit and healthy this offseason. The fact that he’s actually in great shape is a bonus.
He controlled the men’s 800m from the front at the British Indoor Championships in Birmingham on Sunday (February 15) before pulling away comfortably in the final lap.
He was unsure of his time for a while, as it was incorrectly entered in the results system as 1:52, but was soon confirmed as 1:46.74 as Henry Fisher finished second and Ethan Hussey third.
How does the Loughborough-based runner get into such great shape at a time of year when outdoor competitions are cold and wet and much of the work is based on endurance? It turns out he recently trained with Olympic finalist Max Burgin in Tenerife, although he couldn’t convince his old friend to run with him at home this season.
“Thinking about it, I thought some of the guys would try to get off the pace because the wave lights are world-class pace; I was the only one who had time,” he said. “It was very pleasant for me to participate in it. I could just run the race, I didn’t have to keep track of the time in my head.”
“Nobody was going to do it, so I went to the front so I could control it. It’s the best place because they had to work to get around me, which is very difficult inside. Ideally, I really wanted to race in the middle of the pack. I wanted to learn to be better tactically. After all, I wanted to win, so I had to do what I had to do.
“Last year was so crazy for me with injuries, so I want to compete as much as possible now. I don’t know where I’m running the 800m at the moment, which might sound weird, but I’m learning every race. When I get to those world standard races, I have to be ready for them and raise my standard.”
In the men’s endurance race, the 1500m and 3000m were much closer. After Adam Fogg set a blistering pace in the 1500m, he overcame a late-lap sprint to finish fourth as Jack Higgins moved from fourth to first, finishing in good time in 3:38.12 to break Neil Gurley’s championship record.
Second place went to James McMurray and third to Henry Jonas.
The 3000m was even tighter with Tom Keane beating Henry McLuckie by two hundredths of a second as he won in 7:51.68.
2024 world indoor champion Josh Kerr is missing after twisting his back on a trip from the US.
Keen said: “Obviously a few people dropped out, which changed the dynamics of the race, so I didn’t really know if it was going to be a tough one or not. It was decently paced, wish it was a bit slower.
“Henry was doing really well to finish it but I probably would have gone a bit early but I made sure I got in. I wanted to let him go more because he was still with me at the end, but luckily I had enough to hold on.”
Cameron Corbishley produced a show-stopping performance as he won the men’s 3000m by more than half a minute, lapping much of the mixed-sex field several times in the process as he clocked 11:55.13.
“This is my first indoor title, so I’ve got the full set. I have a 35km, a 20km, an outdoor track and an indoor track, so that’s a career highlight there. I am absolutely over the moon to get my first indoor title. I’ve been second and third a few times, I’m always the bridesmaid, but today.”
