Jake Smith and Abbie Donnelly came out victorious at the GetPRO Bath Half Marathon on Sunday March 16, which also served as the official British Athletics trial for the 2025 World Athletics Road Running Championships’ half marathon.
On a sunny morning in Bath, Smith faced a thrilling challenge from Ethiopia’s Omar Ahmed, the defending champion from last year’s event. The two athletes exchanged leads until Smith broke free around the three-mile mark, securing the win.
Smith, who is preparing for next month’s TCS London Marathon, showed he is returning to his best form after battling through injury and illness in recent years. With a time of 62:20, he finished just 11 seconds shy of the course record (62:09), set by Ethiopia’s Tewodros Shiferaw in 2007.
This marked Smith’s fastest half marathon since September 2022 and was the quickest time ever by a British athlete on the Bath course. Ahmed, also from Ethiopia, finished second in 62:43, while Dewi Griffiths, who had set the pace early in the race, claimed third with a time of 63:03—his best half marathon performance since 2019.
Jake Smith (LM Events)
In the women’s race, Donnelly was dominant from start to finish. The sixth-place finisher in last year’s European Championships half marathon in Rome, Donnelly led the elite women’s field throughout and crossed the finish line in a time of 69:54, which ranks as the third fastest winning time in the history of the Bath Half Marathon.
Behind her, a fierce battle for second place took place between Natasha Phillips and Annabel Gummow, with Phillips eventually securing second in 72:06. Gummow finished third, 20 seconds later, at 72:26.
The race served as the official trial for the 2025 World Road Running Championships half marathon, which was originally scheduled for San Diego but is now looking for a new location. Donnelly, who had already met the qualifying standard with a time of 69:41, cemented her selection with today’s victory.
Smith, on the other hand, needs to run under 62:00 before May 11 to guarantee his spot at the championships. Phillips will also be aiming for a sub-70:00 time to secure her place on the Great Britain team.
Dewi Griffiths (left), Jake Smith (middle), Omar Ahmed (right) (LM Events)
Reflecting on his performance, Smith said, “I can’t believe I have just run that time (62:20). I’ve run faster than that, but that was when I was in the shape of my life. I am only 20 seconds off getting a qualifying time for the World Championships and maybe that really tough last kilometre cost me that. There was some serious competition here today and the atmosphere was great, you couldn’t hear yourself think on the course.”
Donnelly said, “It means so much to have won here and to get the time I was looking for. I built up the pressure a lot in my head and to have got the win makes all the hard work worth it. This course is tough and needed some good training. I do feel the pressure and I get really nervous before big races, but I stayed relaxed today and managed to shelter behind some of the male athletes on the windier parts of the course which helped. I’m very happy.”
Natasha Phillips (left), Abbie Donnelly (middle), Annabel Gummow (right) (LM Events)
In addition to the elite races, more than 11,000 runners participated in the mass event, covering the two-lap route that begins and ends in Royal Victoria Park.
For the full results from today’s GetPRO Bath Half, click here.
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