Brian patient among elite Glasgow field

Athletics: Metro Aberdeen focused on start of cross-country campaign

Metro Aberdeen’s Fiona Brian competes in the women’s division of the Great Scottish Run, which incorporates the Scottish half marathon championships, in Glasgow on Sunday.

The Scotland cross country international won the Crathes half marathon a fortnight ago in her first serious race for five months.

She does not believe she is in peak form just yet, however, and her attention is already switching to the coming cross country season.

She said: “I don’t think my fitness will quite be where I want it to be for Glasgow, but it’s heading the right way.

“I’m really now beginning to focus on the cross country season and I’m looking forward to it.

“I hope to improve on some of my performances from last year, especially in the Scottish East District championships as these will be held in Aberdeen in December. We’ll have a good team out for that, so it should be exciting. I’m also doing the Scottish short course championships in November as I enjoyed the competition last year.

“Then there are the inter district championshipsand the national championships and I’m also planning to do the London marathon next year.”

Brian’s opponents will include Hungary international Fanny Gyurko who won the women’s title in the Baxters River Ness 10km last Sunday

Brian will also start alongside Ethiopia’s threetime Olympic champion Tirunesh Dibaba who added to her Olympic medal haul in Rio by taking bronze in the 10,000m, and most recently finished third in last month’s Great North Run between Newcastle and South Shields.

Dibaba won 5,000m and 10,000m gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and added another 10,000m gold at London in 2012.

Dibaba’s rivals on Sunday include Betsy Saina, who finished fifth in the Rio Olympic 10,000m. The 28-year-old Kenyan won the Great Manchester Run in 2015, with Dibaba taking victory in the same event this year tomarkher return to road running after she took time off to have a baby.

Jenny Bannerman (Inverness Harriers) defends the women’s title in the accompanying Great Scottish Run 10km. The Scotland internationalwassecond at the River Ness 10km last weekend, but recorded her fastest time of the year, 35min 26sec. She said: “I’m looking forward to it but whether I can defendmy title depends who else shows up. I’m not used to running two hard 10kms back to back like this but I’ll give it a go.”

“Focus on the cross country season and I’m looking forward to it”

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