Many of the top middle-distance runners who did not make the team for Eugene are racing at the British Milers’ Club event in Trafford

The men’s 800m and women’s 5000m are shaping up to be two of the big races of another action-packed programme from a record-breaking entry to the Saucony Grand Prix at Trafford on Saturday (July 22).

“We have 350 entries already which is a record for us,” said meeting director Steve Green.

“I’m really pleased with the response and it looks on paper like we are going to have a couple of very fast 800m races plus a very strong women’s 5000m. The men’s steeplechase is also shaping up nicely.

“We also have a strong entry from overseas so that gives the meeting a real international flavour. With the weather looking promising and Trafford being one of the fastest tracks around it promises to be a great night.”

The men’s 800m A race features four of the eight finalists from the UK Championships last month and four of the top 10 in the 2022 UK rankings.

Fastest man in the field is Tokyo Olympic semi-finalist Elliot Giles (1:43.61), who boasts a season’s best of 1:45.94 to put him seventh in the current rankings.

But the quickest man in the field on form this summer is Ben Pattison, who finished fourth in the World Championships trials, won the opening Saucony GP meeting at Birmingham University in May and has been selected alongside Max Burgin to race the two laps at the Commonwealth Games.

Pattison, who was runner-up at Trafford last year, ran a lifetime best of 1:45.44 for victory at Birmingham University in May which he has since bettered with 1:45.16 for a good victory in Sweden.

Both times are inside the European Championships qualifying standard of 1:45.90 and another strong run on Saturday – and maybe even a first sub 1:45 – will strengthen his claim for selection.

Thomas Staines is fifth fastest in the UK this summer though his best of 1:45.28 dates back to April in America so he will be determined to get as close to that mark as possible.

Jamie Webb (UK No.6 with 1:45.32) and Giles complete those top 10 ranked runners while Alex Botterill (1:46.52), who was third at Trafford in 2021, is another contender on the evidence of his seventh place at the UK Championships.

Watford Grand Prix 1500m winner Piers Copeland, who is preparing to represent Wales at the Commonwealth Games, is an intriguing entry as he tackles his first 800m of the summer and will be looking at his lifetime best of 1:46.52.

Another one to watch is 19-year-old David Locke, who clocked a lifetime best of 1:46.5 to win the BMC Gold Standard 1500m at Watford last week, slashing two seconds off his 2021 time.

Georgie Hartigan had a loosener at Watford, clocking 2:10.0, as she comes back from illness and she’ll certainly be looking to go quicker than that when she lines up against Issy Boffey and Holly Archer in the women’s 800m A race.

Reigning European U23 champion Boffey, who finished third in the UK Championships, will be chasing her second Grand Prix win of the summer having also claimed victory in the opening meeting at Birmingham University. She has a PB of 2:01.24 from 2021 and got within six hundredths of a second of that at the Birmingham Diamond League meeting so will have one eye on that time.

At Watford last month Calli Thackery ran superbly to win the women’ 5000m in a PB 15:06.26, since when she has been named in the England team for the Commonwealth Games.

Last week she sharpened her speed with a PB of 8:44.05 over 3000m at the BMC Regional meeting at Loughborough and has expressed a desire to attack the 15-minute barrier on Saturday.

A strong field has been assembled to push her, including Samantha Harrison, who will run the 10,000m for England at the Commonwealths, who helped with that early pace at Watford and was rewarded with a lifetime best of 15:22.22 in second place.

“We have some strong women from overseas including Spain’s 24-year-old national champion Marta Garcia Alonso, who is looking to run 15:10,” added Green.

Australian Georgia Hansen and Ineke Van Koldam of the Netherlands are also entered while a strong British challenge also includes Verity Ockenden (15:03.51), Annabel Simpson (15:06.26), Izzy Fry (15:21.32) and Eloise Walker (15:31.26).

For the men the 3000m steeplechase looks like being a strong race with another good mix of British and overseas runners.

Mark Pearce (8:24.83) leads the British contingent from Wales international Jonathan Hopkins (8:30.52), William Battershill (8:31.89) and they we joined by 8:29 man Jakub Abrahamsen of Denmark and Australian Liam Cassin, part of a big Aussie contingent, who is looking to go under 8mins 30secs.

Maisie Grice heads the field for the women’s steeplechase.

The men’s 1500m has a solid feel to it with several guys in the low 3:40, including Daniel Bebbington, Mike Wilson, international steeplechaser Phil Norman and David Mullarkey.

Also in the field is newly-crowned England U20 champion Ethan Hussey, who is bound for Colombia to run the World Under-20 Championships and new England under-23 champion John Howorth. All these athletse are targeting 3:39 or quicker.

“Then men’s race looks interesting and the challenge is there for someone to be bold, go with the pacemaker and make a breakthrough,” said BMC chair Tim Brennan. “Who is going to be brave enough?”

The BMC Grands Prix have always been synonymous with encouraging young talent so it is good to see the likes of junior Iris Downes and newly-crowned English and British Schools’ 3000m champion Innes Fitzgerald, who is a newcomer to the running scene, entered for the women’s 1500m.

But the woman to beat will surely be Hannah Nuttall, who boasts a personal best of 4:11.08 and is seeking to go considerably faster this weekend.

The meeting starts at 5pm and spectator tickets will be available on the gate for just £6.