Athletes will sharpen for the British Olympic marathon trials later this month with an elite-only 10,000m in Newport on Saturday

Charlotte Arter, Lily Partridge and Dewi Griffiths will head the fields at an elite-only 10,000m event in Newport on Saturday (March 6).

The event will feature 10,000m races primarily for some of the top Welsh athletes looking to test themselves ahead of the British trials for the Olympic marathon in Kew Gardens on March 26.

The women’s race should see a battle between Charlotte Arter and Lily Partridge with both looking to test their fitness ahead of the marathon trials.

Arter is the fastest on paper with a best of 32:15.71 and the 29-year-old Cardiff athlete will use the race as part of her preparations for her eagerly anticipated marathon debut at the end of March.

She has proved her competence over the half distance completed in 69:41 which also makes her the eighth fastest Briton of all time.

Partridge has a 10,000m PB of 32:20.77 and last year enjoyed wins at the Vitality Big Half Marathon and the Antrim Coast Half Marathon.

Clara Evans will compete over the distance for the first time since making large improvements that include a 72:21 best for the half-marathon and will also use the race to test fitness ahead of a marathon test alongside clubmate Arter.

Jenny Nesbitt, who also competes for Cardiff and trains with Arter and Evans, and will also be in action. The Commonwealth Games standard for Wales is 32:30 with Nesbitt having run 32:38.45 at Highgate in 2018.

Isobel Fry and Sarah Astin will be chasing qualifying times for the European Under-23 Championships in Bergen in July.

In the men’s 10,000m, marathoners Dewi Griffiths and Josh Griffiths will both race as part of their preparations for the marathon trial event.

Dewi has a PB of 28:16.07 dating back to the Payton Jordan Invitational in 2017. His last race was a solid 13:43 clocking at the Podium 5km in August. Josh was the 2017 British marathon champion and his last competitive outing was over the marathon distance in October when he set a 2:13.11 PB.

Kristian Jones is a third Swansea Harrier in action and will make a track debut over 10,000m. Jones will be looking to see how close he can get to the Commonwealth Games qualification mark of 28:30 but with plenty of other chances to get the mark ahead of the Games in 2022.

Cardiff AC clubmates James Hunt and Mike Ward will also be looking to test themselves with Commonwealth Games aspirations in mind.

Leeds athlete Emile Cairess will be looking to crash the party as the sole English athlete in the men’s field and has a 28:48.15 best from two years ago and more recently a sub-eight minute clocking over 3000m from February.

The event will also feature 10,000m race walks with athletes looking for a final test ahead of the 20km walk trial races at Kew Gardens at the end of this month. There will be further Welsh rivalry in the women’s race with the ever-improving Pembrokeshire Harrier Heather Lewis will facing Cardiff AC’s Bethan Davies.

Lewis is the current Welsh champion over 5000m and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Davies was the 2019 British champion over 5000m.

Tom Bosworth will face-off with Callum Wilkinson in the men’s event. Bosworth is a 12-time British champion and UK record-holder with 39:10 whereas Wilkinson holds the national under-20 record at 40:30 and has since improved to 39:52.

Cameron Corbishley of Medway & Maidstone will be the third athlete competing and is also a multiple GB international with a PB of 41:37.44.

The on-track action will be preceded by a discus competition where Pembrokeshire Harrier James Tomlinson will be chasing qualification marks for Bergen and with Harrison Walsh and Zachary Tandy representing Disability Sport Wales. Kirsty Law of Cardiff AC and Samantha of Newham and Essex Beagles will also be in action.