Liverpool Harrier hopes to make the Commonwealth Games or Euro Champs team in Manchester on Sunday after spate of bad luck trying to qualify for past championships

When it comes to making national teams for major championships, Jonny Mellor has not enjoyed the best of luck. But the 35-year-old marathon man will be looking for a change of fortune this Sunday (April 3) at the Therme Manchester Marathon when he attempts to qualify for one of this summer’s major championships.

In 2018 he was more than a minute inside the marathon qualifying standard for the Commonwealth Games in Australia – with 2:12:57 at the Berlin Marathon – but England failed to pick him for the team, saying they had reached their maximum allowable limit of athletes in the squad.

Then in the run-up to the British Olympic marathon trials 12 months ago, he was stopped in his tracks by an issue which stemmed from him sleeping with his legs in compression sleeves.

One of the sleeves rolled down, leaving a dent in his lower leg which caused tendon damage and meant he had to miss the trials and subsequently the chance to make the Olympic team despite having run 2:10 twice (his best is 2:10:03) and being crowned British champion in London in 2020.

On Sunday in Manchester he will be competing in his familiar north-west home patch and targeting the 2:14:00 selection standard to make the England team for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in July and the 2:14:30 qualifier for the GB team for the European Championships in Munich in August.

In addition, the event is a trial for the GB team for the IAU 50km European Championships in Avila, Spain, in October.

Mellor will be joined in Manchester on Sunday by training partner and Rio Olympian Ross Millington. Mellor ran a half-marathon PB of 62:20 for the half-marathon in Seville in late January and 28:32 in the Trafford 10km last month, whereas Millington, a former British 10,000m champion, has run a couple of 65-minute half-marathons so far this year.

Elsewhere in the men’s race Irish Olympian Kevin Seaward will be trying to make the Northern Ireland team for the Commonwealth Games. He was fourth at the last Games in 2018 – and 15^th at the European Championships the same year – and has a best of 2:10:08.

Matthew Crehan of St Helens Sutton won the men’s title last year in 2:18:26 and he is also due to race this weekend as he defends his crown.

At his best, Scottish runner Derek Hawkins has run 2:12:49 and ran in the Rio Olympics but his only race this year has been a modest 71:18 in the Cardiff Half-Marathon.

There are two interesting debutants too in the shape of Paulos Surafel of Thames Valley Harriers – who set a PB of 61:51 at the Ghent Half Marathon last month – and Andrew Heyes of Hallamshire Harriers with a half-marathon best of 63:10.

Sonia Samuels is the quickest athlete in the elite women’s field with a best of 2:28:04 but the Sale Harriers Manchester athlete is now aged 42 and faces a number of younger rivals.

Naomi Mitchell was a revelation at the 2019 London Marathon when she was leading British woman for most of the second half of the race before being overtaken by Natasha Cockram. On that day she clocked a PB of 2:33:23 and has recently clocked a half-marathon best of 71:52 in Wokingham in February.

Watch out too for Becky Briggs, who, despite being just 22 has a best of 2:34:34 from London last October.

Anna Bracegirdle will defend her title in Manchester as well – the Salford Harrier clocked 32:52 at the Trafford 10km recently and won in Manchester last year in 2:40:17.

Adding to the field are Georgina Schwiening, Georgie Bruinvels, Chloe Richardson and Calli Thackery – the latter making her debut.

In total the elite start lists has 150 athletes in a field of around 24,000 in total and organisers say it is the strongest line-up in the race’s history. This is despite a few notable omissions such as Phil Sesemann, Ben Connor and Jake Smith.

The race starts 9am on Sunday April 3 with a live stream on the event’s website here.

Summer 2022 marathon qualifying standards are as follows:

British Athletics World Champs standard: Men – 2:11:30; Women – 2:29:30
European Champs standard: Men – 2:14:30; Women – 2:32:00
England Commonwealth Games standard: Men – 2:14:00; Women – 2:34:00
Scotland Commonwealth Games standard: Men – 2:15:12; Women – 2:36:49
Wales Commonwealth Games standard: Men – 2:15:30; Women – 2:35:30
Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games standard: Men – 2:13:00; Women – 2:32:00

British Athletics recently made a wave of selections for the World Championships marathons with Rose Harvey, Jess Piasecki, Charlotte Purdue, Josh Griffiths and Chris Thompson all being picked to race in Oregon in July.

Paris set for fast times

The quickest performances of the weekend on the roads are likely to come at the Schneider Electric Paris Marathon on Sunday.

There are six men who have run inside 2:05 in the line-up led by Ethiopia’s Asefa Mengistu (2:04:06), whereas the women’s field features Chicago Marathon champion Seifu Tura, Abu Dhabi Marathon winner Judith Jeptum and sub-2:20 runner Helalia Johannes of Namibia.

In addition, 2:08:26 New Zealand runner Jake Robertson is in the field with European half-marathon record-breaker Julien Wanders of Switzerland and former world indoor 1500m champion Abdelaati Iguider of Morocco making their marathon debuts.

Races begin 8am local time (7am in the UK) and are streamed on the event website here.