Marathon man would prefer to be selected for the Commonwealth Games after emphatic trial victory in Manchester

As Jonny Mellor powered to victory in the Therme Manchester Marathon in 2:10:46 on Sunday (April 3) he beat the qualifying times for all three major championships this summer. After a number of selection disappointments in the past, he now finds himself in pole position, but which event would he prefer to target?

“The World Champs window has gone now. I’m pretty sure I won’t be selected for that,” he says. “But if it came to a toss up between the Commonwealth Games and European Championships, I’d lean toward the Commonwealths. With it being a home Games in Birmingham on what I think is a hilly and tough course, I like the sound of it.”

On the prospect of wearing an England vest at those Games at the end of July, he adds: “It’s exciting. I didn’t have a good experience in Glasgow (2014, where he ran the 10,000m) but the buzz in the city for the Games was super so hopefully we’ll get that in Birmingham too.”

In the run-up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia he was snubbed by selectors despite running more than a minute inside the qualifying mark with a time of 2:12:57 that would have won a medal at three out of the previous Games.

With that in mind, he says: “Never say never after what happened before the Gold Coast but this one would be a massive shock if I wasn’t picked as I won the trial well within the qualifying time (2:14:00). I’m sure it will be fine, although I’m not taking it for granted as you never know what can happen.”

Mellor described the conditions in Manchester on Sunday as “perfect” for marathon running.

“In Manchester at the start of April it could be anything,” the 35-year-old Liverpool Harrier says. “We had a bit of snow on Thursday before the race so it is really unpredictable.

“I made a relatively late decision to run Manchester with about nine weeks to go. Normally I’d have a slightly longer build up but the training went well and I had a good run at Wilmslow (64:24 half-marathon) two weeks earlier. It was always the plan to run it tactically and to try to finish strongly.”

Matt Crehan, the 2021 champion, went off hard and established a lead but Mellor says: “We kept our cool. I kind of expected it. That’s how he likes to race and he ran a PB in the end, so credit to him, although must have been a difficult PB to run.”

The “we” that Mellor refers to were his fellow New Balance-sponsored pacemakers together with long-time training partner Ross Millington, who eventually finished runner-up in 2:11:38.

“I’ve trained with Ross since 2014 and he was an usher at my wedding,” says Mellor. “We’ve through the highs and lows together. I was really proud of him. We’ve done all our training together the whole way and I’m really pleased for him to be coming back to his best.”

The plan was for Adam Craig to take us to 8-10 miles, then Charlie Hulson to halfway and Ben Connor to 15-16 but we also found out literally on start line Omar Ahmed was pacing too.”

It wasn’t quite an Eliud Kipchoge INEOS 1:59-style pacing formation but Mellor was grateful for the support. “These are guys I can really rely on. I’ve trained with them all over the years and know them well. They can hit the splits and they all did their job.

“The main goal was to get that 2:14:00 qualifying time. So we felt the 66:30 point at halfway was the best way to achieve that.

READ MORE: Manchester Marathon coverage

Mellor moved away from everyone at around 20 miles and looked in great shape in the final miles. “I had no major bad patches. It’s probably the one marathon where I’ve felt fairly good for most of the way,” he says.

That’s no accident. As a seasoned marathon runner he has learned his lessons from the past. “I’m into double figures now for marathon races,” he says.

What would the Mellor of today tell the younger athlete who made his debut over 26.2 miles seven years ago? “Fuel,” he says. “100% fuel.”

He explains: “I was naive when I moved up to the marathon, I just thought it was a half-marathon but double the distance. When I went to my first marathon in Frankfurt in 2015 I just took some electrolytes and a couple of gels and it wasn’t enough.”

He looked confident throughout in Manchester but admits: “You always have those doubts. But I was confident that I was in good shape and I felt if I executed my plan and took my fuel on board then things should go okay. The goal was to beat the qualifying time but I really wanted to win as well.”

On to the future and is planning to enjoy a week’s holiday in Scotland this week. In past marathons he hasn’t felt like running again any time soon but now he admits to “chomping at the bit” and might do some easy running in coming days if he feels like it.

Who will be guiding him in coming weeks, though, as his coach Steve Vernon is leaving the Team New Balance Manchester for a new job at UK Athletics where he has to abandon his individual coaching.

“It was always our intention to get Sunday out of the way and then talk about my plans for the future,” says Mellor. “I’m gutted to see him leave but I think British Athletics will be better for him having him there.”

But he adds that Helen Clitheroe is taking over the reigns at the New Balance team and will almost certainly be helping him going forward.

“Helen has been there and was a fantastic athlete so I’m looking forward to working with her. And I don’t think Steve would leave this role if he didn’t feel that his baby (Team New Balance Manchester) was in good hands.”