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SportsShoes Home Nations 5k - Preview
25/09/2026 00:00, In Blog /
Cardiff will welcome some of the best endurance runners from across the UK this Sunday.
Coopers Field in Bute Park once again hosts the SportShoes Home Nations 5K, which incorporates the UK 5K Road Race Championships for the second year running.
National teams representing Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as a number of composite teams and individual runners will take part .
The event has become hugely popular amongst competitors during its previous four editions partly thanks to the fast, flat multi-lap course.
Among the composite team members will be Glasgow Commonwealth Games Team Wales member Melissa Courtney-Bryant (Poole AC), who will be representing New Balance and boasts a personal best of 15:27.
The 2018 Commonwealth Games 1500m bronze medallist, who has suffered a disrupted 2026 season due to injury, said of Sunday’s event:
“I know it’s going to be quite fast and these events are always really good and really fun, and that's what I wanted.
“I think when you've had an injury like I've had and a few little setbacks, you just want to enjoy racing. This is definitely an opportunity that I knew I was going to have fun and enjoy.”
Also competing will be Olympian and fellow Welsh Commonwealth Games competitor Clara Evans-Graham (Pontypridd Roadents), who earlier this summer helped Great Britain to a team gold medal in the marathon at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. Evans-Graham’s fastest time over the distance is 15:34.
The Welsh duo will be challenged by the likes of Charlotte Dannatt (Camberley and District AC), who will be hoping for a winning return to Cardiff where she was successful over 5,000m at the BUCS Athletics Outdoor Championships in May. Dannatt’s PB is 15:37.
The fastest woman on paper in the elite women’s field, with a PB of 15:13, is Emily Haggard-Kearney (North Belfast), who is part of the four-strong Northern Ireland women’s team.
Among the stand out entries in the men’s elite race is another Great Britain international Jack Kavanagh (Holland Sports AC) who is the fastest on paper with a PB of 13:34.
The England men’s team is led by Finley Proffitt (Trafford Athletic Club) who has the second fastest PB in the field with 13.49, which is matched by England team-mate Andrew Penney (Hercules Wimbledon AC).
Wales has entered teams of four athletes in both the men’s and women’s elite Home Nations races.
The men’s team features Jonathan Butler (Swansea Harriers), who won the Barry Island 10K in May and finished third at last weekend’s Swansea Bay 10K.
Butler is joined by Owen Roberts (Meirionnydd Running Club), Ifan Bowen (Carmarthen Harriers) and Connor Rogers (Swansea Harriers).
The women’s team includes Welsh Athletics National Development Programme athlete Bryony Boyce (Cardiff Athletics) who won the Welsh Under-18 1500m title in June and has recorded PBs at 800, 1500m and 3,000m this year.
Also selected are Emily Davies (Neath Harriers), Sophie Hurst (Coventry Godiva Harriers) and Emily Hanlon (Colwyn Bay AC).
Saturday’s event, supported by New Balance, includes athletes hunting individual success as well as those going for team glory.
Runners are seeded into one of four races depending on qualifying time at the point of entry. Any composite teams or home countries teams will be included in the men's or women's Home Nations races.
The four races feature a number of other talented Welsh runners, of all ages, including further National Development Programme runners Millie Pierce (Swansea Harriers) in the women’s elite race and Thomas Loynes (Neath Harriers) in the men’s B race.
Last year’s elite races saw Jack Rowe (Birch Hill Track Club) set a new Welsh all-comers record as he won the men’s race in 13:31.9.
The elite women’s race was won by Alexandra Bell, who has represented Great Britain at the Olympics and two World Championships.
A race village will be open to spectators on the day with a caterer, coffee bike and tune truck. A livestream of the races will also be shown on a large screen.
Mia France, race director of SportsShoes Podium said:
“I’m excited to see Podium return to Bute Park, Cardiff for the Home Nations event.
“It’s been a fantastic year for Podium, and we’re continuing to grow, attracting some of the UK’s top talent to race on some of the fastest 5K courses.”
Sunday’s action gets underway at 3pm with the first of two seeded races. The women’s Home Nations race starts at 4pm with the men’s race setting off at 4.30pm.
The event will also be live streamed on YouTube.