Great South Run 2019 winners: Eilish McColgan and Marc Scott win the elite races

Eilish retained her title by clocking a superb 51.38 in the Southsea sunshine this morning - and in the process broke mum Liz’s Scottish 10-mile record of 52.00.

She led from the starting gun and romped to victory in a time three minutes quicker than her 2018 winning GSR time of 54.43.

Eilish’s winning time was almost four minutes quicker than women’s runner-up Verity Ockenden, who recorded 55.18.

Eilish is coached by her mum, who wasn’t in Southsea, and she added: ‘I can’t wait to phone her! She told me I was capable of running 51.30 and she knows me better than anyone.

'Last year I was petrified before running this race as I'd never done anything like this before. Today was easier - it was all about trying to break 52.00 dead and my mum's Scottish record. I'm absolutely buzzing I did it!'

In the men’s event, Chris Thompson was aiming to become the first man to ever win the GSR four times.

But he was never really in contention with Yorkshireman Marc Scott, running 10 miles for the first time ever, triumphing in 46.47 - the third fastest GSR time by a British runner ever after Gary Staines (46.11, 1993) and Mo Farah (46.25, 2009). Another GB international, Ben Connor, was runner-up.

‘I didn’t have a race plan at all, I just wanted to win,’ declared Scott, who represented GB at the 5000m at the 2017 World Championships. ‘I wasn’t worried about the time at all - I could have run 20 or 30 seconds faster or 20 or 30 seconds slower, it wouldn’t have mattered. 

‘Today was all about winning.’

Thompson - who had won the previous three GSRs - failed to finish in the top three, and said: ‘I’m frustrated and disappointed.’

‘I know all good things must come to an end, but if I didn’t win I wanted to put up a better display than I did.

‘Normally I take the race by the scruff of the neck around the seven-mile mark, but today it took me by the scruff of the neck and I didn’t have any answers.

‘I’m feeling a bit sore about that.’

Here are the list of the top three in the Great South Run elite races: 

Women’s race 

- 1 – Eilish McColgan – 51 minutes 38 seconds

- 2 – Verity Ockenden – 55 minutes 15 seconds 

- 3 – Jenny Nesbitt – 55 minutes 18 seconds

Men’s race 

- 1- Marc Scott – 46 minutes 57 seconds 

- 2 – Ben Connor – 47 minutes 16 seconds 

- 3 – Emile Cairess – 47 minutes 32 seconds 

Follow all the action in our live blog here.