We speak to the man who equalled the British 10km record in Valencia about fresh challenges.
Joe Wigfield’s original aim at the Valencia 10km in January was to break the 28-minute barrier. Even though he had only competed in one official 10km race before – running 28:44 at the 2023 edition – the 26-year-old thought that he could be amongst the top Brits in the field, but expected a couple would still be quicker than him.
“When I saw that the likes of Scott [Beattie] and Alfie [Manthorpe] were in the race, I knew they had the experience,” he says.
Wigfield, who started on the sub-elite start line, found himself alongside both when the packs converged and, for most of the race, decided to run alongside the British duo, with the aim of being “dragged around”.
After passing 5km through 13:54, he knew he was on for a quick time but was still keen to preserve some energy for the last 800m. Holding that kick work and, after passing the likes of Beattie, Manthorpe and Andy Butchart down the home straight, Wigfield crossed the line in an official time of 27:38. He placed 11th overall but also equalled Rory Leonard’s 10km national record.
“I wasn’t expecting to get that time,” Wigfield tells AW. “Now that I’ve got such a performance behind me, I’ve got so much more confidence in believing I’ll be able to hit certain splits in training.”
He has now set his sights on the Barcelona Half Marathon (February 15) and is aiming to run around 61:00, a mark that would catapult him into the top 10 on the UK half-marathon all-time standings.
It would build on the momentum he generated by winning the Westminster Mile (3:59), Manchester Half Marathon (62:04) and FNUL Mizuno New Year’s Eve 5km (13:26) in the latter half of last year.
He still views the 1500m as his favourite event but, with recent successes in the longer distances, is now looking at those much more closely this season.
“I love doing shorter races like the 800m and 1500m,” he says. “I knew I was in shape and that I could run these certain times but reality starts setting in when you’re not at the front. Towards the end of the summer I was starting to lose my head a bit with track so that’s why I focused so much on road running in the autumn.
“Right now I feel like I’m probably better in events like the 5km, 10km and half-marathon. I’ll probably do a few 800m races at British Milers Club meetings for example but they will essentially be speed work sessions.
“One of the main aims for this season is to race in the half-marathon at the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen in September. So I’ll be competing at the Bath Half Marathon (March 15) in order to qualify for it.”
Wigfield runs around 75-80 miles per week and is coached by 1996 Olympian Craig Winrow at St Mary’s University. Having grown up training at Wirral AC, Wigfield made the move to Teddington in 2018 to study Health and Exercise Science. After graduating, he decided to stay and says it’s one of the best moves he’s ever made.
“There’s around 80 students but you’ve also got the likes of Jack Rowe and Adam Clarke who train there as well,” Wigfield says. “It means you’ve got a mix of coaches and it’s great because they’re happy for us to crack on together in sessions on occasions.
“I was actually only really interested in athletics when I went to the university. Just before moving to London I thought about quitting running. When I was 16 and 17, I went through that phase of going out a lot and enjoying life, so I lost my love for running.
“I then spoke to [fellow athlete] Dan Jarvis and he said the set-up at St. Mary’s would give me a second chance in the sport. If I’d gone anywhere else I don’t know if they’d have helped me out in the same way.”
If you could choose one person to train/compete with, past or present, who would it be and why?
Usain Bolt. It’s very different but training with him would have been fun. He’d have definitely helped me out on some of my speed sessions, without a doubt!