Athletics: Murray far from happy

Capital distance star Freya Murray (Edinburgh AC) was disappointed with her performance in finishing ninth in 54 minutes 49 seconds in the BUPA Great South Run ten-mile event in Portsmouth yesterday.

It was more than two minutes slower than on her debut last year but this time the conditions were much worse.

“I stayed with the leading group till six miles but then the Kenyans ran away,” commented Murray, who will be hoping for better luck than last year when she picked up an Achilles tendon injury after the race.

Yesterday’s winner was Aselefech Mergai, the 2009 World Championship marathon bronze medallist who led a Kenyan 1, 2, 3 in 52:55.

Andrew Lemoncello (Fife), fifth in 48:17, achieved his target of beating the year’s top GB marathoner England’s Scott Overall by just six seconds.