Selemon Barega, the Ethiopian who took last year’s AJ Bell Great Manchester Run in 27:49, will return to the city on Sunday, May 31 to defend his title. He will not have an easy day. The 2026 elite field, announced this week by organisers, brings together a Boston Marathon champion, a New York Marathon winner, a European 5000m champion and most of Britain’s top distance runners.
The race also doubles up as the UK Athletics 10K Road Championships this year, which gives every British runner on the start line something extra to chase.
Barega, an Olympic 10,000m gold medallist in Tokyo, knows what he is walking into. “I’m looking forward to returning to defend my title at the Great Manchester Run,” he said. “I really enjoyed the race last year, the competition looks strong again so I know I’ll have to be at my best to to finish at the top of the podium.”
The men chasing him are credentialed. Uruguay’s Santiago Catrofe, who finished second in 2025, returns. So does Kenya’s Vincent Ngetich, who won the race in 2024. British hopes lean on former Manchester champion Marc Scott and two-time Olympian Andy Butchart, both of whom will also be racing for the UK title within the same field.
A Women’s Field That Looks More Like A Marathon Major
The women’s 10K may steal the day. Sheila Chepkirui of Kenya, the reigning Great North Run champion and 2024 New York City Marathon winner, takes on Sharon Lokedi, the back-to-back Boston Marathon champion. Lokedi’s 10K personal best of 31:06 was actually set in Manchester back in 2022. Chepkirui has run 29:46 over the distance, set in Valencia in 2020, which is the fastest time on paper in the field.
“After winning the Great North Run last year, I hoped we could work Manchester into my schedule for 2026 as I have heard many good things about this race,” Chepkirui said. “I’m looking forward to testing myself against some of the best in the world, and hope to take my good form this year into this race.”
Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany, the 2022 European 5000m champion, is also on the start list, alongside US half marathon record-holder Weini Kelati. Britain’s Verity Ockenden, Lily Partridge, Clara Evans and Jess Piasecki will fight it out for the home title and any podium space the international runners leave behind.
The Connecticut Connection
Kelati’s presence is not a coincidence. Last autumn, organisers paired the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run with the Manchester Road Race held in Manchester, Connecticut every Thanksgiving. The two events now share their elite athlete programs. Kelati won the Connecticut version of the race in 2025, which earned her a spot on this start line. Morgan Beadlescomb, the top American man in Connecticut, will line up in the elite men’s 10K. The first British athletes home in Manchester this May will receive invites to race in the United States in November.
What To Expect On The Day
Behind the elites, 38,000 runners will take on the 10K and half marathon distances, which organisers say makes this year the biggest Great Manchester Run weekend yet. The half marathon has already sold out. A handful of 10K places remain.
The course starts on Portland Street and runs past Old Trafford, the Etihad, the Imperial War Museum and Salford Quays before finishing on Deansgate. Roughly 100,000 spectators are expected to line the route. BBC Two will broadcast the action live from 11am to 1pm.
Barega’s 27:49 from last year is the time to beat. Whether anyone in the men’s field can break it, or whether Chepkirui and Lokedi turn the women’s race into something faster than the UK road racing scene has seen in years, is the question that will be answered on the last Sunday of May.
