James is a virtual standout

While the Guernsey men’s squad benefited greatly from the ‘retired’ Olympian’s 15min. 14sec. clocking over 5k, fast-improving charge Jenny James was arguably the outstanding performer of the day.

Thirty-nine-year-old James ran a breakthrough 17-09 to unofficially became the third fastest Guernseywoman ever for the distance.

This all took place in an inventive UK-wide competition challenging athletes to tackle 5k on their chosen route – complying with anti-coronavirus measures – as fast as they can.

Guernsey Athletics became the first club to field 12 counting men and, with the competition technically running until Thursday, they must wait to see how their cumulative time stacks up.

Beyond Merrien’s individual lead, team captain James Priest expects strength-in-depth to prove a vital asset.

Both Priest and Bath University student Alex Rowe ran 16-12 and, thankfully, 10 athletes in total managed to run within the competitive 16-45 mark.

‘We’ve got very good strength-in-depth,’ said Priest.

‘It will be interesting to see how we do in the 12-stage overall.

‘Considering how short notice this was, everybody seemed really pleased with it. It’s been interesting going on Strava and looking at their times.’

Guernsey also won an unofficial inter-insular that combined their top four times and compared them with their Jersey counterparts.

With six women making up each team, James’ effort made her the key contributor as teenager Summer Woodhead and the experienced Louise Perrio both went sub-19min.

Nearly 50 Guernsey athletes took part in the event, which replaces the popular National 12/6 Stage Road Relays that were due to unfold on Saturday.