Dan Nash will take on defending Champion Adam Bowden at the ABP Newport Wales Marathon with Natasha Cockram, Clara Evans and Omar Ahmed all in 10km action.

The event will return for the first time since 2021 with the supporting 10km race featuring the second fixture in the R4W 10km Series and the opening clash in the 2023 Welsh 10km Road Race Series.

The Marathon will begin proceedings at 9am where Dan Nash (2:15:34) is the current British record holder for 50km so is unlikely to run out of steam as he comes up against former track star Adam Bowden (2:17:18) who holds the course record of 2:20:06 in Newport, set in 2021. Nash set his P.B. finishing seventh at the Thermes Manchester Marathon in 2022.

Scott Harrington (2:24:04) is next fastest and has wins at the Ilkley Half Marathon and Yorkshire Wolds Half Marathon to his name.

Melissah Gibson (2:43:42) heads the women’s start list. The Ealing Eagles athlete was the runner-up here in 2021 and is a prolific Marathon winner with victories in Cyprus, Southampton, Milton Keynes and Brighton to her credit.

Richie Powell is the current course record holder in Newport for the men’s wheelchair race with a time of 2:15:04 set last time and will aim to go faster on Sunday.

Omar Ahmed (28:29) will head the men’s field for the 10km race, fresh from his victory at the Brecon Carreg Cardiff Bay 10k last month. Mike Ward (29:33) is the fastest of the Welsh athlete’s and will be looking to claim maximum points in the Welsh 10km Series, as will Ciaran Lewis (29:46). Shaun Antell (29:34) returns having finished second here in 2019 and has planned a season long attach on the R4W Series.

The women’s race here should see another great battle between Wales’ two fastest marathoners when Clara Evans (32:35) takes on Natasha Cockram (33:10). It was the latter that came out on top when the pair faced off in Cardiff Bay, finishing second overall in 33:11.

Cockram has history in Newport, taking the inaugural Marathon title in a time of 2:44:58 and has since taken her Welsh National record to 2:26:14 in Valencia last December. Evans clocked her marathon P.B. of 2:29:27 in Seville in mid-February with both athletes returning to racing in March following their marathon outings but hoping to continue their paths back to racing fitness in Newport.

Welsh 10km Champion Olivia Tsim (33:48) is the next fastest in the field, followed by Hannah Robinson (34:04) and Megan Davis (34:15) who finished fifth at the series opener in Cardiff Bay.