Hannah Nuttall (Charnwood AC, Helen Clitheroe) will captain the Novuna Great Britain and Northern Ireland (GB & NI) team for the World Road Running Championships in Copenhagen this weekend.
Three-time 5000m British champion Nuttall has a wealth of experience competing across track, cross country and road running on the world stage, most recently representing GB & NI at the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham over 5000m and the 2026 World Indoor Championships in Torun over 3000m.
On being named captain of the team, she said: “First of all, I just want to say what a huge honour it is to be here as your captain. If you’d told me three years ago, when I first became a professional athlete, that I’d be standing here today as captain of a GB team at a World Championships, I genuinely don’t think I would have believed you. So there’s one thing I want everyone to take with them tomorrow and that’s believe in yourself. These opportunities are getting harder and harder to come by. Making a GB team is a huge achievement, and every single person in this team has earned their place here.”
On her advice to the team she said “I think the key thing is don’t try and over complicate it, there is a reason why you are here. Don’t be scared to put yourself out there, don’t walk away with any regrets and just give it everything you have- that’s all we can ask of ourselves.
When you stand on that start line I want you to remember the work you have put in to get here, the people that have helped you get here and most importantly how you would have given anything to be in this position representing your country at a world championships. So go out there tomorrow, race with confidence and most importantly, enjoy every second of it.”
The World Road Running Championships action kicks off tomorrow at 9:10am GMT with the road mile, where Tokyo Olympian Katie Snowden (Herne Hill Harriers, Stephen Haas) lines up alongside UK Athletics 1500m champion Sarah Calvert (Livingston AC, Luke Gunn), who will make her senior GB & NI debut in Denmark.
In the men’s mile at 9:30am GMT, Jake Heyward (Cardiff Athletics) and Archie Davis (Brighton Phoenix, Joel Kidger) continue the action. Tokyo Olympic finalist Heyward arrives in Copenhagen having placed second in the Fifth Avenue Mile in New York, while Davis comes into the championships after competing at the Commonwealth Games this summer.
The women’s 5K begins on Saturday afternoon at 1:10pm GMT with captain Hannah Nuttall and 2026 Commonwealth 5000m bronze medallist Megan Keith (Inverness Harriers AAC, Ross Cairns) racing in the Danish capital.
Fellow Commonwealth bronze medallist David Mullarkey (Leeds City Athletic Club, Andrew Henderson) will represent Novuna GB & NI in the men’s 5K at 1:40pm GMT after winning bronze in the 10,000m in Glasgow.
Sunday’s action begins with the half marathon, where Alex Bell (Pudsey & Bramley AC, Andrew Henderson) and Sam Harrison (Mansfield Harriers, Rob Denmark) line up in the women’s race at 9:10am GMT. Bell earned selection after winning the Bath Half Marathon trial and UK title, while Harrison brings valuable championship experience from the previous edition of the event.
The men’s race begins shortly afterwards at 9:45am GMT, featuring Jack Rowe (Aldershot Farnham & District AC), Alfie Manthorpe (Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield AC, Jordan Donnelly), Joe Wigfield (Wirral AC, Craig Winrow) and Charlie Wheeler (MK Distance Project). Rowe is a two-time national half marathon champion, while Wigfield represented GB & NI over 10,000m at this summer’s European Athletics Championships. All four athletes will also compete in the team championships within the race.
You can watch both days of racing on BBC iPlayer.
You can also track the runners via the World Road Running Championships app, with more information available here.
The Novuna Great Britain and Northern Ireland team for the World Athletics Road Running Championships in Copenhagen, 19-20 September:
Half Marathon
Women
- Alex Bell (Pudsey & Bramley AC, Andrew Henderson)
- Samantha Harrison (Mansfield Harriers, Rob Denmark)
Men
- Alfie Manthorpe (Hallamshire Harriers Sheffield AC, Jordan Donnelly)
- Jack Rowe (Aldershot Farnham & District AC)
- Joe Wigfield (Wirral AC, Craig Winrow)
- Charles Wheeler (MK Distance Project)
5K Women
- Megan Keith (Inverness Harriers AAC, Ross Cairns)
- Hannah Nuttall (Charnwood AC, Helen Clitheroe)
Men
- David Mullarkey (Leeds City Athletic Club, Andrew Henderson)
One Mile Women
- Sarah Calvert (Livingston AC, Luke Gunn)*
- Katie Snowden (Herne Hill Harriers, Stephen Haas)
Men
- Archie Davis (Brighton Phoenix, Joel Kidger)
- Jake Heyward (Cardiff Athletics)
*Senior Novuna GB&NI Debut