Reece Edwards bags Commonwealth qualifier with 2:13 marathon in Austria

Belgrave star Reece Edwards ran a remarkable 2:13:25 to finish 3rd in torrential conditions at Austria’s S7 marathon.

The performance was well inside the 2:14:00 mark required for qualification for next summer’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

The race, held in Bad Loipersdorf, 40 miles from Graz in south east Austria, was held specially for elite athletes looking for a final shot for Olympic qualifying times. In the men’s race only Canada’s Cam Levins was able to sneak under the 2:11:30 requirement - at least in part due to the torrential rain that fell throughout the morning on a particularly exposed course.

Reece’s run was more than a minute quicker than the 2:14:43 he ran at the Cheshire elite marathon under a month ago - then the quickest Belgravian marathon since 2011.