Great Edinburgh Run 2015 Results: Men's and Women's Top Finishers

Abeje Ayana and Jessica Coulson were the victors in the men’s and women’s races, respectively, at the 2015 Great Edinburgh Run.

The results were confirmed by the event’s official Twitter feed:

The pair were comfortable winners around the 10-mile course, which winds around some of the most iconic locations in the Scottish capital. Ayana was over a minute faster than local favourite Andrew Lemoncello, while Coulson kept a comfortable buffer between herself and University of Edinburgh student Rhona Auckland.

Here are the top three from the individual disciplines and a look at how the action played out in Edinburgh:

	Men's	Women's
1.	Abeje Ayana (48:44)	Jessica Coulson (56:06)
2.	Andrew Lemoncello (50:02)	Rhona Auckland (56:12)
3.	Peter Huck (50:30)	Maria McCambridge (56:21)

For full results, check out the Great Run website.

Classy Displays from Ayana and Coulson

Nick Spurling/Associated Press

Much was expected of Lemoncello coming into this event, and the Arizona-based Scot, who won this race in 2013 over the shorter 10 kilometre distance, admitted he was excited about tackling the challenging course:

He performed well on the day but was no match for Ayana, who dominated from beginning to end. His hugely impressive time of 48:44 far surpassed that of last year’s men’s winner Chris Thompson and left the field trailing in his wake.

LEFTERIS PITARAKIS/Associated Press

In the women’s race, Coulson won by six seconds over Auckland, with the latter turning in a valiant effort after a busy recent schedule. Ultimately, the weariness of competing at last weekend’s IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang may have just told, as she struggled to keep pace with the eventual champion in the latter stages.

For the first time ever, the organisers decided to put on a relay race for competitors, with each athlete running half of the overall distance. The format attracted some pretty big names and, as such, we had some illustrious winners, per the event’s official Twitter feed:

Boniface Kiprop from Uganda and Kenya’s Loitarakwai Lengurisi were dominant in the men’s event, while the British duo of Helen Clitheroe and Susan Partridge were far too good for the rest of the field in the women’s race.  

Clitheroe posted the following snap after the race’s conclusion:

There were also fun runners aplenty tackling the distance, whether in a relay or individual format. The vast majority of competitors were racing to raise money for brilliant causes, too, as we can see here, courtesy of the event's official Twitter feed:

While the Edinburgh event isn’t the most prestigious on the calendar, the quality showcased here from the likes of Ayana, Clitheroe and Partridge will continue to encourage some of the best runners around to get involved in the Great Run.

Also, the eminent feel-good factor that is conjured by these races, in addition to the stunning backdrop that the Scottish capital provides, will ensure runners turn out in the thousands again next year to savour this stunningly bespoke circuit.