The world fourth-placer has big aims for his marathon comeback, with the Scottish record and Olympic qualification in his sights

All roads lead to Tokyo for Callum Hawkins and his comeback really kicks off at the Virgin Money London Marathon this weekend.

The world fourth-placer has big aims for his marathon return on Sunday, when he will race over 26.2 miles for the first time since his dramatic collapse at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

Hawkins is looking for a performance that will make him stand out to selectors when they come to pick the GB team for next year’s Olympic Games in Japan. Achieving that aim should also secure him a spot for the IAAF World Championships in Doha later this year, as well as a Scottish record.

Allister Hutton’s 2:09:16 from London has stood since 1985 and is an obvious target given that Hawkins has got his eye on a half way split of 63:30.

“I think the plan is 63:30 through half way and then either speed up or hold on – see what it’s like when you get to that point!” says the 26-year-old, who ran his PB of 2:10:17 when finishing just outside the medals at the 2017 world championships in London.

Only one British athlete – European record-holder Mo Farah, who will also be racing in London – has ever broken 2:07 for the marathon. After missing December’s Fukuoka Marathon due to injury, Hawkins was disappointed with his time of 62:50 at last month’s Lisbon Half Marathon but says his subsequent training proves he’s in form.

“Lisbon didn’t go quite as well as I was hoping – I thought I was in a lot better shape,” he says. “But since then I went just as quick and even quicker in two sessions when I was out training in Majorca, so I feel in pretty good shape.

“Every session I did out in Majorca, I was setting PBs for them all.”

A strong run on Sunday is important, he says, to prove he’s back on top after the low of 2018 when he missed out on the Commonwealth title after collapsing when holding a sizeable lead with just 2km to go.

“The comeback from Gold Coast was tough because it was unlike anything I think most people have ever really had from a running point of view,” says Hawkins, who is coached by his father Robert and has also received guidance from former world record-holder Steve Jones out in Boulder, Colorado, in the past.

“With an injury, you know what’s wrong, you can feel the pain, but with Gold Coast, I was feeling good but also not feeling good at the same time. I’d be going out for a run, my legs would be feeling fine, I’d be hitting my normal paces that I’d do for an easy run, but then my heart rate would be 20 or 30 beats higher than it normally would be. It was a bit strange.”

The Scot also revealed how he learned how “one small thing can change everything” but that Gold Coast was “an accumulation of things”.

“I got a bad bug bite the week before and ended up on anti-inflammatories, which knocked my system off a little bit,” he explains. “Maybe I was hot-headed, too, going from a long way out and not taking my foot off the gas.

“I want to get back on to that momentum I had back in 2017 where I was running well pretty much all the time,” adds the 2016 Olympic ninth-placer.

“I want to prove I’m still the athlete I was, and a better athlete.”

And although things have been hard, quitting has never crossed his mind.

“I’m not that kind of person,” he says. “I had two knee surgeries back in 2012 and even then, I never thought I would quit. It never came into my head.”

While Tokyo is Hawkins’ main aim, racing in Doha is part of the journey and the top two British athletes in London this weekend will earn automatic selection for the world championships, provided they also run within the 2:13 qualifying standard.

Athletes seeking Tokyo places will also have the tougher qualifying mark of 2:11:30 in mind, but securing a top-10 place in London, or any of the World Marathon Majors held during the qualification period, will also count as a qualification standard.

“It’s going to be very important for Tokyo,” Hawkins adds as he looks ahead to Sunday’s race. “I think a lot of people are maybe underestimating how much you need to put a good time in.

“I ideally would like to get pre-selected and be able to choose what (else) I get to do next year.

“It’s top 10 or 2:11 but I think you probably need a bit more than that to make sure you’re safe and you get pre-selection.”

Alongside Hawkins and Farah, other British contenders include Wales’ 2:09 man Dewi Griffiths, plus Jonny Mellor and Josh Griffiths.

“Tokyo is the biggest thing because I really think, after my world championships, if everything goes right and especially with the way the conditions are, I do have the chance of winning a medal and that would be the main aim,” Hawkins adds.

“Doha would be a good stepping stone for getting qualification and pre-selection and also to get that monkey off my back that I can run in the heat. And again, it’s another possibility to get a major medal.”

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Todd Gilliland got his redemption for a near-miss in the ARCA Menards Series opener in February with a resounding victory in Friday’s General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Gilliland took control of the race on lap 43, following the conclusion of a sequence of pit stops that was interrupted by a mid-race caution flag, and never gave up the top spot again after that.

The 18-year-old led the final 34 laps uncontested en route to his second-career ARCA victory, holding off a final-lap charge from Riley Herbst and Brandon Lynn that fizzled out before the finish line.

“That was incredible. All around, this was such an amazing race for us,” said Gilliland, who finished second during Daytona Speedweeks two months ago. “Being back with DGR-Crosley makes this special, and this car was incredible. They (Herbst and Lynn) couldn’t catch me, even doing all they could. That says a lot about what this team gave me to work with all race long.

“We were going to destroy them at Daytona, and I’m so glad we were able to come back here and make this happen today, even if it was kind of last minute,” he added. “I’m just super pumped up right now.”

Friday’s performance marked Gilliland’s first triumph in ARCA competition since he went to victory lane in his series debut at Toledo (Ohio) Speedway back in 2015, and his first victory in any racing series since April of 2018 at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway in a NASCAR K&N Pro Series East car.

For Gilliland, it was a victory that was way overdue.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been to victory lane. We needed this one today and I needed it,” Gilliland said. “People have been talking, but the weight is for sure less on my shoulders now, dude.

“Wins are wins, whether it’s here or at a short track … whatever it is; there’s no feeling like getting sprayed by water and Gatorade in victory lane.”

The turning point in the race came when the top six cars – led by Sean Corr – came down pit road for green-flag service on lap 39, just moments before a crash between Christian Eckes and Thad Moffitt broke out as they tried to duck off the race track themselves at the exit of turn four.

That led to a caution flag which allowed Gilliland to cycle through to the race lead, and he took full advantage of his newfound track position and clean air after that.

While a hard crash in turn one by Tommy Vigh Jr. did necessitate one final restart with 20 laps left, Gilliland turned back every advance from behind and took the checkered flag in front by .149 seconds.

Gilliland’s dominant No. 4 Frontline Enterprises Camry left Herbst to settle for second in his No. 18 Monster Energy Camry.

While it was a strong day in terms of the ARCA owner’s championship for Joe Gibbs Racing, it wasn’t what Herbst hoped to leave with, after feeling like he had a shot at the win in the closing laps.

“I don’t know what more we could have done,” Herbst said. “Second just sucks, really bad. I thought we had a run in those final laps, but Todd’s car was really, really fast and that’s all we came home with.”

General Tire polesitter Brandon Lynn crossed third, followed by Ty Majeski and Michael Self.

Gus Dean, Travis Braden, Andy Seuss, Grant Quinlan and Joe Graf Jr. completed the top 10.

Eckes was unable to continue after hitting the outside wall during his shunt with Moffitt just after the mid-point of the race. He was credited with last place in the 26-car starting field.

The finish:

Todd Gilliland, Riley Herbst, Brandon Lynn, Ty Majeski, Michael Self, Gus Dean, Travis Braden, Andy Seuss, Grant Quinlan, Joe Graf Jr., C.J. McLaughlin, Bryan Dauzat, Bobby Gerhart, Bret Holmes, Sean Corr, Brad Smith, D.L. Wilson, Scott Melton, Brandon McReynolds, Thomas Praytor, Ed Pompa, Con Nicolopoulos, Natalie Decker, Tommy Vigh Jr., Thad Moffitt, Christian Eckes.

CONCORD, N.C. – Adverse weather conditions presented NHRA competitors with difficult track conditions on the opening day of qualifying for the NGK Spark Plugs NHRA Four-Wide Nationals Friday at zMAX Dragway.

An afternoon thunderstorm that dropped rain and hail around the facility also brought with it high winds. Officials attempted to start qualifying around 6 p.m., but a trio of Funny Cars attempted and failed to make full passes down the track.

With high winds continuing to cause problems, track and NHRA officials pushed the remainder of the first round of qualifying to 8 p.m. and canceled the second round of qualifying that was originally scheduled to begin 7:30 p.m.

After all was said and done, Mike Salinas (Top Fuel), Jack Beckman (Funny Car) and Karen Stoffer (Pro Stock Motorcycle) ended the day as provisional No. 1 qualifiers in their respective divisions.

Salinas, driving his Scrappers Racing Top Fuel dragster, set a zMAX Speedway track record with his 3.687-second time at 327.43 mph. He was one of four Top Fuel competitors who completed full runs down the track in the tough conditions.

“The day was a little crazy,” said Salinas, who earned his first Top Fuel victory earlier this year in Four-Wide competition at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “We knew the way the track was prior that it wasn’t going to hold much of anything. I actually saw Alan (Johnson) tune the car down, so I think it could have run a little bit better.

“He’s a genius at what he’s doing, so the nice part about it is the car did exactly what we wanted it to do.”

Antron Brown is currently second in the Top Fuel division thanks to his 3.725-second run at 327.03 mph. Terry McMillen sits third after the first round of qualifying following his 3.728-second run at 320.36 mph.

Beckman was the only competitor in the Funny Car class to complete a full run down the track. Beckman put together a 3.891-second pass at 321.42 mph in his Infinite Hero Dodge Charger R/T Funny Car for Don Schumacher Racing.

“There are a lot of times when there is a huge delay, huge weather issues and we’ll wait around all day to tow up there and stink,” Beckman said. “It’s really disappointing to invest that much time and energy and not go up there and put on a show not just for the fans, for our team.

“I can tell you that at 300 feet I knew. That thing was stuck, it was pulling, it was the quickest 60 foot I’ve ever had. It actually had way more in it, it just wore the clutch out of it at half track and wound up dropping a hole. It was just on a beast of a run.”

Second on the qualifying sheet belonged to John Force Racing’s Robert Hight, who slowed just prior to the finish line to a time of 3.935 seconds at 285.11 mph. Jeff Diehl qualified third with a 4.172-second run at 267.64 mph.

Terry Haddock was originally scored third fastest, but it was determined that he made contact with the wall prior to crossing the finish line, resulting in his run being disallowed.

In Pro Stock Motorcycle, Stoffer put her Suzuki motorcycle in the provisional No. 1 spot thanks to a 6.864-second pass at 195.17 mph. Angie Smith qualified second fastest with a 6.867-second run at 196.13 mph, followed by the Harley-Davidson entry of Eddie Krawiec in third with a 6.894-second pass at 196.02 mph.

TALLADEGA, Ala. – Riley Herbst may have scored his best finish of the season during Friday’s General Tire 200 at Talladega Superspeedway, but the result still wasn’t completely satisfying for the Las Vegas native.

Herbst had to settle for second behind a dominant Todd Gilliland at the end of the 76-lap ARCA Menards Series event, falling .149 seconds short of victory in the No. 18 Monster Energy Toyota Camry.

The 20-year-old tried to mount a run with Brandon Lynn on the final lap, but the duo’s pass attempt fizzled out and fell short coming through the tri-oval as Gilliland pulled away to victory.

“I think we were pretty fast all day today, but Todd was just a little bit faster when it counted,” Herbst lamented. “We couldn’t really close the gap, even though we tried all we could. We knew we needed to work together, but with two Venturini cars up there as well … I had to block their runs so they couldn’t get up there and get a chance to get past us.

“I was going for broke as much as I could; it just didn’t work out for us at the end of the day.”

As much as Herbst was thinking about trying to earn a victory on Friday at Talladega, he also had the bigger interests of Joe Gibbs Racing to balance in his approach as well.

The No. 18 team is competing for an ARCA owner’s championship this season, with Herbst and Ty Gibbs – the grandson of team owner Joe Gibbs – splitting time behind the wheel of the entry this season.

That meant that as much as Herbst wanted a trophy from Talladega, he had to be careful not to sacrifice any valuable points for the team – a mindset he alluded to after the race.

“In the back of my mind, I was thinking about the fact that we’re running for the owner’s title this year, and Ty (Gibbs) has had some really solid runs lately,” Herbst noted. “My job was to back (up) Ty’s good runs and support the team … so that we can get to Kansas with a shot at the owner’s championship.”

In fact, Herbst was reminded by his team over the radio to not “give anything up” over the closing laps.

It was a directive that he certainly followed to the letter, even though it didn’t allow him to come away with the checkered flag.

“I wouldn’t say I was forced (to settle), but I definitely had to stick to the yellow line,” said Herbst. “I saw the guys behind me starting to brew up some things, but (Rick) Carelli just told me to stay patient and stay in line as long as I could.

“We did that and came home second, along with some good points for this team.”

After a crash on the first lap of the NASCAR K&N Pro Series East race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway three weeks ago, Herbst recognized that Friday’s runner-up was a much-needed rebound effort.

“I’ve definitely had a rough few weeks, for sure,” Herbst noted. “We wanted a win, but this is a step in the right direction. Hopefully we can keep our heads up and carry a little confidence into our next race.”

However, just because he held his head a little higher leaving, it didn’t mean Herbst was totally content.

“Second still sucks, man,” he said. “I still wanted that win.”