This weekend saw Britain’s Jo Pavey finish in an impressive third place in the Great North Run half-marathon. The race was won by Ethiopian, Gete Wami, but all eyes were on Pavey as she put in a very strong performance.

She was unlucky not to have finished in second, or even first place, since the closing stages of the race saw a tense battle for supremacy between Pavey, Wami, and Kenyan, Magdelane Mukunzi. The half-marathon was run in brilliant sunshine and the favourable conditions helped Pavey record her personal best half-marathon time, smashing her previous record by nearly two minutes.

The 35 year-old has been explicit about her desires to run the marathon at the London 2012 Olympics and this performance will have done her hopes no harm. She finished in a slightly disappointing twelfth position in the 10,000 m final at this year’s Olympic Games and was left with mixed feelings following her performance in the Great North Run.

She told waiting reporters that she was “pleased” to record a personal best but was generally “frustrated to come third after all that distance running together”. Overall, Pavey remained upbeat, stating that “it was a positive step forward” and she even went on to claim that it was one of the most positive steps forward she had taken so far in her career. Whilst the athlete may have mixed feelings following the race, it should be remembered that she was rushed to hospital following the 2006 race, with dangerously high blood sugar levels.

Pavey looked in much better shape this year and visible progress has certainly been made following a new dietary regime involving tuna sandwiches and power bars. She recognised this herself, describing how her “legs were not as bad as two years ago...this year I finished a bit better!”

Pavey has set her sights on the Great South Run with her long-term target of running a marathon still firmly in her mind but realistically “a long way away”. Precisely how far away this target is from being reached is debatable though, since the only British women to have run a faster half-marathon than Pavey are Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi.

She should take heart as well from the fact that she gave Gete Wami, who narrowly missed out to Paula Radcliffe in the New York City marathon last year, a lot to worry about during the closing stages of the race. Wami is the World Marathon Majors champion, an achievement that has earned her approximately $500,000 (which translates to about £280,000), and is the proud owner of several Olympic silver and bronze medals.

The Great North Run was not just a success for the 35 year-old Brit. The men’s race was dominated by the eventual winner, Tsegay Kebede. The Kenyan finished ahead of Gebre Gebremariam and American athlete, Abdi Abdirahman. The leading Brit in the men’s race was Dan Robinson, who finished in thirteenth position. The half-marathon was not such a happy event for the men’s favourites, Luke Kibet and Felix Limo, who finished fourth and seventh respectively.

Written by Charlotte Cook