Thompson full of confidence after second Scottish win

The 37-year-old saw off Callum Hawkins a year ago in a tight race but this year he dominated from the front, powering home in 62:07 ahead of Poland's Marcin Chabowski's 62:24 and Luke Traynor (62:56).

The time is Thompson's third quickest ever over the half-marathon distance and he insists he is in fine form ahead of the New York City Marathon in November.

"I knew the other guys wanted a race so to beat them convincingly tells me everything I need to know,” he said.

"It was harder than last year so, as a performance, I'm happy. Iths possibly my best half-marathon race, especially in those conditions.

"The good thing is I didn't have to race to the line over the last three miles so that minimised the damage.

"I tend to race my opponents these days. Luke really wanted to keep pushing… that was the race. The Polish guys kept going and it was only 5k out that I knew I had him. I was very impressed with him."

Sportsbeat 2018