TOM Marshall recorded a personal best finishing sixth in the Glasgow Muller Grand Prix 1500m to close his indoor season.
The Rhayader runner declared himself pleased with his performance and a new pb for the 1500m indoors of 3.41.78 in the tough field.
The race gave Marshall a glimpse of the quality he can expect when he runs for Wales at April’s Commonwealth Games.
Australian Ryan Gregson, who is being tipped as a home medallist on the Gold Coast, finished third in a season’s best 3.38.00 behind Kenya’s Vincent Kibet (3.37.88) and IAAF World Indoor Tour winner Bethwel Birgen who took first place in 3.37.76.
Marshall was left at the back of the pack on Sunday but calmly clawed his way back into the race to take a credible sixth place finish out of 12 athletes.
After the race the Cardiff AAC athlete tweeted he was “happy enough” with his performance especially after a slow first 400m
The former Brecon AC athlete told the B&R Express: “Yeah, happy enough as I tweeted but it’s never the plan to head to the back of the race and wait. You want to be up there in the mix, giving you the best chance of running quick, even if it means pushing the limits of what you can do and risking blowing up.
“Unfortunately, when the gun went, I didn’t react well enough and fight my way through like I tend to do, so found myself at the back. However, I have more than enough experience to know that you can’t panic, and to make sensible moves to get yourself back up there. It has given me confidence, but it’s also showed me that there is work to do. I can’t afford to fall that far behind the Kenyans and Australians like I did, so it’s back to the base work and weights.”
Neither of the Kenyans from Glasgow has been selected for the Commonwealths with reigning world outdoor champion Elijah Manangoi, silver medallist Timothy Cheruiyot – who beat the world champion at Kenya’s recent trials – and 2016 World Junior champion Kumari Taki selected.
The Glasgow Grand Prix, which was broadcast live on the BBC, was the last major event before this weekend’s World Indoor Championships in Birmingham but Marshall is now turning his focus towards the Commonwealths.
He will head Down Under in March for the Welsh training camp and will also race outdoors, over 800m and his specialist 1500m, in Brisbane to fine tune his preparations.