European Athletics Championships: Sheffield Half Marathon record-holder Andrew Heyes meets qualification time

Lodge Moore-based Andrew Heyes crossed the line in one hour and six minutes last year and completed his first-ever marathon in 02:13:52 on Sunday, finishing fifth overall in Manchester.

That time met the qualifying standard to represent England at this summer’s Commonwealth Games. But with two Brits finishing ahead of him he is set to miss out on the sole spot available for Birmingham 2022.

Instead, Andrew is likely to be one of six marathon runners included in Great Britain’s squad for the European Athletics Championships, which take place in Munich, Germany from 15 to 21 August.

British Athletics is set to confirm the team on Friday.

"To come out and qualify for GB in my first marathon would be such a big deal for me,” said the 31-year-old.

“It certainly would be the biggest stage I have ran on. It would be a phenomenal experience, I’m already getting excited about it.”

Andrew capped off a week to remember with his marathon success.

Five days previously he successfully defended his PhD thesis investigating the psychosocial factors influencing doping in sport in front of a panel of academic experts.

The 2018 British indoor 3000m champion, who represents Hallamshire Harriers, said: “With the exam going pretty well I just had the boost and anything on Sunday was a bonus.

"It’s been a bit of a challenge. I had to go part-time with my PhD.

"I probably run less than I used to before we had our daughter, I probably have to be a little bit more pragmatic but priorities change.

"Anything in running comes as a bonus, you are a lot more relaxed about performance.”

Andrew’s wife Lauren is a junior doctor and GB runner who represented her country at the European Cross Country Championships in Dublin in December.

He ran 115 miles a week on average while preparing for his first attempt at the 26.2-mile distance under the stewardship of former long-distance runner and two-time Olympian, Mara Yamauchi.

"Mara has been absolutely brilliant,” said Andrew, a former short-distance specialist.

"It’s been great to bounce ideas off someone who has so much experience.

"It will be interesting to see how much improvement I have in the marathon.”