What went down at the Stadiums of Speed

Having recruited some of the fastest runners from in and around Greater Manchester, we lined up outside the players' tunnel to compete in a live, mile-long race against a similar group down at the Emirates Stadium in London.

The stage was set, and with a track mapped out around our iconic stadium, which consisted of two laps around the stadium bowl, runners arrived at Old Trafford for registration, where they were gifted with a pair of the latest adidas Adizero Adios Pro 3 running shoes.

A quick pre-race brief and pep-talk from stadium announcer, and United legend, Dion Dublin in the dugout got everyone in the mood, and then it was on to the warm-up.

For the preparation, it was a nice, easy paced lap around the stadium bowl. Leading the warm-up was Ayo Dada, an adidas running coach and lifelong United fan. A quick lap around Old Trafford and then it was straight down to business. 

The running was broken down into a couple of different races, we were in competition with those down south for the fastest single mile time, as well as the fastest mile average, and then a four-person relay race. 

The first race was the fastest singular mile and was staggered into two heats, and then it was on to the relay race. Runners from local clubs including Ancoats Run Club, Chorlton Runners and Sale Harriers featured, as well as general running enthusiasts from around the city. 

After all of the hard work had finished, our presenters hopped on a Facetime call with their counterparts down in London, to share the results and see who had won.

Manchester took the crown for the fastest average mile, with a time of 6:20, while London took the combined race crown at 6:23. In terms of the fastest mile, William Onek brought it home for Manchester, after running a mile in an incredibly impressive 4:33!

Flo Papougnot brought it home for London, thanks to the fastest female mile with 5:12.

After the winners were announced, it was up to the Trafford Suite inside Old Trafford for some drinks and food, and prizes were given to the fastest competitor in each respective race, with adidas kindly providing the prizes. You can check out the full video from the event here.

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