It’s London Marathon Time Again…

April 23rd saw the 26th running of Britain’s premier road race. Lining up in Greenwich Park for the 9:45am start of the Flora London Marathon, 7 of Ellesmere Port Running Clubs finest got set for 26.2 miles of sweat, pain and ultimately… glory.

First home for the club was Paul Robertson in 3:02:20 for 1386th place. Paul went through the half way mark in 1:23:47 and was on for another sub 3 hour Marathon, however Paul unfortunately tired towards the end and just missed out.

Next down “The Mall” was Tony Hyland. Tony went through the half way mark in 1:32:49 a little down on what he was hoping. However, running strongly in the second half Tony cruised home in a satisfactory 3:06:42 in 1713th position.

Following Tony was the Marathon veteran, Matt Whitfield. Matt, who’s battled with a reoccurring calf injury over the past few months put in a superb performance and display of economy running, going through the half way stage in 1:32:33 and pushing hard to finish in 3:13:20 and 2418th place. Matt was also seen on the BBC’s live coverage by millions and is now glowing at his newly found fame.

Not far behind Matt was Mike Burns. Mike’s been suffering with injury himself of late yet still managed to push himself for a superb time of 3:18. Unfortunately, Mike’s official position or details weren’t updated on London’s results page.

Running a great race was next EPRC member home, Alison MacDonald. Alison herself has been hampered during the last few months of training with injury. However she put this all behind her with the London crowd cheering her onto the half way stage in 01:40:41. Having completed London before, Alison worked hard to produce a great finishing time of 03:35:19 for 5680th position overall.

Danny Legg was next to finish. Danny has also been struck with the injury curse and has been nursing an injured calf for the past few months. This did not deter him from taking the trip to London and posting a good time. Danny managed to get to the half way stage in 01:38:11 and was setup for his 3:20 target. However, the miles and the lack of recent training caught up with him but managed to push his body over the line in a time of 3:36:41 and 5927th.

Jon Hawker running his first ever Marathon was next man home. Having put some quality last minute training in, Jon got to the half way point in 1:42:01 which was a little quick for the sub 3:30 target he’d set himself. However, Jon typically ran hard and finished in a fantastic first effort time of 3:46:39 and 7987th place.

With many years of marathon experience, final man home for the club was Alan Durston producing a time of 4:03:12. Alan got to the half way stage in a respectable 1:48:51; however seemed to lose his way in the second half coming in 12426th position. Alan may well be eyeing the Amsterdam Marathon later in the year.

Lacking some of the glamour and a lot of the distance the Bolton 10k race took part on the same day and Chris Marshall and Mark Dodd where there representing Ellesmere Port. Finishing 29th overall, a refulgent Chris was the first of the duo to cross the line in 39:22, soon to be followed by Mark in 41:04 claiming 51st place.