APRIL HAS SEEN a number of Elvet Striders tackle the gruelling marathon distance of 26.2 miles, many of whom for the first time and for those more experienced, some hard earned PBs.

Some hardy club members have even competed in more than one marathon recently!

There's a lot of romance associated with the London marathon; one of our members, Jane Baillie even felt inspired to put pen to paper:

A London poem -
Winter training checked and done,
Trainers tied and carb loading - yum!
Excitement, butterflies, nerves in the crowd
Minutes to go, Striders do us proud!!

Helen Allen, Kelly Collier, Vicki McLean, David Case and Matthew Crow were all lucky enough to have had London as their first marathon, having all been on an incredible and personal journey to get there.

Gareth Pritchard was first Strider home in an incredible time of 2:52:56 and Penny Browell was first Strider lady with a time of 3:22:59, maintaining their rightful positions as some of our ‘super speedies!’

Katie Butler ran her second marathon in two weeks having conquered Manchester last weekend along with Jacquie Robson who had also run Paris a week earlier! Jacquie’s marathon performance has gone from strength to strength recently reducing her pre-Paris PB by over half an hour and taking another 10 minutes off that time just two weeks later! Another impressive marathon PB belongs to Richard Hall who knocked an incredible 50 minutes off his previous time!

Kerry Lister ran the Rotterdam marathon two weeks ago in preparation for London this weekend and completed the course with good friend and first timer Vicki McLean who has been on her own amazing journey, having lost 23 stones in weight over the past 15 months.

Other Striders who completed the London marathon were Megan Bell, Sue Jennings, Denise Benvin, Graeme Walton and Kath Dodd, some of whom loved every minute and others not so much!

A week earlier a large number of club members tackled the Greater Manchester marathon, with a number of first timers at the distance.

Debbie McFarland, Nicola Whyte, Karen Jones, Martin Welsh and Eric Green all tackled the distance for the first time (although Eric has completed an IronMan) and did brilliantly.

Stephen Jackson was first Strider home in an amazing position of 52nd overall in a blistering time of 2:42:46 which is an average of just over six minutes per mile!

 

No matter whether you’re a marathon runner or embarking on a Couch to 5K programme, everyone is welcome in Elvet Striders. For more details

Find us on Facebook www.facebook.com/elvetstriders

Follow us on Twitter @elvetstriders

Visit our website www.elvet-striders.org

Submitted by Anita Dunseith