A marathon marriage vow kept and a PB for Aaron.
- brian17harris
- 53 minutes ago
- 5 min read
{No, the photo that Wix selected isn't of the wedding couple alluded to in the headline ;-))}
As promised last week, news on two more marathons on Sunday 19th, with at least 2 next weekend to come.
Newport Marathon
The club had 5 athletes lining up for this “international” marathon on a flat course made better by almost perfect weather conditions – dry, hardly any wind, sunny but starting at under 10C (it did get a little warmer by midday).
Men’s captain Aaron Willis was as expected first home for the club in only his second marathon.
“Perfect conditions (maybe a little bright) at Newport and it was good to see so many runners.
Set out a little slower than target pace for the first 10 miles then settled into goal pace. Last 5k was hard and was hoping to pick the pace up but had nothing in me.
Great course and great crowd. Nice to run with other club members and a big thanks to Kate Jacobs for the lift and support.”
Aaron was happy with the 2:48:44 time (it isn't mentioned above that it was a 4 minute or so PB) and how he raced it but is hoping to shave more time off next time, which could well be London 2027 as it is a qualifying time for youngsters, let alone a GFA place for V45 .
Last statistic for now – Aaron moves up several places in the club’s all-time marathon top 20 to no. 13 (Ed. unofficial pending DW confirmation). Congratulations on a great time Aaron.
Brian Harris thoughts on his 3:25:30 run on Strava -
“Really happy with my consistent first 21 miles, but a bit disappointed with my drop off after that, but overall a good stepping stone on the way back from last years long lay-off, and I scraped 75% age-graded. Also maintained my annual sub 3:30 streak from 2020.
Perfect conditions, and great to run with Clare and Charlotte for some of the time. Big Shout out to Kate J for all her support to us runners. Always harder to slack off with great athletes you know waiting for you 😉
Charlotte Wilton had had serious caffeine and gel problems last time she raced the marathon in Valencia which wrecked her finish time, so her main focus today was avoiding a repeat of that fuelling sickness.
We’re delighted to report that there was no repeat and she was super happy with her run, being only 8 minutes off her PB. With that under belt she’ll be exploring alternative fuelling strategies as the chews she used don’t give the same oomph as gels.
Kate Jacobs’ support has been mentioned above – jogging between several points on the course and then back to HQ. Below is a photo of her and her passengers
Clare Stickney was also running only her 2nd marathon, and had only decided to run the day beforehand after a couple of problems. She ran comfortably inside herself with Brian (and latterly Charlotte) to around half-way, but unfortunately was feeling super sick and decided to retire. With a half marathon next month that looks like a wise decision.
Finally, two points if you are thinking of running Newport yourself as it is a fast course
(a) entries are already open for next year, and
(b) don’t rely on the slower pacers – the 3:30 guy started in the wrong pen and went off too fast. We understand the 4:30 pacer gave up completely, and the 4:15 pacer finished in around 5 hours!!
1 Jacob Tasker (Bridgend AC) 2.21.07 (chip 2.21.07)
94 Aaron Willis (Cirencester AC) 2.48.57 (2.48.44) PB
740 Brian Harris 3.27.35 (3.25.30)
890 Charlotte Wilton 3.34.04 (3.32.11)
2477 Gary Wood 5.20.30 (5.10.16)
2748 finished
MANCHESTER
The club only had one first-claim runner in this much bigger event, also known for being flat but relatively uninspiring scenery.
This is the first time I’ve heard of it, but Jack Bonnick eventually fulfilled one of his 2023 marriage vows by breaking the 3-hour barrier, after several near misses (or should that be missus) – see photo here
On the race itself here is Jack’s report
“I am chuffed with the 2:57:50 for Manchester, I had been defeated at my last sub 3 attempt in 2023 when I ran 3:05 in London and I was keen to get that monkey off my back as sub 3 was always a bit of a lifetime goal for me. Really enjoyed the course and it’s very well supported as one of the UKs biggest marathons. I paced it well and thought 2:55 was in the bag, until mile 24 when things started to fall apart 😃but fortunately had enough time in the bank to get in safely under 3 hours. Here’s some photos of me in club colours, of course! “
Congratulations on keeping that promise Jack, and breaking the magic 3 hours too of course.
Whilst his time isn’t in the clubs results as he is second claim, Paul Robertson also finished in around 4:11 – well done Paul.
PARKRUNS 18TH APRIL
Our members were far and wide within the UK this weekend with 9 locations other than Ciren.
We all know it’s not a “race” but two fast performances this week
· Helena Sexton, 8 days before she runs London, was 1st lady at Tetbury in a PB time of 20.25, but with more to come perhaps given her HM PB recently.
· Ian Barrett went inside 19 minutes at Chippenham, pleasantly surprising himself (as usual it was wrapped in a longer 12-miler).
There were two milestones at Ciren this week – congratulations to Amanda Naylor for her 150th and Bilbo Baggins for his 50th.
Congratulations also to regular parkrunner Richard Edwards for his fastest time in 16 months.
Cirencester: 17 Toby Conway (J) 20.54, 51 Paul Timms 23.54, 52 Dave Wright 23.56,66 Rob Forbes 24.51, 73 Holly Stewart-Hodges (J) 25.22, 88 Jonathan Higgs 26.13,89 Alan McAdam 26.18, 90 Susanna Austin 26.19, 121 Rachel McAdam 27.25,153 Amanda Naylor 29.03, 155 Pam Wheeler 29.18, 180 Kirsty Leggate 31.09, 293 finished.
Tetbury: 2 Helena Sexton (1st lady) 20.25 PB, 231 finished.
Swindon, Lydiard Park: 166 Richard Edwards 27.32, 459 finished.
Carterton, Kilkenny Lane: 38 David Moss 23.51, 194 finished.
Chippenham: 5 Ian Barrett 18.57, 262 finished.
Forest of Dean: 17 Stephen Hale 24.15, 87 finished.
Evesham: 25 Colin Tapley 21.58, 245 finished.
Three Brooks, Bradley Stoke, Bristol: 245 Ruth Fulford 34.43, 334 finished.
Maidenhead: 214 Gordon Jones 30.37, 308 Rachel Jones 35.12, 423 finished.
Stoke, Trentham Gardens: 53 Martin Croucher 23.14, 1024 finished.
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