April is the month when the marathon runners take center stage for Winchester Running Club. For many, this is the culmination of months of training in the dark, cold and very wet conditions to which we have been exposed this year. Fortunately, Sunday saw the sun shining on London as fifteen WRC runners arrived early morning in Blackheath to start the iconic 26.2 mile run.
Some were competing for the first time, some for charity and some racing to achieve a personal best. No matter what the reason there is always a sense of trepidation on the start line. Lloyd Dickson was both first to start and first to finish following up a pb at the Wokingham half with a marathon pb of 2:32:51. Paul Gaimster was next to make it down the Mall in 2:35:57 closely followed by Jamie Rendall in 2:37:18 (pb). The number of WRC runners now comfortably running inside 2:40:00 has grown considerably over the last few years. Fresh from her club debut at the National 6 stage relays, Charlotte Ragan finished in a very impressive 2:47:40 (pb), 36th placed woman overall and 22nd in her age category. Breaking the 3 hour barrier was Karla Borland in 2:59:09, Wayne Bevan in 2:48:37 and Nick Davies in 2:58:01, pb’s for the last two.
Just over the three hour mark saw Matt Grote complete the distance in 3:07:34, Dean Rawlins in 3:16:23 (pb) and Paul Horler in 3:18:29 (pb). A determined Caroline Carr also achieved a pb in a time of 3:22:23. Steve Oliver ran a steady 3:33:29 whilst Jeremy Wilson completed his first marathon in a very respectable 3:49:28. The last but very much not least runners home for Winchester Running Club were Joshua Averill breaking the 4 hour barrier in 3:58;26 and the remarkable Joy Radford in 3:57:39. Joy placed 5th in her age category which without giving too much away is beyond retirement age!