On Sunday 26th April nine athletes from the club made the journey to London for the 35th London Marathon. The months of training were about to be put to the test when more than 38,000 runners made their way to Greenwich Park for the start despite the cold and drizzly conditions.
Once the race was underway the rain cleared and with the runners making their way towards Woolwich it was Dennis Scott and Stephen Wylie who were out in front for the club, both making it through the first 5K in 18:26. Not far behind was Niklas Arkensparr who clocked a 20:27 for the first 5K. Valerie McDonough, Sarah Benton and Janice Sheppy were also making good time as the Cutty Sark came into view at mile 7. Not far behind things were going well for Gemma McAnirn despite her recent injury setbacks as she was keeping Janice company while soaking up the electric atmosphere.
As the runners approached the iconic Tower Bridge the rain disappeared and the temperatures began to rise and it was Dennis Scott who was firmly in control of his 2hrs 37mins target making good ground with Stephen Wylie following him a few seconds later. As the runners made their way to the halfway mark things were also looking good for Niklas and Valerie who were clocking 1hr 26 and 1hr 45 respectively. Also going strong at mile 13 were Karen Sinclair, Janice McCartney, Janice Sheppy, Gemma McAnirn, who even had time to pose for a ‘Tower Bridge Selfie’ and Sarah Benton who was also on target for a PB.
Going through the twists and turns of Canary Wharf the runners are sheltered from the elements giving a good opportunity to catch breath and compose themselves before digging deep for the last 6 miles which follows the Thames down towards Westminster and the final straight.
At this point in the race Dennis had made good ground and was pushing hard in a pack that included the London Marathon female record holder Paula Radcliffe and even managed to sneak an appearance on BBC Sport before leaving Paula behind and going in search of his own record. Not far behind Dennis, with his pace dropping Stephen was going through his own battle at the 35k marker clocking up 2:24 while Niklas was going steady and clocking up 2:02. It was obvious that the cheers from the family support at the sidelines pushed Valerie on and was also looking good at this stage pushing for 3:05 at 35K.
At this point in the race as the runners follow the Thames round to Westminster it is a case of mind over matter as legs start to tire and mental doubt creeps in but the atmosphere and the support from the crowd were unbelievable with people lining the route 4 deep. This was enough to push anyone on.
The first man home for the club was Dennis Scott in a fantastic time of 2:35:52 which was 165th position overall with a PB of more than 10 mins, next over the line for the club was Niklas Arkensparr in 2:53:22 followed closely by Stephen Wylie 3:11:55. Sarah Benton stormed home with a new PB in 3:51:34 with Valerie not far behind in 3:52:18. Janice Sheppy had a great result with a time of 4:31:37 followed by Gemma McAnirn who set a new PB in 4:40:30. Karen Sinclair crossed the finish in 5:05:38 with Janice McCartney in 5:07:04.
It was a fabulous turnout for the club and thanks to everyone for putting in the hard training and taking part in what will be an unforgettable weekend.
