Brighton Marathon - 7th April 2024
A very busy weekend in the racing calendar saw Bourton Roadrunners travelling in different directions, with four venturing to the south coast for the Brighton Marathon, famous for its friendly atmosphere and scenic views. Amongst the 15000 runners was Bourton’s Alex Pye, having honed his training in recent weeks, was pleased to achieve a new personal best (PB) time of three hours, 24 minutes and 46 seconds. He was followed by first-timer Rebecca Townsend. Despite having completed a virtual marathon with her mother during lockdown, this was the real thing. Displaying her trademark smile all the way around the course, Rebecca was pleased with her 3:52:34. This will put her in a good position for the London Marathon in two weeks.
Barry O’Leary demonstrated his usual commitment and strength to drive-on in the later stages to achieve a well-earned PB of 4:16:06. Basia Legierska, also running her first full marathon, in memory of the recent loss for her mother, shone and was pleased with her time of 4:23:14.
White Horse Half Marathon - 7th April 2024
Closer to home, the White Horse Half marathon attracted a field of over 400 runners, including three from the club. Bourton’s Darren Long had a brilliant run completing the 13.1 miles in a time of one hour, 24 minutes and 30 seconds, giving him 2nd in the male-vet 50 category (MV50/2) and 20th overall.
Chasing Darren all the way was Peter Carrick, who tried to keep him within his sights. While Peter still has much more to offer, he couldn’t make up the gap in the closing stages but still achieved a brilliant time of 1:26:36. Bourton’s third runner was all-round athlete Maxine Emes, who maintained a consistent pace throughout to achieve 1:42:00. Darren said later, “A good race, good course, spoilt only by the wind”.
Highworth 5 miles - 7th April 2024
Father and son Tony and Kevin Goodwill opted for the Highworth 5 miles, which has always been a favourite with the club. Despite the shorter distance, the course is certainly not short of hills. Youth claimed the day, with Kevin staying in front from the-off, achieving a solid 33 minutes and 57 seconds. Over the years Tony has seen and achieved it all, including a 100Km internationals, and maintained his focus to achieve 43:22.
Regency 10K - 7th April 2024
Experienced runner Susan Hunt also opted a shorter distance this weekend, selected the Leamington Spa Regency 10K, local to her home. This was the first time that Susan had taken part in this event and was impressed by the great marshal support, and achieved a respectable time of 54:29 and well up the field nearly 1800 finishers.
London Landmarks Half - 7th April 2024
Melissa Samuel was fortunate enough to obtain a highly sought-after place in this year’s London Landmarks Half, which as the name suggests, takes in most of London’s historic sites. Melissa worked extremely hard amongst the field of 19000 runners, to achieve a respectable three hours, 28 minutes and 43 seconds.
Parkrun events - 6th April 2024
No weekend would be complete without parkrun on Saturday morning, and Bourton was in attendance at the following venues:
Cheltenham Pittville Park: Chris Dry - 29:20.
Chipping Norton School: Lee Hutton - 26:02 (VM60/1), Matt Price - 29:01, David Turnball - 31:02 (VM70/2 and course PB), Kate Price - 32:48.
Conkers, National Forest: Tim Carter - 19:12, Ellie Piercy - 27:21.
Leamington: Louise Hamilton-Smith - 30:06, Liz Hulcup - 30:19 (VW70/1).
Newbury: Dawn Coley - 39:39.
Newport, South Wales: Jaq Underwood - 26:37 (VW55/2).
Peel, Greater Manchester: Claire Louise Carroll - 27:09 (VW60/1).
Stratford-upon-Avon: George Swayne 18:58 – (JM15/2 and course PB), Susan Hunt 26:54.
Highlights
Congratulations to Alex, Rebecca, Barry and Basia for fine performances at Brighton Marathon, and a big thank you to those that supported them. The full race results are available via the Brighton Marathon Weekend official website.
Our team at Brighton Marathon. Click on image for a larger version.
Photo Gallery of Bourton Roadrunners and supporters at Brighton Marathon
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Basia looking great at Brighton Marathon - 7th April 2024. Click on image for a larger version.
Other reports may be found on our recent race reports page.