All the months of planning, training, dieting and dedication for seven Sidmouth Running Club members paid off as they lined up at the start of the Virgin London Marathon.
Smashing his PB, Dan Prettejohn ran splits of 7.00 to 7.28 min/mile and completed the marathon in 3:16:10.
Club place runner Toby Garrick chose to raise money for sports charity, Mwanza, which is close to his heart as he is going to Mwanza in Tanzania in November to volunteer as a sports coach for five months. The youngest of the SRC marathon runners, Toby completed his first marathon in 3:18:18 with splits ranging between 6.23 and 7.33 min/miles.
It was a milestone marathon for SRC veteran David King. The Mighty Green completed his 20th London marathon in 3:45:21 with splits ranging between 8.05 to 8.33 min/miles.
Following the club runners on the app, supporters could see how near each other Yasmin Salter, Jane Hemsworth and Steve Saunders were at times, even though the runners themselves didn’t realise it, although Yasmin did get a photo of her and Steve along the route.
Yasmin thoroughly enjoyed her first VLM, in fact she signed up for next year’s ballot straightaway! Raising money for 3 charities close to her heart, Force Cancer, Hospice Care and Hospice of the Good Shepherd, gave Yasmin the incentive to give her all. Her winning smile as she crossed the line in 4:27:26 with splits of 9.21-10.11 min/miles said it all.
Lining up for her 5th London Marathon and 30th marathon, Jane had followed fellow MG Richard King’s advice and eaten a banana. It certainly fuelled her up as she admired the London landmarks and crossed the finishing line in 4:33:31 with splits of 9.56-10.25 min/miles.
Nine minutes after Jane saw fellow Mighty Green Steve cross the finish line in 4:42:44 with splits of 9.14-10.46 min/miles.
Running his first VLM Allan Kay said, “There was a great atmosphere and support from start to finish. I will definitely do it again!” Running for the Fire Fighters charity, Allan, a full time and retained fire fighter, crossed the finishing line in 5:00:20 with splits 10.48-11.27 min/miles and raised a magnificent £3,240.
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