There are marathons (and they’re all 26.2 miles long!) and then there is the iconic TCS London marathon, which draws runners from across the world every April to pound the streets of the capital city. For many Peel Road Runners this is the dream race to win a place in (over 500,000 people applied for one of the 50,000 places this year) and Emma Whorwood was lucky enough to win the coveted Peel Club place this year. Despite the pressure of getting the miles in while training for the marathon, she also selflessly used her place to raise over £1000 in sponsorship for the Rainbow Children’s Hospice and was rewarded by completing the marathon in a personal best time of 5:14:11.
First home for the club in London was Wayne King, who ran a strong and well paced race until he suffered with cramp at mile 17 and then struggled to get back his form. However, finishing in a sub-3 hour time of 2:54:50 and in the top 2,500 of 50,000 runners is an achievement that most of us could only dream of! Next home for the club and finishing in a time of 3:33:11, Phil Busby (V55-59) ran a strong race to finish in the top 20% of runners. Another Peeler using the marathon as an opportunity to raise money for charity was Tony Bryan, who collected over £2700 in sponsorship for the Stroke Association and finished in 4:38:07. He was closely followed by Donna Reid who finished in 4:39:03 and Clara Walton in 4:41:06. Roger Eastaff was the final Peeler to cross the line in a time of 6:24:54 making the most of the party atmosphere out on the course!
Although Peel Road Runners by name enjoy the lure of tarmac, many Peelers also love trail running and the training and mental health benefits that this type of running can bring. To this end, a group of four Peelers took on the Malvern Hills trail half marathon on Saturday running in unusually warm, sunny and dry conditions which provided the bonus of far-reaching views across Worcestershire and Herefordshire. Mark Boffey was first to finish for the club in 2:36:15, followed by Chris Bennett in 2:47:20, Simon Gordon in 2:49:36 and Sarah Boffey in 3:11:04.
At the weekend’s parkrun events with Tamworth parkrun cancelled, Peelers travelled far and wide for their Saturday morning 5k parkrun. Running at Oakhill, London Michael Hughes finished in 31:02 whilst Roger Lloyd ran at Conkers (24:51); Allen King (25:49) ran at Kingsbury accompanied by Mike Shelton (25:51); Garth Cox (26:17); Alison Perry (35:44); Nicola Bannister (44:39); Sarah French (60:34) and Alison Dolphin (60:47). Ian Orton ran at Exmouth (23:42); Darren Truman at Pont y Bala (25:41); Joanne Sharman (35:49) and Steph Attenborough (35:56) at Jubilee, Spennymoor whilst Stuart Hatton (25:00); Tim Mudd (25:34); Marcus Fairburn (28:20) and Wendy Roe (30:33) ran at Beacon, Lichfield.
