Following many weeks of early morning long runs since Christmas, an incredible day of endurance saw many Peelers take part in marathons in both London and Manchester. Some were running for the personal challenge whilst many were running for charities close to their hearts, all showing the grit and determination it takes to complete the 26.2 miles. Battling the heat in London, Wayne King achieved a sub 3 hour finish to complete in 2:55:54, with Emma Pick also getting under 3 hours, despite her preparation being affected by injury, to finish her first marathon in 2:57:42. Lee Rickards who also completed the Boston Marathon in the USA the previous week in 3:16, ran the London Marathon in support of St Giles Hospice, completing in 3:25:49. Danny Beardmore achieved a PB of 3:42:27 fundraising for The Institute of Cancer Research, George Hope completed his 4th World Marathon Major whilst fundraising for The National Autistic Society in 4:31:43, Chris Bennett who won the club’s place in the ballot was supporting Mary Ann Evans Hospice achieving a 2 minute PB with a time of 4:45:44, Lizzy Young running her debut marathon for Alzheimer’s Research UK finished in 5:01:14. Kirsty Brown also running her first marathon for Asthma + Lung UK finished in 5:23:26, with the charity also supported by husband and wife team Claire and Lee Guffick, with Claire completing in 5:38:06 and Lee with a PB in 6:05:11. Jo Sharman completed her 3rd World Major Marathon fundraising for BackCare in 5:40:45.
The sun was also shining in Manchester, making the conditions difficult in the heat, with Shane Lewis first Peeler to finish in a time of 4:07:13, closely followed by Georgie Mead raising funds for Brain Research UK and completing her first marathon in a time of 4:07:46. Mark Boffey finished in 4:46:52 and Judith Matthews completed in 4:51:33. Mike Shelton completed in 4:58:05 with “Trev” the oversized teddy bear once again on his back to complete his 30th marathon (and Trev’s 11th!). Tony Bryan finished in 5:09:58, and supporting Myeloma UK were both Lisa Barnes completing in 5:26:26 with a 15 minute PB and Darren Truman completing in 6:01:29.
Meanwhile, Phil Neale tackled the half marathon in Stratford-upon-Avon, taking in the town and surrounding countryside and completed in 1:43:50.
Although many were resting legs ahead of Sunday’s marathons, many Peel Road Runners were still out in force on Saturday, participating in 8 different parkrun events. At Babbs Mill, Garth Cox completed the 5k in 24:56. At Kingsbury Water parkrun, Simon Gordon finished in 26:59, Alison Upton in 32:53, Jackie Tierney in 35:14, Sarah Boffey in 35:50, Emma Whorwood in 36:26, Roger Eastaff in 37:36 and Sarah French in 51:01.At Mile End, Jo Sharman completed the course in 46:02, followed closely by Steph Attenborough in 46:03. Mike Hughes ran the Northwich parkrun in 27:20. Emma Pick recorded a time of 21:58 at Rosliston. At Tamworth Castle Grounds, Tim Mudd finished in 27:24 and Tracy Ford in 28:05. Michael Stevenson completed the Warwick Racecourse parkrun in 38:07. Whilst Ian Orton finished the Watermead Country Park parkrun in 23:46.
The Peelers meet every Tuesday evening at the skate park car park at 6.45pm for a 7pm start with a choice of different paced running groups and a walking group. They are also launching their Bridge to 5K course starting on 29th April at 6pm – details on the Peel Road Runners Public Page on Facebook.
