Road Works

Alex Milne led Great Britain & Northern Ireland to team bronze as he finished seventh in the IAU 100K World Championships in Bengaluru, India, on 7 December. Competing against runners from 35 countries  in temperatures which rose to around 27C by midday with around 80 per cent humidity, Alex negotiated the 2.696km opening lap, followed by a gruelling twenty loops of 4.865km in a PB of 6:43:21. It goes without saying that it is a new Club record.

On 8 December Dom Kiralyfi ran 2:27:58 in the California International Marathon, a whisker outside the PB of 2:27:14 he set in Phoenix, Arizona in February, when he dipped below 2:30 for the first time, to go 18th on the Club's all-time ranking list. Given that he had to dig deep, thanks to cramping from mile six, he was, he says, 'pretty happy, all things considered. I actually felt good aerobically, but the legs just weren't co-operating.'  He goes again in Phoenix in the new year.

This year's Valencia Marathon took place on 1 December amid much emotion, following the devastating floods only a month earlier. It was decided that the race should go ahead, as a fund-raiser and 'a hug to this wounded city and a promise of recovery, a moment in which sport becomes hope and help for those who need it most'. In this spirit of solidarity a handful of club athletes took part: M45 Dave Grima who clocked a PB of 2:38:18, Andrew McArthur (2.40:06), Tom Mason, 3:23.59 and Alice McCormack 3:26:27. 

Simon Woodington (M45 ) came home in the Battersea Park Running Festival Marathon on 23 November in 3:34.33, over a course which consisted of 11 laps of the park and finished in the Millennium Arena.

On 17 November, second-claim Gary Forde (M55), clocked 3:31:20 in in the Verona Marathon, a PB by 2 minutes.

Serial marathon-runners Cassie Chen and Richard Sun (left) took on the Istanbul Marathon on 5 November, despite Cassie feeling distinctly unwell. Facing headwinds on the hills over the second half of the undulating course, she bravely finished in 3:28:52 with Richard, still recovering from an injury, opting to run alongside her and cross the line in an identical time.

In the New York City Marathon on 3 November, Ben Toomer finished in 2:27:22, his fastest time since he came home in 25th in 2021. Adam Moriarty completed the challenging hilly course in 2:32:46, his second fastest time ever, with Stuart Byrne clocking 2:38.49.

As detailed earlier, U23 Hector Revill made his marathon debut in Frankfurt on 27 October, finishing in 2:35:20, with dad Ben (M50) clocking a 3:23:48 PB of his own.

George Mallett was second in the Yorkshire Marathon in York on Sunday 20th October, running 2:26:06 (with impressively identical splits of 73:03 over the first and second halves) – a time which saw him move into 17th on the all-time Club rankings.

On 13 October, Kyle Spelman and Clara Pettitt clocked 3:14:28 and 3:38:11 in the Chicago Marathon.


A few swift halves

On his half marathon debut Sam Todd was third in the event in his home town of Norwich on 24 November, clocking 74:24. On the same day, men's team captain, James Stockings, was 12th at the Milano21 Half with a time of 69:10.  

Fred Slemeck finished in second in the Gosport Half on 17 November, in a PB of 68:47.

In Valencia on Sunday 27 October, only days before the tragic floods, Ryan McAllister and Chris McIllroy finished in 71:55 and 72:36 in the half marathon, with Sarah Twaite and Allie Donoghue-Hunt clocking 92:57 and 1:43:44. 

The previous day, in the Kingston Half, Greg Hobden (M50) clocked 89:11, Tom Cheetham (M55) finished in 91:34 and Brian Lynch (M50) in 95:17 (pictured, right).

On the previous weekend Andrew McArthur (M35) lowered his PB to 74:02 in Manchester.

Meanwhile in Belgium, Alex Kalyas, new member of Tony Austin's distance group, clocked 80:50 in the Liege province half marathon.

In the annual Cabbage Patch 10 Mile race in Twickenham Adam May (M40) was first home for the Club in 64:43, followed by W45 Gina Galbraith in 65:24. Rob Tuer (M35) finished in 66:39 and Andrew Davies (M50) in 68:32. Charles Hampden-Smith (M60) followed in, in 68:48, with Stewart Bond (M55) in 74:56, Peter Lee (M55) in 75:18, and Simon Bodle (M60) in 86.55.