There is a reason why all of the major marathons are held in Spring and Autumn and that is to avoid the Summer heat and so the unseasonably warm spell was not welcomed by the six Halterworth Harriers taking on the challenge of the Virgin London Marathon. Whilst great for spectators temperatures of over 20 degrees make the prospect of running 26.2 miles even harder than it already is. The six Harriers had been anxiously watching the weather forecast and had been relieved to see that morning was expected to be overcast, however, as the start time approached without a cloud in the sky it was clear that once again the forecast was wrong.

 

Michael Tanner starting close to the front of the red start following his phenomenal 2hrs 51mins in Abingdon led the Harrier contingent and clocked an impressive (but conservative for him) 1hr 29mins at the halfway stage. Dave Kenyon took a similarly cautious approach to the first half and went through halfway on schedule at 1hr 33mins. But despite taking on plenty of fluid both began to struggle as they passed through Docklands and the mid-day heat took its toll. By 20 miles all thoughts of achieving pre-race targets were banished and it was a mind-over-matter struggle to keep on running. Dave's slower start allowed him to cope with the conditions slightly better than Michael and the pair were reunited at 26 miles, eventually finishing the race side-by-side; Dave in 3hrs 14mins 15secs and Michael in 3hrs 15mins 2 secs.

 

After recovering from the dissapointment of having to withdraw from last year's race due to injury Abi Bartholomew had redoubled her training efforts and was looking forward to putting in a good performance in her first marathon.  Despite starting well she couldn't maintain her early pace, but nevertheless managed to run at a consistent pace from 10 miles to clock a respectable 4hrs 46mins 54secs.

 

Frances Ter Haar running her second London marathon kept to a very consistent pace for 18 miles and was on schedule for a sub-4hr finish, but as the temperature began to take it toll on her she was forced to make an unscheduled stop. For many lesser mortals this would have been the end of their race but Frances displayed true grit and after a few minutes being attended to by the St John's Ambulance volunteers she was back in the race, crossing the line in 4hrs 24mins 44secs.

 

For Peter Haig the marathon was little more than a warm up jog for his forthcoming epic adventure of the West Highland Way (a mere 95 hilly miles). Pete has completed several previous marathons (and a few ultras) but this was his first attempt at London. He ran a controlled race only slowing slightly in the last six miles to finish in a personal best time of 4hrs 29mins 24 secs.

 

After running the Edinburgh marathon last year Sara Kenyon was also tackling her first London marathon, choosing this time to support the charity Help for Heroes (as did Peter Haig). For Sara the target was to finish in time to catch the club bus home again, which allowing for time to cross the start line and time to walk from The Mall to Waterloo required a sub-7hr finish. This she easily achieved, knocking nearly 10 minutes off her Edinburgh time, completing the course in 6hrs 23mins 32secs and leaving just enough time for a post race ice cream before boarding the bus.

 

Despite the difficult conditions all of the competitors and several other club members who went along to provide moral support agreed that it was great to be part of such a major sporting occasion and that they would be back again next year. Perhaps one of the most memorable sights of the day was the club flag flying on the Embankment (pictured above) just a mile from the finish and encouraging one last effort.