Seven ESM roadrunners completed the London Marathon on Sunday. Many more club members lined the route to cheer them on through those moments of pain and self-doubt. And we shouldn’t forget Dorothy Johnstone, who once again gamely stood for nine hours as a marshal on Tower Bridge.
Luckily, the rain which had been predicted for the race earlier in the week fell in the early hours of the morning. A cool, overcast day with little wind led to ideal conditions for the biggest distance running event of the year. (Though it was a tad chilly for the spectators!)
The first to finish was veteran Chris Dettmar, who won’t be familiar to many of you because he only runs second claim for ESM. He lives in Pitshanger but is a member of Headington RR. Having spent much of the last year injured, he couldn’t quite match his sub-2:30 time from 2014, but ran a very competitive 2:33:43. This ranked him tenth in the 40 to 44 age group.
James Hughes was the only non-veteran in the squad. More at home over shorter distances, (especially parkruns – just check his Power of 10 profile!!), he’s also been carrying an injury and his time of 3:12:52, whilst quick by most people’s standards, was not a serious attempt at the distance.
Simonetta Taccuso (photo courtesy of Andy Dodd) had arguably the best experience of the squad, her time of 3:27:01 at her third attempt at the marathon representing a personal best. Rumours had been flying about her formidable training regime, and it seems they were true!
The other four members of the squad all retain their personal bests from other marathons. Chris Brown and Steve Barrington both broke four hours, but have run closer to three-and-a-half hours in the past, Chris at Luton and Steve at Milton Keynes. Andy Leung set his PB in Rotterdam last year and had been training very well. However, an Achilles injury picked up shortly before the race meant he was pleased just to get round. Long-term honorary member Rob Deane, now competing for Dacorum & Tring, was undertaking his third marathon, but again could not match his previous best from Brighton. Seems the moral is: if you want a fast time, go elsewhere!
ESM results summary