Forty athletes from our thriving junior squad represented the Borough at the Mini London Marathon last Sunday. This popular event is the official British Athletics three mile road championships for young athletes aged 11-17, and includes teams from all 33 London Boroughs, as well as the nine regions of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
With most of our athletes having played an active part in the winter cross-country season, there were some strong performances all round. However, perhaps the most notable came from U13 Patrick Owen, who produced a storming run to finish 8th in the Borough Challenge.
Seven of our senior athletes participated in the full marathon. Nearly all suffered cramp at some point during the race, perhaps due to the unseasonably warm conditions. Mo Farah was not the only one to experience the cruelty of the marathon distance! There was disappointment for some that finish times reflected neither the months of careful preparation nor the ability indicated by pre-marathon races.
There was some good news nonetheless. After his impressive debut at the distance last year, Rob Wilson shaved another three minutes from his time to finish 59th overall in a personal best of 2:32:44.Two of our women also produced personal best times: W55 Christine Meek completed the distance in 3:43:33, a minute better than her previous two outings over the distance. Having run her first marathon seven years ago, Sarah Gerrie’s second attempt was a full eight minutes quicker. The photo shows Sarah (right), and Claudia, showing off their medals.
Meanwhile, over in Rotterdam, and cheered on by his family, Andy Leung continued his steady progression at this distance, ducking well under 4 hours for the first time in 3:50:18.
Results summary
Mini London Marathon: U13B: Patrick Owen 17:25; Lucas Sheehan 18:04; Naoki Kanai 18:12; William Coutts 19:49; Kirk Lebdiri 22:49; Maateo Vao 22:49; U15B: Stanley Perrin 17:23; George Kerry 17:30; John Fielding 17:47; Marcus Browne 19:29; Bradley Payne 20:09; Reece Farren 20:42; Elliot Stewart 21:25; U17B: Sam Shindler-Glass 16:51; Mukhtar Farah 16:57; Charlie Sillett 17:01; Joe Gilbert 17:30; Sam McGonigle 18:01; Conor McCarthy 19:10; Aydarus Ibrahim 20:03; David Hannah 23:26; U13G: Lucy O’Brien 21:51; Anisa Ibrahim 21:57; Emily Nicholson-Stanwix 22:06; Cameron Thomas 22:26; Leah Kelly 23:48; Maryam Hussain 24:33; U15G: Erica Wallace 19:55; Courtney Marshall 20:30; Jennifer Connelly 22:31; Jessica Harbert 22:44; Ellie Luxmoore 22:59; Roisin Lynch 23:45; Sarah Freegard 25:22; U17G: Olivia Will 20:55; Rosanna Bell 22:43; Emilia Newton Jones 22:52; Besirat Tesfu 26:18; Abigail Brown 30:51
Marathon: Rob Wilson 2:32:44; Matt Savory 3:32:25; Christine Meek 3:43:33; Sarah Gerrie 3:48:23; Steve Barrington 4:00:27; Claudia Manera 4:03:58; Andy Sincock 4:10:58