CLC Striders London Marathon 2024 report - 21 April 2024
12 CLC Striders joined the masses on Black Heath on a chilly and breezy morning to compete in the iconic London Marathon. Some had Championship places, some Good For Age time places, some were running for charity and some got lucky with the ballot. But they all faced the same challenge – 26.2 miles around the famous streets and landmarks of the capital, along with 50,000 other runners from all over the UK and all over the world.
After meticulous and single-minded training, Rob Barnett recorded the fastest time for the club on the day, registering a new marathon PB of 2:42:46 and running a metronomically paced race, which saw him clock negative splits for the two halves.
Club Captain Will Pearce registered the second fastest club time on the day, clocking a solid sub-3-hour time of 2:55:00. He was followed home by Cat Wheeler, only the second lady Strider to break the 3-hour barrier, running a brilliant PB time of just 2:57:00.
Just outside the 3-hour mark, Helen Knight clocked a marathon PB time and club VF40 record time of 3:02:00, and the always-strong Liza Bradshaw finished in 3:09:51.
Claire Kennedy crossed the finishing line in 3:14:04 after running a negative split over the two halves, while Adam Greenwood developed cramp in his calf after only 4 miles and so battled through 22 miles of pain to cross the finish line in 3:18:32.
Tim Brock, running with the club’s allocated marathon place, ran the perfect marathon, with absolutely consistent mile pacing throughout to come home in a massive PB time of 3:32:42. Despite only a short spell of training due to travelling, Molly Knight managed to run 3:39:43 and Fiona Brady Miller ran a PB time of 3:42:17, setting a new VF45 club record in the process.
Last but not least, Laura Daubney ran 4:13:12 and veteran Nikki Smith ran 4:17:45.
All in all, it was a great day for CLC Striders in the London Marathon and you can be sure that many runners in the club have already registered for the public ballot for 2025 having been inspired by their club mates and the event as a whole.
