THREE of Stratford Athletic Club’s most experienced distance runners – Emma Bexson, Emily Adams and Rebecca Wass – competed in the Malaga Marathon on Sunday.
Considered by many to be one of the best marathons in Spain, the route is relatively flat and straight and passes through the historic city centre as well as the port and promenade.
Bexson, an international triathlete, was the first SAC member to finish, clocking 3:32:09 to place 731st overall and a laudable 15th in her age category.
She commented that the wheels came off for her between miles ten and 15 due to a severe pain in her leg, which seriously distracted her and caused her to struggle in the second half of the race.
Adams – holder of a prestigious Six Star Finishers Medal for having competed in all six of the World Marathon Majors series – completed the course in 3:37:35, just two minutes and 45 seconds shy of the personal best she set in Manchester last year, but 37 minutes quicker than her time at the Boston Marathon earlier this year.
“It was a nice flattish course,” said Adams, who placed 842nd overall and 24th in her age category. “I got into a good rhythm until 20 miles when the wheels started to come off but support from club member Karl Harris, together with numerous gels, got me over the finishing line. I was really chuffed with my time and it was a lovely route.”
Wass, who ran in a Wonder Woman costume, finished in a PB of 4:41:19, placing 2,116th overall.
The race was won by Ethiopia’s Lemi Dumecha Beyi in 2:11:05 and the first woman to finish was Alemu Meseret Abebayehu in 2:32:17 as 2,407 runners completed the race.
Sneyd Striders 10-mile Pudding Run
RUTH CALDERBANK smashed the Stratford AC W65 ten-mile club record when finishing first in her category at the Sneyd Christmas Pudding Run in Bloxwich.
Organised by Sneyd Striders in Walsall, the race consists of two laps of a flat and fast five-mile course. She finished in 1:30:53, taking more than five minutes off the previous W65 club record.
Calderbank, competing in her longest race for almost two-and-a-half years, finished 242nd overall in a field of almost 400 runners and was the 55th woman past the finish line.
Ady Whitwam won the race in 54:39 and Sarah Mackness was the top woman, clocking 1:02:09.
Telford 10k
THE TELFORD 10k’s reputation as one of the fastest courses in the UK for the distance proved to be accurate as it helped Stratford AC’s Jon Mulkeen to smash his personal best by almost two minutes.
He crossed the line in 40:02, agonisingly close to a sub-40-minute clocking but more than enough to achieve his 15th PB of the year. He finished 15th out of 800 runners in the mass race and 441st out of 1,250 runners when combined with the other waves.
New Zealand’s Callan Moody won the race in 29:31 and Emily Hosker-Thornhill was the first woman to finish, clocking 32:52.
Reports thanks to David Jones.
