Axe Valley Runners have been basking in some marathon glory over the past couple of weeks, with members representing England and shining in the iconic London Marathon.
In the TCS London marathon, Axe Valley Runners had a big presence with a mix of ‘good-for-age’, charity place runners and a few who had been lucky in the ballot.
Terry Emmett in 2:41.36, Richard Hardy in 2:47.07 and Matt Frost in 2:57.24 were the first three AVRs home in brilliant sub three-hour finishes. Richard and Matt also smashed their personal bests, while Terry’s was a London PB.
Paul Johns in 3:32.26 was next to finish in his third London marathon with Alan Hornibrook next AVR in an excellent 3:44.38, 52nd in the M65 category. Jason Potter slipped into sub-4 with his 3:57.59 finish.
Laura Kerr, running her first London marathon for Round Table’s Children’s Wish, finished in a massive PB of 4:12.43 with Fiona Pyle breaking the 5-hour barrier in 4:59.14. They also raised a huge amount for this excellent cause, as well as fitting in the training alongside their young families and careers.
Both Roger Bramley and Mark Day were also raising money for charities – Seaton Hospice at Home and Land Aid respectively. Roger finished in 4:38.59 with Mark in 5:08.40.
Steve Lewis took on the virtual challenge, running the 26.2 miles around Seaton, Axmouth and Colyford with support from Carol Austin, Caroline French and Alan Morbey. Starting in heavy rain but finishing in glorious sunshine, Steve kept up a very consistent pace to finish in 5:11.55.
Rob Collier (M50) and Angela Kerr (F65) were part of the England Masters team in the MBNA Chester marathon, following qualifications at Manchester and Milton Keynes marathons respectively.
Unfortunately, both have suffered from injuries over the last few weeks but were determined to pull on the prestigious England vest. Sadly, Rob was a DNF – always a tough one but often the best option- with his injury and a cold in the lead-up taking their toll.
Angela, too, had had a challenging build-up with injury and life events but, as usual, her strength and determination saw her through to finish in 6:02.21.
Joel Seward was first finisher at Seaton parkrun in 17:41 with Mike and Roberta Wadsworth both celebrating PBs in 22:04 and 29:29, respectively.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here