Weekly Serpie round-up
"The amount of supporters I heard saying ‘Serpentine are doing amazing’, ‘Yet another Serpentine’, etc. did make me chuckle whilst also filling me with pride." You said it; read on for the week's news.
London Marathon
Some 130 Serpies lined up at the start of what would turn out to be the hottest London Marathon on record. The Serpentine contingent was led home by Tony Payne (2:21:53), Andy Greenleaf (2:23:19) and Will Green (2:27:02; PB), who collectively are the probable winners of the British Marathon Team Championships (result tbc), with Andy taking individual silver. Ahlem Ben Gueblia (3:14:16), Alexandra Baird (3:15:57) and Sharon Templeman (3:18:35) meanwhile were the fastest Serpettes on the day.
Other notable mentions go to Will who was also first British V40 and is now second on the UK V40 rankings and Jody Matey who finished in 4:14:32, just one week after battling to the finish line of the Boston Marathon in cold, wet and windy conditions. John Hudspith completed his 30th London Marathon in a row in 3:20:55. There were many other impressive performances on a hot day, including PBs for Nicolas Besson (2:29:10) and Chris Oddy (2:29:54). Well done and congratulations to everyone who dug deep to cross the finish line! (Further details: Serpentine results; Fast Running article)
Many runners commented on the fabulous support along the route from club mates and the crowds at large, including one of the sub 2:30 finishers: "The amount of supporters I heard saying ‘Serpentine are doing amazing’, ‘Yet another Serpentine’, etc. did make me chuckle whilst also filling me with pride." (Photo: Si Davis)
Race report from Ahlem Ben Gueblia, fastest Serpette
With a combination of stress and excitement, I lined up for my 2nd London Marathon, mixing it with the best of England Athletics on my 1st championship start. Again, London did not disappoint! Not a PB but another championship qualifying time and a result I am pleased with, considering the injury setbacks last year and the record heat we all experienced this year. Like many, I started slightly too fast considering the far from optimal conditions. I ran the first half with team mate Sharon Templeman (a Richmond Park regular) and really enjoyed sharing efforts and bottles. But then it started to feel more difficult than it should have at that stage and I decided to slow down to a more comfortable pace to ensure I would reach the finish line. This probably paid off as after some challenging miles I felt stronger towards the end and had a good finish catching a few people on the last miles. I don’t know how many litres of water I poured down me but the “wet dog” look did not seem to bother the amazing crowd along the course. The support is definitely what makes London so special for me! All the cheers and smiles from friends, family and fellow Serpies are the best lift-up when it gets tough. (Photo: Jon Knox)
Great Ireland Run 10k
On 15th April, Christine Kennedy did 43:34 at the Great Ireland Run 10k to win the V60 Irish Champs, despite no/reduced training in February and March due to an ongoing virus. The time translates into a whopping age-graded performance of 93%. Congratulations Christine!
Zurich & Madrid Marathons
Pleased to say I ran my first marathon in Zurich on Sunday. It was even hotter than London. The course started in the town for a 10km lap and then followed the lake before turning back. The last 10km was super tough with the heat (temperature 26c near the end), but I managed to keep it going and finish in 4:11:07. (Report: Jack Corkett)
Having run the Two Oceans (Ultra) Marathon last year, Amine Damir completed his first marathon in Madrid in 2:58:54, finishing in 181st position. The weather (22c) and hilly course made this a tough race.
The Fox Ultra
Congratulations to Maryann Devally who won The Fox Ultra (60km) in 5:59:09, placing 17th out of 187 runners overall.
Parkrun results for 21 April 2018 (85 runners)
Top 5 by time and age-graded performance
| Name | Event | Time | Gender # | Name | Event | Time | Gender # | Name | Age-graded | ||
| Jonathan Poole | Gunnersbury | 15:07 | 1 | Sarah Pemberton | Burgess | 18:54 | 2 | Jonathan Poole | 87.21% | ||
| James Gillanders | Burgess | 16:48 | 1 | Victoria Basquill | Greenwich | 19:28 | 1 | Kevin Murray | 86.02% | ||
| Andrew Reeves | Burgess | 16:49 | 2 | Zoe Birchenough | Bushy | 20:05 | 8 | Andrew Reeves | 85.63% | ||
| Nicola Barberis Negra | Burgess | 17:07 | 6 | Rachael Eddershaw | Burgess | 21:41 | 6 | Andrew Roberts | 84.40% | ||
| David Evans | Burgess | 17:08 | 7 | Laura Renshaw | Great Dunmow | 22:07 | 1 | Victoria Basquill | 82.36% |
Podium Finishers
1st: Jonathan Poole (Gunnersbury) - 15:07, James Gillanders (Burgess) - 16:48, Martin Richardson (Bromley) - 17:32, Victoria Basquill (Greenwich) - 19:28, Laura Renshaw (Great Dunmow) - 22:07
2nd: Andrew Reeves (Burgess) - 16:49, Sarah Pemberton (Burgess) - 18:54
Milestones
Milan Misak - 250th parkrun, celebrated at Fulham Palace
Busiest parkruns (3+ Serpies)
Burgess (20), Fulham Palace (10), Bushy (4), Richmond (3), Wimbledon Common (3)
Full consolidated Serpentine results. Can't see yours? Updating your parkrun profile with Serpentine RC as your club should do the trick. (Results: Alex Jeffreys)
Get involved
Do you enjoy reading the weekly round-up? If so, please help me by sending me your mini race reports and results (one or two paragraphs is all it takes) so we can continue producing it regularly. Drop me an email by Tuesday 9am with a few words about the event and, if you have them, photos (please ask for permission if someone else took the pictures).
If your result is missing from the club website, you can add it yourself or, if the race isn't listed in the dropdown menu, contact the Results Elves at results@serpentine.org.uk. Even better, simply add your name to the Race & Event Planner in advance and name SERPENTINE as your club when you enter races to ensure your results are added to your profile.
With thanks to everyone who contributed to this week's edition!
Eda Korkmaz
communications@serpentine.org.uk
Submitted: 25 April 2018