Week Ending - 2023/04/23

DAVE HILL RUNS LONDON MARATHON IN 2:33:56

50,000 people took on the London Marathon at the weekend, amongst them fifteen Badgers plus many more running the so-called Virtual event at Tissington which dovetailed alongside the starring attraction. The Badgers provided an almost perfect microcosm of the main event with some super-quick performances culminating in two runners dipping inside the club record, a host of individual success stories as well as a whopping £18,000 raised for charity at the time of writing. 

First home in a magnificent time of 2:33:56 was the in-form Dave Hill, not only smashing his personal best for the 26.2-mile distance but setting a new club record by almost six minutes. The record had stood for over five years but Hill, whose training leading into the race was truly exemplary, made short work of Ryan Bennett’s hitherto impressive mark. Persistent drizzle and bouts of heavier rain did not stop the Polesworth man from maintaining a metronomic tempo throughout the race, with his second half split being within a minute of his first, a quality show of race management, grit and no shortage of talent. It earned him his third club record in as many months as well as a place in the top 250 athletes overall, a monumental achievement given the number that started out. 

Spare a thought for Hill’s training partner Ryan Preece, however. The Atherstone speed machine is another at the club who has put in a herculean stint over the lonely winter months and his reward was a superb new personal best time of 2:38:17, over ten minutes quicker than his previous and debut marathon 12 months ago. Were it not for Hill’s brilliance moments before, this performance would have been a club record. As it panned out, the 26-year-old had to settle for two badly swollen big toes instead. Second claim Badger and Tamworth AC kingpin Ash Baldwin produced yet another top-quality run, just thirteen seconds ahead of Preece in 2:38:04, despite not feeling 100% on the day. His work ethic was there for all to see and be inspired by. 

Next home was Dave McGowan in a terrific time of 2:49:11. The Baddesley-based dad did especially well to make the race at all after an injury scare shortly after his epic Milton Keynes 20 third place. He fell slightly short of an already very impressive PB of 2:46 but took great satisfaction from a race well run, with nothing left out on the course. 

Against the odds, Chris Horton somehow realised a long-held ambition to run under three hours at the capital with a monumental second half of the race, recording negative splits of 1:33 and 1:25 in reaching a time of 2:58:23. The 48-year-old showed phenomenal strength after a stuttering training build-up, with a barnstorming 37-minute 10K to finish as all around him began to flag. With five sub threes’ in the bank, all eyes turned to Adrian Payne to make it six. He achieved the feat previously but fell just short on Sunday, falling away over the closing miles when a PB was on the cards mid-race. His time of 3:03:52 was still very respectable, nonetheless. 

Radio Tamworth star Ashley Taylor was next home, raising a bit of money for the charity Mind off the back of his general ballot entry. He too battled hard to emerge with the second fastest marathon of his career in 3:27:20 and was full of delight for the whole London experience leaving him eager to repeat the exercise at the earliest opportunity. Club stalwart Rob Crow was one of three genuine charity place Badger runners and on his marathon swansong, the V50 eight-mile club record holder weighed in with a quite superb time of 3:58:44, just five minutes shy of his personal best of two years previous. 

The much-loved Judy Parkes was the first female Badger home and the only runner between four and five hours. Her time of 4:35:49 is amazing when you consider she began running in her late forties on the club’s beginner programme under the tutelage of coach Clare Whetton amongst others. 

Crossing the line in 5:12:01 was the incredible Sarah Vine, another popular Badger who was diagnosed with breast cancer not long ago. Not only has she endured months and months of treatment in order to see the back of the killer disease, but has steadily worked her way back to fitness enabling her not just to run a marathon but to typically selflessly help friends Jason and Kerry Clover raise funds for Spinal Research, a charity particularly close to the family’s hearts after daughter Ellie suffered a rare and debilitating spinal stroke in her teens. Her journey to London 2023 is undoubtedly the most remarkable of any Badger, despite some stiff competition. Kerry was through three minutes later with former Badger husband Jason already done and dusted in 4:27.

It was the turn of Vicki Brunsdon next as she toughed it out in all weathers to earn a time of 5:29:16 a personal best by some 15 minutes, as she raised thousands of pounds across two charity platforms. Debutant Eileen McElhone showed typical strength and courage to get her first marathon done, smashing her fundraising target, and helping herself to a time of 5:43:59 and with it the satisfaction of being able to say she is now a marathon runner. Two minutes behind her was the long-serving, rock-climbing boffin that is Professor Maggi Savin-Baden. Tracker problems mid-race alarmed many of her teammates and followers but once again, this plucky lady got the job done despite Achilles issues in the second half. Karen Draper was the final Badger home in her second London marathon. Wet roads led to some painful blisters early on which she did particularly well to put up with despite being on the course for well over five hours. With the help of the kind people at St John Ambulance, she was able to complete the marathon in 5:58:20, a great effort.

In addition to the aforementioned, two former Badgers were also running. Amy Stredder relocated to Stafford a couple of seasons ago and is another to have recently battled back from breast cancer at the ridiculously young age of just thirty-five. With two young children to look after and a global pandemic going on around her, running a marathon probably seemed a relatively easy task by comparison. Local football ace Michelle Loveland was another ex-Badger pounding the pavements, showing her sporting versatility with a good run of around five hours. Both ladies raised funds collectively in excess of £4000 across their two chosen charities.

At Tissington in the Peak District, the virtual London marathon was taking place with athletes setting off at the same time as those in the capital, many of whom were raising charitable funds and losing their marathon virginity. The experienced Jim Stilgoe produced a very impressive run of 3:38:32 before Sharon Jackson became the second Badger and first female across the line in 5:17:52. John and Anne Devenney ran together and dipped under six hours, a superb achievement after months of hard work. Fiona Reidy too managed similarly as did debutant Fritz Loma in 5:48. The runners were really out in force as the extended friendship group reunited after months of training together, Gemma Spencer, Anne Marie Matthews and the encourager in chief Peter Mann all doing great things. Last year’s London charity runner Juliette Trollope almost rounded things up but Trudie Cruddas beat her to it on her very first marathon, as the club (and this reporter!) look forward to next week when the distances might be somewhat less enormous on a more relaxing non-marathon weekend!