Eleven Red Rose Runners put in great performances at this year’s London Marathon in spite of the energy sapping warm conditions. With the elite male athletes struggling to attain negative split times it was always going to be very hard for even the best of club runners. John Shepherd went through half way in 1.22.05 but found the final miles gruelling and yet still managed a PB performance of 2:50:12. Debbie Kirkman also managed a PB going through halfway in 1:45:04 and finishing in a great time of 3:39:16. Fred Lynch was 13th in the Vet 55 category with a great run in 3:06:57. Ben Donoghue paid for a fast first half of 1:29:51 to finish in 3:26:37.
Julie Thorley and Barry Wheeler were in close proximity at the half marathon stage running 1hr 58 mins but again the conditions made the second half a real battle to complete the distance. Julie finished in 4:25:49 and Barry, 4:27:12. Paula Plowman was not far behind, crossing half way in 2 hours, but fared better in the second half to finish 4:19:28.
Emma Cowie Shaw paced her race well, only slowing slightly in the later stages and finishing in a time of 4:37:34. Lee Brown’s first half of 2:07:34 made the second half a very tough battle but success came with a finishing time of 4:46:32. Karen and Chris Clark maintained a sensible pace for the first half with 2:38:30 and 02:28:09 but a finishing times of 5:53:36 and 05:43:15 was a clear indication that the 2013 London Marathon was a very tough challenge for all the runners.
Closer to home the very testing Garstang Gallop 10K attracted 138 runners. Shane Cliffe took 26th place in 43.12. FV65 Carol Douglass finished in 53.50 and Sally Cape followed her previous day’s effort at Preston Parkrun with a determined 57.29.
At Preston 5K Parkrun Joe Swarbrick and Ken Addison battled it out all the way to the line with only a second between them at the finish with times of 19.05 and 19.06. Stuart Cann achieved another PB with a time of 19.54.