Grantham Running Club members Julie Gilbert and Ros Sadler, together with their fabulous one woman support crew Rachel Pattison, headed to the beautiful island of Guernsey to take part in the Guernsey Marathon on Sunday 19th April.
Flying out on the Friday, the trusty trio made plenty of time for sightseeing, eating, drinking and generally having the best time. Parkrun tourism was obviously on the agenda for the weekend and made for a nice little warm up run the day before the marathon.
The marathon course starts and finishes at the South Esplanade in the island capital of St Peter Port. A killer of a hill at the very start of the race gets the majority of the elevation over and done with and runners can then settle in to enjoying the fabulous route which, after the first five miles of pretty villages, turns to following the coast right around the island. The views and scenery were simply breathtaking.
There are options for a 2 or 5 person relay team to take part. The changeover points for the relays were so well supported and helped Julie and Ros tick off each section of the run and seeing Rachel at around the 14 mile mark was just the boost they needed. With both feeling fairly comfortable throughout the run, they kept a steady pace and held a little bit back for the last mile or so. Initially aiming for a sub 5 and a half hour finish, both were delighted to cross the finish line, hand in hand, in a time of 5 hours, 7 minutes and 46 seconds.
Both agreed it was possibly the best marathon they’d ever taken part in and all three agreed that the island of Guernsey was the most beautiful place to visit.