On the 19th October, 4 members of Grantham Running Club joined more than 6,500 runners taking part in the Yorkshire Marathon. The flat and fast course started in York city centre before heading out into the surrounding countryside.
For marathon enthusiast Belinda Baker, it was her 3rd time at the event, and the insider knowledge was definitely an advantage as there were no nasty surprises in store.
Buoyed by the fantastic crowd support, she ran a storming PB of 4:49:55 as well as an impressive 17th in her age category. Having run the Leeds Marathon earlier in the year, she scored a double medal and is already booked to run again next year.
For Chris Moore, York was his 2nd marathon of 2025, having raced Brighton in April. He was happy to finish in 4:22:34, beating his previous marathon time.
Though the support in the city was brilliant, there were extended periods of time in the countryside that were very lonely, and Chris had to dig deep at times.
Despite hitting the wall at around 18 miles, luckily he was able to recover and finish strong – thanks to his consistent training and miles in the legs. Chris now plans to take a break from marathons for a while and focus on shorter distances.
Experienced runner Stef Latter was taking on the challenge of the marathon for the first time. He really enjoyed his careful training over a 16 week training block with no issues at all getting up to 22 miles.
Stef’s first 21 miles passed by at a nippy and consistent pace and he was on target for 3:45 but was then derailed by excruciating hip pain which forced him to walk /jog to finish safely.
He was still really happy with an excellent debut time of 4:02:12 considering the injury. Stef remarked that the atmosphere was incredible and a match for the big ballot marathons.
Also making his marathon debut was Stuart Reader who had partnered up with Stef for the training block, a process he really enjoyed. His first 19 miles were run nice and steady until sore legs kicked in and a little walk was needed. He was able to pick up the pace again for the last 6 miles even had enough left in the tank for a sprint finish, crossing the line in 4:42:04.
He credited the locals for the support and jelly babies and training partner Stef for his company on the whole journey.
Edward Buck of Newark AC was the first male across the line and Heather Townsend of Leeds City AC was the first female.