The Friendly Running Club

Devoting the whole of this weekend's Roundup to Marathon Eryri...a truly iconic event that I was making my debut at. I now understand why this race is spoken about in such referential terms within P&D Club circles.

Firstly we must offer a massive thank you to Mandy Barrington who organised the Club accomodation at Boulders Adventures...a perfectly-located bunkhouse for this event, with ample space and facilities for our group of 15. What a delight to have a leisurely breakfast, stretch, ablutions and easy jog/walk to arrive at the start 2 minutes before the gun went off! We were blessed with pretty nice autumnal weather for this edition of the race...the 39th, although the inaugural race was actually organised in 1982. Quite a touching feature at the race expo was the opportunity to buy garments made for previous years.

Our superb base offered many opportunities for pre-race selfies and group shots.... 

So how did we all get on? What can we say about Mark Carter...this bloke runs a 3:15 PB in Berlin, backed up by a strong Cardiff Half, and then comes back for more with a late transfer entry to Marathon Eryri...is he made out of iron? (answer: yes; he's got a place in Ironman Wales 2024!). Loped around in 3:40:23, as usual smiling for the cameras....

Returning to North Wales after her epic Welsh Castles Relay stage, we had Keira Pratt next home in a superb 4:11:26. I wasn't at the finish to see her in (obvs) but I know she laid it all on the line there...well done Keira!

It's always a delight to see Paul McGilvray at races in Wales and further afield...Paul resides in the Isle of Man, but wears his Blue and Yellow vest with pride. He had a stonking run here, starting steadily and lapping up the scenery to finish in a mightily-impressive 4:24:49.

Where Mark Carter goes, you'll find Nick Morgan not far behind....be it Berlin, Cardiff or Llanberis, with beer and Sky Sports on the menu as well! Nick was aiming at 4:30, so 4:43:28 wasn't far away. Long-time Marathon Eryri fan Simon Grant snook in before him on 4:37:15, gamely struggling with a persistent foot injury. Take care Simon, and please get it fixed before your next marathon effort.

Next in was a procession of age and maturity...or possibly youthful exuberance in Chris Nellins' case. If you're under 55 and not sure of your form, don't run this race...Chris can and will hunt you down! A typically workmanlike performance netted Chris 4:46:11 and 14th place in M65.

Malcolm Bradley produced a masterclass lesson in pacing, finishing very strongly on the downhill descent into town (now there's a surprise!) to grab 8th spot in M70 and clock 4:53:38. Close on his heels was Mark Carter lookalike Richie Sewell, completing his 10th edition of this race in 4:54:15 (16th in M65).

Tim Cummings was as usual faithfully supported by Sarah DiTomaso (thanks for the photos Sarah!), and was caught at 20 miles ditching his backpack. It obviously did the trick, as he found his legs again and finished with a solid 5:08:01.

Julie Broughton started the race with the remnants of a lingering chest infection, but used the motivation of running with her son Sam to cross the line together in a sterling 5:27:54. She also caught up with Darryl Beaver, our prolific marathon man...Darryl stopped the clock on 5:30:15.

And so we come to my participation in the race, and I was privileged to be a "thorn surrounded by two beautiful roses" in the company of Emma Healy and Debbie Rees. It was wonderful to see how these two mates encouraged each other during the race, and if I ever took a comfort break I had to work really hard to catch them up again! We were in sight of the lovely 5:30 Pacer (Rob) for much of the race, and eventually Emma went off on her own to chase him down. With a super strong finish, she got very close, crossing the line on 5:31:29. Debbie showed real grit and determination to overcome that monster hill after 21 miles, and absolutely flew down the descent and finish straight to clock a highly creditable 5:50:49. Outside her PB in her debut last year, but a great stepping stone to get herself focussed on London Marathon 2024, where she will run as our Tenovus Charity representative.

What about me? Well Simon Williamson definitely needed a Chair at the finish, but was happy to experience an incredible race atmosphere and team camaraderie over the weekend. 5:50:16 was flagged up on Strava as my "2nd Fastest Marathon", so I've gotta be pleased with that! 😂😉

We managed to cobble together a video of "Emma, Debbie & Simon" do Marathon Eryri, which you can find on Youtube.....

Steve New was pacing two of his Lady runners from Hengoed Harriers to get them safely across the line in 6:54:27...great to have you stay with us at Boulders, Steve. And we also accommodated ex-member Chelle Mahoney, who made it home on 6:11:44...well done both of you!

Have I said what an amazing event experience this is? Definitely a bucket list race for anyone who targets marathons!