Hamburg marathon, Highland Fling Ultra, Fleet and Wimbledon Half marathons and LFOTM 5K

Marathon mania is drawing to a close for another season but is not quite over yet. Leigh had a great run at the Hamburg marathon at the weekend and there were some excellent times at the Fleet and Wimbledon Halfs and at the LFOTM 5K. And Rachel Normand won the Highland Fling ultra!

Highland Fling ultramarathon,  Milngavie, Scotland, 28.04.18
Second claim Heathsider Rachel Normand had an incredible run on Saturday - she not only ran the 53 miles of the Highland Fling ultra but she also won it. Here’s her report: “On Saturday I ran the 53 mile Highland Fling ultramarathon. It goes from Milngavie (pronounced 'Mul-guy') just north of Glasgow, to Tyndrum at the foot of the Scottish highlands, along the West Highland Way, Scotland's most famous walking trail. I had done the race the year before and really struggled over the last 15 miles so wanted to make amends this year! It was a beautiful day and I paced it well, letting the early leaders go off at a fast pace and making my way through the field as the race progressed. After catching up with my training partner Nicola just after halfway I moved into the lead on the technical section along Loch Lomond and managed to stay ahead till the end. I finished in 8 hours, 22 minutes, which is over half an hour quicker than last year. It was the Scottish ultra trail championships this year too so I got a bonus result and medal there! (Report on Scottish Athletics can be found here). It's a fantastic race that I'd highly recommend to anyone interested in trying something further than a marathon distance. Organisation is slick, it has the friendliest marshals I've ever come across and the post race spread is amazing.”

Hamburg Marathon, Hamburg, Germany, 29.04.17
Leigh James flew round the Hamburg marathon course. No report from her yet. But she completed in the speedy time of 3.06.17 and was 29th woman.

Wimbledon Half marathon, 29.04.18
Three Heathsiders ran in the Wimbledon Half in South west London, led home by Emilia who continues to produce ever faster times, week after week. Emilia sent in this report. “The Wimbledon half marathon last Sunday, was held on the roads around Wimbledon, starting and finishing on the Common itself. It’s largely flat, except for a long hill which you run up twice. Bea Vega finished in 1:55:28, after Guillaume Pichois, who set a PB(1:36:56) and Emilia, whose time was her second best ever. The route was up to 500m short of a half marathon, depending on which Garmin you want to believe, so has great PB-setting potential. Otherwise, it's generally well-organised.”

Fleet Half Marathon 29.04.18
Mark George sent in this report: "This race was the restaging of the event originally scheduled for early March that had been postponed due to snow. This time the race took place in pretty much ideal conditions for runners, on a slightly undulating and fairly scenic course through the rolling Hampshire countryside.The event definitely has a local feel, including the participation of several armed forces teams local to the area.

The highlight from Heathside's point of view was Rebecca's 4 minute PB and Phil only a few seconds outside his PB. Both felt they were reaping the benefits of their marathon training, which had not been as well reflected in their spring marathons for various reasons. I was satisfied with my time, though my 7 min mile pace slipped in the last few miles."

Last Friday of the Month 5K, Hyde Park, London 27.04.18
There was quality running at the last 5k of the month, at the Serpentine on Friday, reflected in the fast times by all five Heathsiders running – with Alex Sweet leading them in, in a great time of 18.06, closely followed by Corinna Jackson our first lady in and first lady overall in a time of 19.29.

Parkruns
There was a good scattering of parkruns this weekend, with first place for Edward Samuel at Oakhill in a time of 18.19 and Sarah Taylor was first lady in 20.58 at Newbury Parkrun, and Amy Cook first lady in 18.50 at Burgess Parkrun. Take a look at all parkrun results here.

RESULTS

Hamburg Marathon
Leigh James 03:06:17 (29th woman, 7th in age group)

Fleet Half ( 1833 runners ), 29.04.18
77th Philip Hogg 1.25.02
235th Mark George 1 33 24
808th Simon Hazel 1.48.42
852nd Rebecca Marshall 1.50.45 PB

Wimbledon Half, 28.04.18
67th Emilia Vynnycky 1.34.38 (1st VW40) and 7th woman
106th Guillaume Pichois 1.36.56
308th Bea Vega 01.55.28

Last Friday of the Month, Hyde Park, 27.04.18
27th Alex Sweet 18.06
75th Corinna Jackson 19.29
78th Andy Owen 19.32
122 th Cathy Jeremiah 20.15
174th Jackie Wastell 22.32

Highland Fling Ultramarathon, Milngavie, 28.04.18
1st Rachel Normand 8hrs 22 mins