Trotters Smash Club Records and PB's!

On Sunday 4th March, Graeme Baker ran the first ever Big London Half - organised by the London Marathon Team. The race started at Tower Bridge, going through The Canary Wharf area then back over Tower Bridge to finish alongside The Cutty Sark.
Graeme ran well for the first 10/11 miles then unfortunately experiencing severe cramp resulting in him having to pause a few times before finishing in a respectable 2:16:09.

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15 Trotters travelled to Bideford for the ever popular Bideford Half Marathon on Sunday 11th March. The event is organised by Bideford Amateur Athletics Club and is always a favourite amongst the Trotters.

Our runners commented on the fantastic organisation from start to finish and how well it was marshalled - on par with the Trotters so that shows the high levels achieved! Conditions were fair with a breeze on the outbound stretch (7miles) and a drop of rain and once again very well supported.

Tim Pratt led the Trotters home in a fantastic time of 1:16:32 - with Tracy Elphick being the second first female Trotter to cross the finish line - at the same time achieving a new club record for the F45 category with a finish time of 1:33:57, smashing her own existing record by a whopping 59 seconds!
Gavin Forbes and Kathryn Steemson also achieved PB's by knocking off an incredible 10 minutes from previous events.

Full results are:Tim Pratt 1:16:32 (7th), Tracy Elphick 1:33:57 (145), Gavin Forbes 1:34:59 (169), Chris Jones 1:38:38 (336) Hannah Jones 1:38:58 (233), Peter Blakesley :1:40:00 (252), Nigel Barnett 1:43:51 (339), Kathryn Steemson 1:44:00 (350), Jason Lewis 1:44:16 (358), Travis Wood 1:47:25 (412), Nathan Elphick 1:47:33 (415), Bon Rymel 1:54:21 (586), Emma Ray 2:01:20 (740), Laura Law 2:12:35 (961) and John Tweedie 2:12:01 (962).

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On Sunday 11th March, Graydon Widdicombe took part in the 40th edition of Barcelona Marathon.

This is a large event with around 20,000 finishers and the competitors get to see a lot of the sights the city has to offer. Highlights of the route include passing two Gaudi buildings (Sagrada Familia and Pedrera), running under the city's iconic Arc de Triomf towards the end of the race, as well as running past the famous Nou Camp football stadium.

As the weather was perfect for running and the course is a flat one, Graydon was slightly disappointed with 3:30:44 but would highly recommend this event to anyone who is looking for a spring European marathon. 

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Seven Trotters travelled to Dorset on Sunday 11th March to take part in the Larmer Marathon organised by the fantastic White Star Running group.

This is a really well organised event with free food at the end - what’s not to like? The weather was actually better than expected with less mud than was anticipated. The route consisted of muddy tracks, a few little sections on road and a fair few hills - the notorious 'Pregnant Sheep Hill being the first main hill you embark upon during the 26.2 miles, but certainly not the last! White Star Running events are known for their witty signage, using the word 'ISH' when informing runners of the distance they are about to cover! Not to mention the ever popular LoveStation: a water station consisting of a very warm welcome; music, various drinks,including alcohol and nibbles. On this occasion the distance was 26.2 miles... ish!

Christian Robinson smashed his marathon PB by almost an hour - which is an even greater achievement on such a tough course!

Following a spell of illness, resulting in lack of training, Suzie Mills decided to pull up at 10 miles in order to focus on the getting back to full fitness ready for her next marathon in her amazing '15 Marathons in 12 Month' challenge.

Full results are: Roger Hayes 3:32:01 (4th), Christian Robinson 3:49:23 (17), Allen Taylor 3:50:57 (19), Derek Skinner 4:23:15 (60), Oli Prouse 4:41:22 (94), and Sue Tremlett 5:43:03 (193).