It was another relatively quiet week last week as people seem to be holding their breath now for the start of the cross-country season, this did mean that the focus turned to the autumn marathon season, although for a couple of our members it seems like the marathon season never stops.
We’ll go first to Cheshire for the Chester Marathon, possibly one of very few races that crosses the border into another country and back, where Jake Brown, wearing number 1, came home in an excellent time of 2.38.41 to take 28th place, Dave Joynson was 1183rd in 3.35.25, Danni Braine finished in 4.11.22 and Gill Mitchell stopped the clock in 5.53.27.
And in the Peak District James Neilson took part in the iconic Dovedale Dash covering 4.75 miles. According to the race details the course offered a mix of field paths, open ground and valley trails alongside the rivers Dove and Manifold, with the famous Stepping Stones crossing providing one of the event’s most memorable and chilliest moments, one that James embraced to the full with a proper dunking. There was mud, water and hills after the mass downhill start before a river crossing and a loop through Ilam finishing with a challenging climb back up to the finish. Despite his soaking, as the race photos show him completely submerged in the stream, James took 3rd place in 29.43, less than a minute behind the winner.
Dave Norman
