RunThrough Greenwich Park 10km (Sat. 7th Oct.)
Stephen Thompson made his debut on the roads in a Cambridge vest at the RunThrough Greenwich Park 10km where he finished sixth and first M45, with a time of 39:20.
Lisbon Marathon & Half-Marathon (Sun. 8th Oct.)
It is common for marathon cities to offer both half and full options to boost numbers, most commonly by having a 13 mile course which those doing the full marathon have to run twice, reports Clem Dixon. This isn't a great format for those doing the full, you can't help but feeling a bit deflated as most of those that you are running with peel off for the finish and you have to do it all over again but without as much company. Lisbon are more imaginative: for me and the other marathoners it was an early morning train west to the seaside resort of Cascais while Graham and the rest of the halfers were bussed north to somewhere in the middle of the impressive Vasco da Gama bridge, at 17km Europe's second longest (the controversial bridge linking Russia to Crimea is 1km longer). The two routes only share a finish point in the centre of the city.
Logistics were thrown into confusion by the organisers bringing the start times forward in an attempt to avoid the forecast soaring midday temperatures, all announced with just 12 hours notice. Time to reset the alarm to 04.30! As we assembled in our start pens a cockerel was crowing for all he was worth from the adjacent farmyard but it was still pitch black. The first few kilometres on dimly lit roads were a challenge but an hour in and we had the welcome sight of the sun rising over the sea. Another hour in and the suspension bridge could be made out in the distance, not the new bridge that Graham would be starting from but the old one near the city centre. After another hour the bridge still looked a long way off and the sun was no longer quite so welcome, but we both hung on to finish our respective races and both enjoyed the experience.
Results: Half Marathon - Graham Maynard 1:47:45; Marathon - Clem Dixon 3:44:23.
Petts Wood Multi-terrain 10km (Sun. 8th Oct.)
Three club members tackled the Petts Wood 10km run on a scenic route through parkland and woodland as well as small sections of pavement. First to finish was Peter St-Amour with a time of 42:49, followed by Martin Leat (43:54) and Ian McCarthy (53:16).
Club Annual General Meeting 2023
A reminder to all members that our annual AGM is this coming Friday (13th) at 7.30pm at the clubhouse in Bexley. The bar will be open for drinks before and after!