London Marathon 2010
Members' results known on Sunday afternoon are shown below with half-way splits in brackets. Post-race comments are now being added as they arrive. Click "Read More" below.
Dave Wardle 2:24.21 (1:08.52)
Matt Molloy (M40) 2:48.21 (1:23.10)
Lauren Stewart (F) 2.51.58 (1:22.33)
CJ Shepherd 3.02.22 (1:30.06)
Maggie Powell (F) 3.13.06 (1:35.32)
Iain Cumming (M50) 3.18.51 (1:28.30)
Andrew Clare 3.24.52 (1:21.34)
Ron Daniel (M45) 3.32.40 (1:46.16)
Tom Spanyol (M50) 3.37.59 (1:45.19)
Jonny Hargreaves 3.51.09 (1:46.51)
Steve Lambert (M45) 3.57.02 (1:45.12)
Steve Dawkins 3.57.25 (1:41.49)
Pavidra Sivanandarajah (F) 4.39.52 (2:11.09)
Steve Ladhams 5.43.00 (1.46.24)
Dave Wardle: Hit his halfway target OK, and was OK until 18 miles when he hit his first bad patch. He got through that but after 21 and more especially after 24, his quads tightened and simply lost time rapidly. Having put in 125 mile weeks at times in search of something like 2:18, Dave will be reevaluating the pattern of his training. He is wondering, e.g., whether he did too much one-paced running (6.00 to 6.15) and not enough long runs at near-marathon pace. He is determined to “crack” the marathon distance, which for him would be running around 2.18.
Matt Molloy: Happy with my race. My pre-season objective was to run sub 3hrs. Based on my early year form I knew that i would run sub 3 and i was thinking that around 2:45 was possible and I was targetting 1:22/23 at half way and 2:06ish at 20 miles. I was spot on pace wise @ half way and @ 20 miles, but pace dipped a bit over the last 10k and I was running on fumes for the last 6k - ended up dropping 2 minutes in the second half (all in the last 10k). For me it draws a positive close to my off season and feeling very confident about the triathlon season ahead where i'm stepping up to half ironman (70.3) distance racing.
Lauren Stewart: Known to have got "carried away" with the early pace while originally targetting sub2hrs 50mins.
CJ Shepherd: Did the Finchley 20 on 28th March after not running a step in weeks, and struggled to hold 8-minute miles. Took two weeks to recover, then did 1 good week's training. But the inimitable CJ settled in with the Runners World 6.50 per mile pacing and felt OK. Got misled by his Garmin (as did many others) and wrongly thought he was on sub3 pace until 24 miles. His 3.02 compares with 2.55 best. "Couldn't have gone any better".
Maggie Powell: I'm really pleased to have run a new PB by just over 10 and half mins!! Old Chip PB from Dublin was 3:23:41 and my chip time in London was 3:13:06. My aims were:
1) finishing
2) new PB- sub 3hr 23
3) sub 3hr 20
4) sub 3hr 15
5) sub 3hr 10
6) ultimate dream aim: sub 3hr!
As expected I found the first mile slow, trapped in by slower runners. However, what I didn't expect was to have to continue to weave a fair amount (for at least the next 6 miles!), eventually caught up time to 7:15 mile ing (3hr 10 pace) at mile 14 or 15 only to tire at around mile 16, but thankfully I didn't slow too much!! I think I was still overtaking quite a few people!! Felt like I kept battling all the way and was very happy with my performance, especially the last 800m!! Great to get under 3hr 15 as I can get a Championship place next year if I want it! This would mean I'd be in a much better start and could get into my stride earlier on in the race, although I'd have to be careful not to go off too fast! I really enjoyed the excellent support from my family (Dad, Bertie and Richard (Hogg) were particularly impressive- managing to cheer me on at 9, 11, 15, 19 and 26!) and all of the people from WGEL who had turned out to watch it- was very encouraging! Thank-you!! I should also say I was delighted to have made it into the top 150 female finishers (148th)!
In short, I was very very happy with the PB although I found navigating my way around slower runners quite energy sapping and I think with a better start position I could have got 3hr 10!! Perhaps! Would have been really good to have cracked into the top 100 women- 3hr 08min 26!
Iain Cumming: Just died increasingly after halfway. Seems the training wasn't good enough.
Andrew "Noddy" Clare: Well things did not go well, the prep was good, taper went smoothly, no niggles or injuries during build up so was expecting a good race. Did a 76 min half in the Hague which was not at 100% so thought 2:45 was realistic.
Race started well, went through half way in 1:21:30ish so slightly quicker than the planned 1:22 but it felt comfortable and was sitting nicely. I had been taken on gels and fluid frequently during the race and was I thought in a good position. Passed through 25km on target and then proceeded to hit a stomach issue around 17/18 mile, finding a toilet became #1 priority and many options went through my head but with the massive crowds it would have been tough.
From here on the stomach was cramping and any fluids I had taken on board proceeded to come back up, it became a run/walk affair and Canary Wharf is a long way away. I suffered through that final 10km and I apologise to those who saw the inside of my stomach come back up around mile 25, it wasn't pretty. The crowds were amazing, when feeling awful they managed to pick you up and carry you on, even when all you wanted to was hide in a tunnel (which I actually did for a few moments around mile 24).
So, result not what expected, take plenty away from it and build on it. For me now though is to enjoy some time off, holiday in the Caymans with my girlfriend and then build up to World Duathlon Champs in September.
Ron Daniel: I had a fun day running in a pink Afro wig (photo attached) and featured on the BBC2 highlights programme on Sunday evening. From five weeks training, I was delighted with my 3.32 and only started racing at 21 miles when I realised that sub-3.30 was a possibility. I have not seen my splits yet but I think I ran pretty evenly around 7.50 per mile then picked up to closer to 7.30 for the last few. Congratulations to all the other Woodford men and women and there is still time to sponsor me.
injury from the previous week flared up early on in the run which made the last 10 miles very hard. I obtained a pb though which I aim to break in the future!
Steve Lambert: Twisted his ankle the Tuesday before the race, and it ballooned up overnight. Starting was doubtful until Friday/Saturday. It felt OK till through 13 miles at my original target pace of 8 mins per mile, then it started hurting. When the other leg started to "go" in compensation I tried to keep running without limping. The crowds were phenomenal and for my debut marathon it was an amazing experience, and I was just lucky to be able to get around at all given the ankle.
Steve Dawkins: Somewhere between miles 20-24 I went from 3:25 to 4:00...
Martin Mack (M40): Caught a heavy cold days beforehand and was unable to start. Gutted, as thought he was on for a 3.15 (good for age).
Steve Ladhams: Went through 26 miles in 3.35, then collapsed suffering from dehydration.
"The last 2 miles were a blur, just remember my legs collapsed beneath me, some runners tried to help me up and I collapsed again, blacked out and ended up in a tent, thought it was all a dream especially as felt better during this marathon than last one! So gutted after 4 months training, would have been a PB though only 2-3 minutes. Only when I left the tent did I see the 385 yards to go sign! Have to do another one now to kill the ghost!" (Some may remember Ron Daniel suffered something similar in 2007, spending an hour with St Johns after the 40K mark.)