Tom Beedell 3rd in Chester Marathon: 2:28.53
Last Sunday Tom Beedell finished 3rd in the Chester Marathon in 2:28.53. He ran wonderfully even splits, going through halfway in 1:14.18. Lying 2nd at halfway, he finished 47" behind the second-placer, with the winner, Altrincham's Rumanian international Marius Ionescu, well clear in 2:21.23.
It was Tom's third attempt at the 26.2 mile distance. In October 2012, on his debut, he was 3rd in the Liverpool Marathon, clocking 2:34.22. In April this year, after a largely injury-hit buildup, he ran the Boston Marathon in 2:35.22.
This Chester clocking was achieved off 9 weeks where he averaged no more than 50 miles per week and did only 2 runs of over 20 miles, plus 6 x 10K at a 24 hour event. Tom says he is confident at being able to cover the distance, so instead worked at running at race pace for distances of around 10 miles.