Greater Manchester Marathon – 10th April 2016
1 Steven Bayton 2:22.34 Hallamshire Harriers
81 Kelly Crickmore 2:48:04 1st F Stockport Harriers
108 Jonathan Cheshire 2:50:25 26 V35
429 Nick Jackson 3:01:00 50 V50
1802 Nicky Mowat 3:29:49 3rd LV55 126 F
2525 Christian Hook 3:40:37 451 V40
4812 Patrick Grannan 4:07:09 11 V65
5715 Elspeth Gibson 4:20:00 158 LV45 1246 F
Perfect conditions for running, starting at 6 degrees but sunny. Spectator support was fantastic. Many thanks to Janine, Katy G, Sharon Jones, Carolyn, Bernard, Clare Mc, Geoff , all spread out very evenly along the route.
The finish was different, a long slog down Talbot Road rather than rolling down 100 yards of Matt Busby Way. I was very grateful to the 3.29 pacer who spurred me on during this last mile.
The race village was at Old Trafford Cricket Ground rather than the Football Ground which would have been fine but for some reason there were only 12 staff giving out bags to 15,000 runners! Standing around for two and a half hours in shorts and vest is not ideal for recovery. There were a lot of casualties in the Disney like queue. I was saved from hypothermia by a kind spectator lending me her jumper.
Many thanks to Patrick for trying to ‘rein me in’ during the first few miles. Unfortunately he suffered from cramp during the second half of the race which obviously slowed him down.
The great thing about Manchester is that we were home within the hour when we finally left the Cricket Ground.
Nicky