Two of the club’s ladies completed the 31st London Marathon last Sunday, Amy Dixon in her debut at this distance and Pauline Ranson who has ran this race many times over the years.

 A target of 4.15 was set and at times with the massive boosts from the cheering crowds and bands it looked like 4.10 was possible, extra encouragement from Amy’s husband at the 15 and 18 mile points gave her a big lift also.  Getting to the 21 mile point Amy started to feel the pain, her achilles, calves and toes all began to rebel after the constant pounding of unrelenting tarmac.  The pace slowed but she remained mentally strong and kept her legs turning over all the way to the finish, not walking at all. Crossing the line in a time of 4.21.24 was a fantastic achievement for an ecstatic Amy, she said “It was one of the hardest things I had ever done but one of the most amazing experiences of my life”.  

After the race it took some deep breaths, a mars bar and a cup of tea before Amy was able to stand up again and reflect on her great run.  The ballot for 2013 London marathon opens on the 30th April, it looks like Amy’s name will be going into the mix.

Pauline who has been a member of the club for twenty years is no stranger to the marathon distance, this being her twentieth marathon.  Her focus and determination are undiminished and her steely drive shows through on every race.  What is incredible is that Pauline does all the hard training miles on her own, this shows great strength of character.  Her race went better than expected up until the 20 mile mark when she had to jog and walk a while.  On reaching 23 miles realisation of ducking 5 hours and the chance of catching an earlier train back home kicked in.

 Pauline who knows all about the pain, agony and ecstasy of the last 6 miles passed wombles, rhinos, a bagpuss and a celebrity chef.  At this stage she had caught up with a bloke showing off an unflattering view in a mankini a la Borat, enduring this sight for ages as she had no energy to overtake.  Although it was fun for the crowds, Pauline thinks they should be banned.  Luckily she finished in good spirits and was happy to cross the line in 4.59.30.

Her homeward journey was like doing another marathon, trains were delayed due to a breakdown so it was a long wait in Kings Cross station, then a dash and scramble similar to wildebeest crossing the river to get on a train when it was announced.  With stiff legs Pauline ended up sitting on the floor with her legs crammed into the luggage rack, not ideal.  More delays due to rail works saw her eventually arrive home totally exhausted at 10.30 pm, all over until next year!

 Moving away from London slightly, 6000 miles away to be exact, Gabby (Stevenson) Crampton flew out of the country to meet up with her twin sister Catriona Crampton who lives in Seattle, Washington State, USA to celebrate their 50th birthdays.  Most people on reaching this significant milestone would celebrate by going out for a meal and having a few drinks not Gabby and Catriona, they cooked up this idea of running the Wenatchee half marathon to mark reaching half a century.

The identical twins ran around this spectacular scenic route which follows the Columbia River which is overlooked by the Cascade Mountains, both sisters planned to run around together and finished in 2.09.24 which is very respectable considering it was Catriona’s first attempt at any race.  Gabby was the first ever entrant in the Wenatchee event to wear a Hartlepool Burn Road vest, a lot of Hartlepool residents have not heard of Wenatchee, and Gabby must have had to explain to a lot of Wenatchee residents where Hartlepool was.