Marathon madness!

Marathon fever has hit the Harriers this spring, with a heap of them training for spring / early summer marathons.

London always attracts a smattering of Harriers each year and this year is no exception.
Both Scott-2-Trigs-Jordan and Mark Thompson were lucky enough to bag an entry in the Harrier's club ballot. It will be Scott's marathon debut and Mark's road marathon debut. Mark is usually to be found running trail races and off-road ultras, so how will he cope with 26 miles of tarmac under his feet? Scott meanwhile has made huge improvements over the past year. He has radically upped his weekly mileage and knocked minutes off his 10k PB. As long as the dynamo keeps turning his legs over at an even pace, he could easily be on for a comfortable sub-4h time.

Making a return to London after some unfinished business with the course is Mike Musgrove. Mike came a bit unstuck last year after having done intensive heat training at work a few days before, then suffering in the heat on what was the hottest London marathon on record. He started to struggle very early on in the race and although he went on to complete it in 3h07 - a time most people would be thrilled with for a debut marathon - Mike was disappointed as he had expected - and knew he was capable of - more. Hopefully this year will not see a repeat of him keeling over on the finish line and will bring him the sub 3h clocking he has trained long and hard for and deserves.

Adam Miller has been doing a lot of his training with Mike and will also be looking to improve on his already impressive marathon PB of 2h49m50s, set on the London course in 2010. Injury prevented him from cashing in on his 'good for age' elite start place last year, so he will be back this year with added determination. Since then he has managed to shave over 2 minutes off his half marathon time, so a new PB at London is surely within his capabilities. The fact that his partner, Carly, will also be running her first marathon and chasing him down will no doubt further spur him on!

Also making a return to London is Harriers' top marathon man, Dave Stone. Last year Dave set a new Guiness World record with his 2h42 clocking as the fastest super-hero, dressed as superman. Had Dave known how hot it was going to be on the day last year, he may have rethought this costume, but rumour has it that he has something even more creative up his sleeve for this year... and no doubt another Guiness World Record will be set in the process! Dave will also be using London in his build-up to the Dartmoor Discovery 32.3 mile ultra marathon in June. After having won it in 2010, he had to settle for 2nd place last year as a back injury at work a couple of weeks before the race came back to haunt him in the closing stages. So this year you can bet he'll be fired up to reclaim his crown!

Andrew Johnson has decided to go continental with his marathon quest this year and to tackle the Paris marathon. Billed as one of the most pitturesque city marathon courses available, the sights and atmosphere of this amazing city will hopefully distract Andrew from the pain of the aching legs and inspire him to run a good time.

As far as the off-roadie contingent are concerned, Terry Oldham, Lorraine Gilson and Katie Comer are all in the early stages of their build up for the inaugural Welsh Trail Marathon, which takes place in Betws-Y-Coed, North Wales, in June. They are out every Sunday at the moment, squeezing in the long runs and they will be using the Grizzly in 2 weeks time as a good training run and measure of their fitness.
These 3, along with Dave Backway and Bob Keast, will then be tackling the 2 day Saunders mountain marathon in the Lakes come July - gluttons for punishment!!

Meanwhile I, Ellie Sutcliffe, have decided to use the more local Taunton marathon on April 1st as my Spring marathon. If all goes to plan with training I will also be looking to try and clock my first sub-3h here... whether that will happen remains to be seen. If not, it will still be a useful build up race for the Dartmoor Discovery, which I am also running again this year. Also like Dave, I too came 2nd last year, so will be looking to go one better and make it a Harrier's double victory this time round.

Dave S and I will be joined by Dave Wright who will be making a debut appearance at the Dartmoor Discovery. With many sub 3h30 marathons under his belt, a good run at the DD in June looks promising for Dave.

Have I missed anyone? Any other Harriers out there running a spring marathon or training for an early summer ultra? Get in touch and let us know how it's all going!!