London Marathon Bishop's Stortford Running Club round-up: Danny Beazley qualifies for championship start line again as he finishes in top 300 in 2 hours 39 minutes
Several Bishop’s Stortford Running Club (BSRC) members headed to the capital on Sunday along with 42,000 others to take part in the London Marathon.
Danny Beazley took his place on the start line with the championship runners, right behind the elite men. He ran his qualifying marathon in a time of 2:35 at Eton Dorney last year before a bad cycling accident requiring surgery put him out of action for months. He finished London 295th overall in a time of 2:39 so has qualified for the championship start again for 2023's race in April.
After starting marathon training in 2020, Chloe Boyce finally ran the Belfast event in May and found herself with two marathons to run in 2022 when she got lucky in the London ballot after eight years of trying. She is raising money for Heartburn Cancer UK in memory of her father Richard Day, who died of oesophageal cancer last year. Chloe finished in 4:30:23. You can donate via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Chloe-Boyce1.
Ernesto Johnson gained a charity place to run his first ever marathon. He represented helicopter emergency medical service Essex and Herts Air Ambulance Trust (EHAAT). He finished in 3:53:14. You can donate via https://tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/ernesto-johnson-7d7cf-2508f.
Sarah Mackay was running on the BSRC ballot place, which enables club members with England Athletics membership and a public ballot rejection another chance for a place. Sarah has entered the public ballot every year since 2010, when she first started running, and was delighted to take up a place on the start line after 12 years of trying. She finished in 5:32:34.
Claire Nicholson, a recent joiner to BSRC, won a place through sponsor Buxton Water in its ‘Rise Up’ competition. Claire was raising money for NHS Charities Together. She finished in 6:46:37.
Brian Sullivan had a charity place for Macmillan Cancer Support, having previously run the London Marathon for them in 1997 in honour of his late sister, who had ovarian cancer. This time it is his wife Karen who has benefitted from Macmillan’s work. Brian earned himself a PB of around 14 mins, despite being 25 years older, finishing in 4:11:15. Donate via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/BrianSullivan25yearslater.
George Thomas, a stalwart of the London Marathon, was also running for Macmillan having been treated for cancer himself. He finished in 4:41:22.
Neil Gage also had a club ballot place, but his dates back to 2019 when he was with a different club. His 2020 place has been postponed repeatedly, so although now a member of team green and gold, he was officially representing East London Runners on the day, a club which he maintains as his second claim. Neil finished in 3:54:49.
Hannah McIlvenna was also representing a different club, running in the colours of Grange Farm and Dunmow Runners, which is her first claim club. She had earned a ‘Good For Age’ place to be there. Hannah finished in 3:27:53, which again earns her a future GFA place at London.
Claire Boylan entered the virtual version of the London Marathon, along with 10,000 others, to raise awareness and money for local charity Female Dignity, which is fighting against the limited access to sanitary products in developing countries and working towards a sustainable solution. Claire ran from Aldi towards Great Dunmow and back on the Flitch Way, accompanied by several other running club members for various parts. Claire finished in 4:59:54. You can support her cause via https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/claire-boylan-4.
The Mini London Marathon took place the day before the main event. Luke Dunham, representing the East of England, came 11th in the U15 boys mini marathon UK road race championships on a 2.6km course which takes the fastest runners in each region along the end of the full marathon route.
