While the London Marathon may be the premier event of its kind, not everyone can gain entry so when one is looking to enter an alternative the Milton Keynes Marathon & 1/2 Marathon was quite an attractive option to some of our members, being Grade A certified and having BARR Gold accreditation.

The event took place on Bank Holiday Monday (7th May 2018) and wouldn’t you know it, this particular day just happened to be the hottest of the year so far. Heard this story before? This fact and other circumstances conspired to stop our full field of entrants starting, but Gareth Coyle and former member Ross Tyrrell decided to brave it out under the glare of the midday sun.

To hear Gareth describe it, “They do say only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun. Which must mean I’m the mad dog…” Well we won’t comment on your mental health but your physical feat in the unforgiving conditions certainly received admiration and awe from the club. In the end Gareth finished in a tad over four hours and “hopes to never see an underpass again”. A truly incredible effort.

From Beaumonters present to Beaumonters past, one can simply describe Desford Striders’ Ross Tyrrell as a man on a mission. After previous marathons not always going to plan, Ross has spent the last year putting everything into his training with astonishing levels of determination. This has resulted in PB after PB at cross country events and road races alike.

With a final training run at the full marathon distance resulting in a comparably faster time than his last actual race attempt it was no surprise that Ross managed to achieve a sub three hour marathon with an incredible 2:58:42 in the insufferable heat. While you may no longer be running in green the club is delighted on your amazing progress. We are sure there is a lot more to come.

Well done Gareth and Ross!