The Welsh Marathon Championships was again incorporated into the London Marathon and produced many personal bests by Welsh runners.
Richie Gardiner again proved he is the fastest Welshman by winning the Championships in 2.20:48. Richie, who won the Welsh Cross Country Championships 6 weeks ago would have liked 2.18 but conditions got very wet and windy midway through the race and he has been struggling with injuries for months, so this was a creditable performance. Richie was followed home by Cardiff teammate Nathaniel Lane who ran a personal best of 2.24:47. An amazing performance by Matt Shone gave him the bronze medal in his marathon debut. Matt was still running 800m two years ago but has left the track for the roads now and broke the 2.30 barrier.
Clare Martin won the women’s race which was full of personal bests for the Welsh women. Clare has shown excellent form recently recording Pb’s for 10k and ½ marathons, and also won the Welsh Cross Country Championships this year. Clare ran 2.51:08 for her first Welsh Marathon title. Ann Thomas nearly didn’t make the start line after suffering with sciatica for the last month or so. A late decision to run saw her also record a personal best of 2.55:16. Shan Morgan, now running more on the roads ran a strong race to finish 3rd in 2.57:57.
