Marathon season starts for West Norfolk athletes

Marathon season officially started this weekend for West Norfolk Athletic Club members, with several of the club’s endurance athletes taking part in a host of different events.It started on Saturday as Steven Bolt took on the Brussels half marathon.Battling through 28-degree heat on a blistering day, Bolt came home with a solid time of 2:02:42 for the 13-mile course.Dan North was also in Brussels over the weekend, but taking part in the full marathon on Sunday.Dan dipped under the five-hour mark with minutes to spare on what was an impressive debut in the marathon, taking home a time of 4:53:42.Also, on Sunday, WNAC members turned their attention to Wales as two club members took part in the Newport marathon.By all accounts from participants, Newport was a flat course and well-organised event, which is highly recommended. Arran Reeve concluded a very successful marathon training block (which has included PBs in the 5k and half marathon distances) by running a huge new PB of 2:45:03. Reeve’s time was an 11-minute improvement on his previous PB for the marathon.Another marathon PB was recorded in Newport as Lee Richardson also travelled back to Norfolk with a shiny new time.Richardson smashed his previous best time by over five minutes, clocking an impressive 3:17:53. Closer to home, WNAC had three members taking on the Boston marathon running festival.As always, the Boston marathon in Lincolnshire (not to be confused with its American namesake) provides a flat course with little elevation, but with the trade-off of strong winds on the exposed parts of the course. William Hayes was just 20 seconds off his personal best as he took part in the half marathon on the day.Hayes ran a strong time of 1:24:20. Helen Garrett was taking on her first-ever marathon, and she conquered the challenge in style as she dipped under the five-hour mark, running a time of 4:59:06.Ryan Oakes was another member who rounded off a very productive marathon block, running a parkrun PB and half marathon PB on the way to eventually claiming another PB on Sunday.Oakes finished the Boston marathon with a blistering time of 2:44:14, shaving off a good five minutes from his previous best.