Ryston members in marathon prepartion

With the Manchester and London Marathons on the imminent horizon, it is not surprising that several members of Ryston Runners AC were getting in some final competitive miles at the weekend, with a few stealing a march on them by pounding the pavements of Paris to get a 2025 marathon under their belts.The two domestic events that commanded the runners’ attention were at Boston (Lincs) and Cromer.The latter, the EPIC Norfolk Marathon and Half, saw the club notch up some successes.Nic Bensley was placed 12th overall over the Half Marathon distance and took top spot in the M55 category, clocking 1:27:07.New member Mark Ramsden was placed 19th overall and took second place in the M45 age group with 1:32:00.The Marathon distance saw Stewart Robins take the win in the same age group as Nic, 3:26:16, earning him 32nd place overall.Lesley Robins won the F50 category in 48th place with 3:31:16, the same time as achieved by Rob Skillings, who was given 47th place, fourth M45. Sarah Ellis took second place in the F45 category, 138th overall, with a four-hour run, while Ben Elmer, with a chip time two seconds slower, was placed 132nd across the line. Glenn Perkins finished in 148th place/70th SM, in 4:02:34, while Jacqui Scott was 11th F50 in the Half Marathon, placing 332nd overall in 2:20:24.An undulating course, made trickier by the windy conditions, was a good test and strength builder for all concerned.The wind was also a factor in Boston, where four club members tackled each of the full and half marathon distances on offer, and Dylan Whitehouse featured in the 10k, in which he placed fifth in a decent time for a U20 of 36:30. Dylan’s parents both ran the full marathon distance, Jake placed 275th with 3:29:18, putting him in the top 50 in his age group, while Claire, making her marathon debut, and fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Care, dipped under five hours, clocking 4:59:11 in 769th and 38th F40.Justin Walker, running these events for his attempt at the Thames 100 next month, was 290th/22nd M50, while the top Ryston finisher of the day was Warren Armstrong, 127th overall and fifth M50, with a time of 3:06:28. The Half Marathon saw all four Ryston competitors finish in the top 100.Andrew Williamson ran 1:27:24 for 27th place overall, while James Ord M40 also dipped neatly under the 90 minute mark, 37th with 1:29:47. Stuart Martin was 56th in 1:34:16, and Julie Willamson 88th with 1:38:20Results from Paris began with Shakur Casaleiro setting a club U20 record of 2:57:58 in his debut over the distance.Julia Norman clocked 4:28:52, in 37347th place, having enjoyed the experience of running abroad and being in the same event as her daughter.Also under five hours, John Crowley came in at 4:52:01.Daniel Timms and Molly Hopgood finished within the same minute, 5:19:22 and 5:19:56 respectively, and Debbie Crowly completed the Ryston continental contingent when finishing in 5:55:07.