EIGHT Spirit of Monmouth runners represented the town at the 2016 Manchester Marathon on Sunday 10th April.

The race attracted fifteen thousand runners and the weather on the day was cool and sunny - ideal marathon conditions.

The fastest finisher for the club was first-time marathon runner Gareth Jones, with an outstanding time of 3:00:01. 

The next runner to complete the 26.2-mile course was club coach Allan Meek, in 3:14:58. Allan’s time put him in the top ten percent of his age category and both Gareth and Allan’s times qualify them for a coveted London Marathon place. Well done both!

The first lady home for Spirit of Monmouth was newly-appointed chairperson, mum of three Karen Barratt. Karen overcame a recent injury to achieve a strong time of 4:19:15.

Rob Nicholls was competing in his first ever marathon and finished in a fantastic time of 3:23:56.

Several other club members achieved new personal records in the event; Jeremy Masters beat his previous record by ten minutes, finishing in an impressive 3:17:57. David Mather also had a successful race, with a new personal best time of 3:24:13. Martin Blakebrough improved his marathon record by ten minutes, coming in at 3:28:32. Sally Gilson knocked fourteen minutes off her best time, achieving a new personal record of 4:36:27.

Karen Barratt, Spirit of Monmouth Running Club chairperson said: "Well done to the team who took part in this year’s Manchester Marathon. There were some brilliant times achieved and it is wonderful to see so many of our runners representing the club in competitions, enjoying the sport and improving their running performances.”

For any budding marathon runners interested in joining, more information can be found at spiritofmonmouth.co.uk