Liverpool Weekend
On a very hot Saturday, 7 of Ripon’s own battled through the heat to finish the 5k race around the picturesque Albert Dock area. Jo Thwaites and Nicole Sutton pushed themselves, despite having the half marathon to come the following day and finished in 27.09. Samantha Miles was 3rd back for Ripon finishing in 29.10.
The rest of the Ripon crew (Linda Cadman, Jackie Turner, Lucy Marston and Maggie Driffield and Fiona Blaylock) ran the course together to finish in 36 minutes
The next day saw the main event, with 12 Ripon Runners competing in the half marathon and a further 4 completing the full marathon.
Thankfully the heat of Saturday had dropped but a windy day awaited the runners. After a moments silence to mark the horrific events in Manchester, the half marathon route set off at 9.15. The runners set off through the city centre, taking in a number of Liverpool’s famous sights including the Cavern Club. The mainly flat course then took the runners out of the city with an out and back up to the historic Penny Lane. After meandering through some of the city’s lovely parks before hitting the coast. At this point a strong headwind greeted the 14 runners for the final 4 miles down to the finish, where the cheering squad of Clare Childs and family were waiting. Jane Grundy was first back for Ripon in a PB time of 1 hour 43 minutes 57 seconds. Other results were:
• Stella Morgan 2.00.01
• Nicole Sutton & Jo Thwaites 2.04.45
• Jackie Turner 2.04.56
• Helen Pickard 2.06.50
• Lester Pickard 2.08.19
• Karen Gilbert 2:11:35
• Samantha Miles 2.14.04
• Sheila McCudden 2.17.34
• Lucy Marston 2.19.21 (PB)
• Linda Cadman, Fiona Blaylock and Maggie Driffield 2.42.37
• Chris Cooper 2.47.43 (PB)
After completing the half, a number of these runners also went on to complete the mile event for their 3rd medal haul of the weekend. All ran together in what proved to be the hardest mile of the day.
Meanwhile, 3 Ripon Runners went those extra few miles (!) to complete the marathon. The first half of this route took the runners further through the city, up to the football stadiums of Liverpool and Everton before coming back via more of Liverpool’s parks. The 2nd half of the marathon route mirrored that of the half marathon, but by the time they were finishing the sun had started to break out making for a hot finish. Their finish times were:
• Michael Hernandez was first back for Ripon in an impressive 3.39.08
• Simon MCudden 4.01.15 – his 66th road marathon
• Kate Shaw 4.17.00
• Fiona Hernandez 5.41.50