PLENTY of runners from south Essex have been walking around with aching limbs but with big smiles on their faces this week after completing this year’s London Marathon. Here we have a club-by-club look at those who battled through the pain barrier and made it to the finish in the Mall.

BILLERICAY STRIDERS

THE stand-out performance from all the south Essex runners competing came from 61-year-old Strider David Butler.

Butler clocked 2h 48m 46s to set a new personal best and win the over-60s section of the marathon.

He wasn’t quite able to get close enough to the national record of 2h 44m 27s, which he admitted in last week’s Echo was a long shot.

But he shaved more than two minutes off his previous best and that was good enough to put him fifth on the all time UK ranking list for over-60s and inside the top 40 in the all-time world lists.

Butler had a number of team-mates join him on the streets of London.

Jeremy Aurora (3h 45m 1s), Christine Deacon (4h 13m 24s), Christine Howard (3h 22m 41s) and David York (4h 42m 12s) all finished while Philip Smith (2h 56m 38s) and David Thompson (2h 56m 46s) had their own personal dual among the thousands of runners.

Echo:

Roy Scott

SOUTHEND AC

NOT for the first time Roy Scott will get his hands on the Jimmy Lowen trophy for the first Southend AC athlete to finish the marathon.

Scott, right, was an agonising 12 seconds off his personal best as he clocked 2h 35m 28s to finish inside the top 100 overall.

His main rival for the honour of first Southend athlete home, Paul Whittaker was going well up until half way but pulled out at 15 miles with his legs feeling dead.

Ty Farrer produced a fine marathon debut, comfortably going inside three hours by running 2h 52m 35s.

The first Seasiders woman to finish was Anne Jenkinson who stopped the clock at 3h 34m 15s.
She was followed in by Jon Brown (3h 53m 01s), Georgie Wheeler (3h 56m 05s PB), John Wheeler (4h 01m 30s PB) and Neil Hallam (4h 13m 03s PB).

Echo:

The 40 Benfleet marathon runners

BENFLEET RC

NO one in Essex had as many club runners as Benfleet RC did at London, with the red and white army made up of 40 competitors.

With a combined age of 144 and with 30 marathons between them, the club’s veteran duo of Vic McCloud and Bobby Oliver hung up their marathon shoes forever after finishing on The Mall on Sunday.

McCloud, 74, who was taking part in his 20th marathon crossed the line in a superb 4h 35m 40s.
Seventy-year-old Oliver, meanwhile, who recently stepped down as ladies captain after a long reign, came 13th in her age category with a stunning time of 5h 25m 52s.

Though their marathon days are behind them, both runners will remain active members of the club.

Echo:

Bobby Oliver and Vic McCloud

Pete Stally who had to run under 3h 5m to get his “good for age time” and get automatic entry for next year’s race, pushed through the pain barrier to get a PB time of 3h 3m 18s making him the first Benfleet runner home.

John Gould (V40) also managed a “good for age” time of 3h 04m 5s, as did Terry Spooner on debut making his debut (3h 05m 18s)
Sarah Grabowski, who is in the form of her life, put in a sterling performance to become first Benfleet lady home and picked off many of her male team mates with a three-minute PB of 3h 25m 45s.

Jaqui Watson also managed a “good for age” time of 3h 32m 40s to be second lady home with Whitney Lodge third 3h 48m 26s.

The biggest PBs on the day came from Steve Wise (V40) whose 4h 13m, was 45 minutes quicker than his old best, Chris Wright, whose 3h 21m was a 13-minute PB and Lynsay Pain, whose 6h 31m was 13 minutes quicker than she had gone before.

Special mention must also go to Neil Casey who was meant to race the first half fully dressed as a horse and then supposed to run the second half dressed as a nurse but due to a wardrobe malfunction he actually ran 22 miles as the horse, then four miles as the nurse!
Casey still completed the course in in 3h 46m and raised more than £5,000 for Gt Ormond Street Hospital and Hopefield Animal Sanctuary.

Other Benfleet results: Paul Prosser 3h 08m 13s, Adam Mathews 3h 11m PB,  David Miller 3h 15m 05s, Graham Crocket 3h 16m 46s, Steff Cohen 3h 17m, Steve Hickey 3h 25m 50s, Billie Burroughs 3h 27m, Kevin Challis 3h 30m 19s, Keiran McGill 3h 32m 46s,  Zoe Western 3h 50m, Steve Billington 3h 50m 32s, Matt-Harper-Ward 3h 56m 6s, Roman Burroughs 4h 02m 20sm Jo Dyson 4h 03m 29s, Barry Key 4h 08m 53s PB, Caroline Maguire 4h 19m 22s, Susanne Barton 4h 22m 24s, Greg Lloyd 4h 22m 24s, Sam Challis 4h 25m, Ian Banthorpe 4h 41m 27s,  Michelle Foster 4h 28m 47s, Vic Mcloud V70 4h 35m 42s, Steve Higgins 4h 47m, Sharon Johnson 4h 53m 45s, Julie Peacock 4h 50m 36s PB, Bob Chapman 5h 15m, Stuart Ross 5h 23m 31s, Sara Adams 5h 17m 53s, Lee Olney 5h 56m 05s, Tracey Jones 6h 03m 34s.
With his team-mates in London, Tom Byrne took on the Rotterdam Marathon, finishing in 3h 57m.

LEIGH ON SEA STRIDERS

NEIL Spicer had a terrific run to clock a personal best of 2h 43m 15s, finishing 301st overall.
Tracy Bartlett was the first LoSS woman to finish, coming home in 3h 40m 56s.

Six other Striders finished: Dean Ovel (3h 32m 57s), Jackie Camm (3h 47m 35s), Luke Birkett (4h 10m 17s), Andrea Hughes (4h 13m 50s), Sarah Compton (4h 23m 14s) and Ian Sherman (5h 18m 54s).

THURROCK HARRIERS

PAT Dobbs, 75, continued his run of finishing every London Marathon since the first in 1981 by finishing in 4h 47m 19s.

The time may have been two and a quarter hours slower than his PB set 30 years ago, but finishing means he is one of just 14 “ever presents” remaining.

The first Harrier home was Scott Rice in 2h 48m 49s. He was followed by John Green (3h 10m 29s). Jason Syrett (3h 19m), Richard Amery (3h 23m 56s), Paul Green (3h 26m 56s).

Echo:

Ray and Tony Selwyn

CASTLE POINT JOGGERS

NINE Castle Point Joggers completed this year’s marathon with their first man home being veteran, Ray Selwyn in a very impressive time of 3h 37m 57s.

Ray’s son Tony also ran and finished in 4h 48m 44s.


Other finishers were Mike Hopkins 3h 46m 13s, Daniel Hobbs   4h 27m 25s, Tracy Sodeau 4h 39m 55s, Rachel Welch 4h 47m 59s, Rory Stone 5h 18m 08s, Brian Welch 5h 32m 59s and Liz Jackaman  (5h 35m 15s).

Echo:

The Rochford Running Club members in London

ROCHFORD RUNNING CLUB

TEN Rochford Running Club members made it to the finish line in London.

Joseph Neighbour led the Rochford contingent home with a fine time of 3h 16m 46s while Abigail Cave was Rochford’s first lady home in 4h 3m 42s.

Paul Stranks 4h 00m 40s, Brad Benfield 4h 07m 05s, Ed Wragg 4h 22m 54s, Luisa Miller 4h 24m 55s, Carla Nolan 4h 32m 19s, Debbie Mowle 4h 37m 59s, Mark Cozens 5h 00m 20s, Emily Moreton 5h 48m 36s all finished, too.

PITSEA RUNNING CLUB

MIKE Woodward led the Pitsea team home at London, finishing in 3h 18m 28s, behind him followed Peter Chaplin (4h 44m 45s), Linda Matthews (5h 13m 11s) Carley Knowles and Tracey Beach (both 5h 21m 12s). Pitsea’s second-claim runners who finished were Tony Hyde (3h 16m 37s), Lorna and John Pettifer (both 4h 52m 15s).

FLYERS SOUTHEND

FLYERS Southend had two runners on the course: Matthew Campbell (3h 47m 11s) and Kealey Wright (4h 40m 49s).