St Albans Striders celebrate outstanding marathon achievements on both sides of the Atlantic

We celebrated an unforgettable week of distance-running success after dozens of club members took on two of the world’s most famous marathons.

London Marathon
A huge group of 42 Striders lined up at the London Marathon on Sunday 26 April, turning the Capital’s streets yellow as they tackled the 26.2‑mile challenge. In a remarkable set of results, nine Striders ran under the coveted three‑hour mark – an elite benchmark in marathon running.

Leading the charge was Oliver Poulain, the first male Strider home, while Freya Weddell was the first Striders woman to finish, crossing the line in an outstanding time of 2:45. Other sub‑three‑hour performances came from Heather Hann, Catherine O’Connor, Callum Bond, Thomas Croft, Thiago Fernandes and Jacob James, highlighting the exceptional strength in depth within our club.

There were also further personal triumphs throughout the field, including a personal best for Laura Johnston, who ran an impressive 3:04, Kate Dixon with 3:16, Fleur Harvey in 3:50, Lindsey Brown with a PB of 3:33, Eleanor Lambert in 3:25 and Prairna Sharma who took on London for the first time.

Boston Marathon
The club’s marathon success wasn’t limited to London. Earlier in the week, on Monday 20 April, three Striders travelled across the Atlantic to compete in the prestigious Boston Marathon - the oldest annual marathon in the world and an event that runners must qualify for.

Emily Hickey‑Baird, Andrew McKillop and Steve Scorer proudly represented St Albans on the iconic course from Hopkinton to Boston, with Emily being the first Strider to storm the finish line - adding an international highlight to an extraordinary week for the club.
 

Further achievements
The week was a phenomenal one for the club, with events beyond marathons dominated by Striders too. Jethro Offemaria won two golds in the Special Olympics Suffolk Regional Athletics Championships - shot put and 800m. Brian Ransley took on the Shakespeare Half finishing in 2:14 and Clair Drage completed the Madrid Half in 2:02.