The Virgin Money London Marathon took place on Sunday 28th April, where St Albans Striders had an impressively large contingent, and a number of the club’s runners achieved notable performances and/or personal bests.

First Strider to finish was Kurtis Gibson with 2:28:41, good enough to be 63rd outside of the elites.

Next up was Rob Spencer with 2:34:41, followed by Phill Evans 2:36:03, and Steve Buckle 2:36:33.

Andrew Mckillop achieved another personal best (PB) by going sub-2:45 with 2:44:54. Martin Whitforth had an impressive run after an enforced spell away from the sport to finish in 2:48:38.

Peter Crowdell ran 2:52:12, just ahead of Stephen Hosty who ran an enthusiastic race to cross the line in 2:52:27.

Nick Pattison looked confident towards the end of the run as he went on to finish in 2:54:10.

Gary Warren came in at 2:55:55, just ahead of Richard Harry who completed his 14th consecutive London Marathon with an impressive 2:55:58.

Jim King completed the course in 2:57:10, a new two-minute PB, after having raised over £16,000 for Bone Cancer research.

Ian Hirth suffered a nosebleed during the race but credited the crowds to lift him to finish just over the three-hour mark in 3:04:42, one second ahead of new Strider Darran Wilson who ran his first London Marathon with an official time of 3:04:43.

Jamie Sinclair was close behind Wilson with 3:05:26. Young athlete Will Bowran came in at 3:09:03 with David Mellor on 3:13:13, while Paul Schalker finished in 3:16:29.

First female Strider Anna Buckingham was chuffed to bits to PB with 3:17:59, after chasing the 3:15 pacer for much of the race.

Stacey Harris finished in 3:21:37, whilst Rachel Dixon was delighted to cut five minutes off her previous marathon PB with a time of 3:23:54. Peter Clarke was just behind with 3:24:07.

Nicky Laitner ran 3:33:01, a four-minute PB, and an hour faster than her first London Marathon in 1997.

Long-running Strider Martin Halling finished in 3:41:08. Amy Heap on the second part of her double-marathon fundraising adventure for charity Mind scooped a time of 3:49:49. Mike Dando came in with 3:54:54. Helena Garrick was another to secure a sub-4 marathon with 3:57:56.

Rose McGinness got her medal after running for 4:01:32, ten minutes ahead of her daughters Katie and Leanne who crossed the line together in 4:11:19.

Alison Massey finished in 4:07:17 with Jonathan Poole not too far behind in 4:11:52, followed by Steph Jones with 4:12:01 and Laura Meaker in 4:12:58. Marc Phillips came through in 4:23:25. Emily Eldred conquered a tough race to finish her first marathon in 4:24:36. Jessica MacGregor came in at 4:27:01 while Joe Beaton ran in 4:40:36.

Long-time Strider Paddy Green finished in 4:44:38. Gill Hudnott completed her first marathon in 4:47:28, whilst raising over £4000 for Rennie Grove Hospice Care in the process. Sisters Hannah and Ruth Martin came round in 4:52:27 and 5:12:28 respectively. Jonny White crossed the line in 4:53:51 after a difficult race.

Kelly Durbridge ran the 26.2 mile course 4:57:43, raising over £2500 for Bernards Heath Infants School, Tracey Mostyn came in at 5:01:23, and last but definitely not least Bernadette Newby was over the moon to secure a 35-minute PB with 5:29:23.

Report by Howard Bull.

Photos at Blackfriars of Kurtis Gibson (1509), Phillip Evans (1885), Stephen Hosty (30570), Stacey Harris (29031) and Rachel Dixon (28426) by Alex Johnston.