On a beautiful, sunny day, Bournemouth was looking its best for the participants in the Marathon and Half Marathon races of the Bournemouth Marathon Festival on Sunday 2 October, although those racing in the shorter events the previous day may not have been quite so lucky with the weather. BAC was looking its best, also, with storming runs, not only in Bournemouth, but across the Channel in Jersey. Perhaps the most notable performances were, in the Marathon, Rob McTaggart, the first Brit to cross the line, Jacek Cieluszecki, 2nd V35, Paul Dixon-Box, 8th with a PB and Chris O’Brien, 2nd V45 with a massive 12 minute PB, in the Half Marathon, Peter Thompson, 2nd overall, Tom Paskins, with a PB of over 4 minutes, and Emma Dews, first lady overall, and in the ‘Supersonic 10k’, Alex Goulding, 8th of a field of 1859, and, over in Jersey, Toby Chapman was 8th, and 3rd UK athlete, in the Jersey Marathon.

Taking the events in date order, on Saturday 1 October races over various distances were held all starting at Bournemouth Pier.  In the ‘Supersonic 10k’, as mentioned, of a total of 1859, Alex Goulding finished 8th in a time of 37.30, and was joined by Simon Hearn, 42nd in 41.20, and Louise Price, 294th in 50.9. In the ‘Supernova 5k’ an evening race which is quite a spectacle, with all competitors being issued with head torches, which can be seen going along the promenade and up and down both piers, Sam Farwell was 82nd of 1560 finishers in a time of 22.12, and Serena Sutherland was 410th in 29.24.  Louise Broderick competed in the Half Marathon and spotted in the results of the 2k Junior Race, which took place earlier on Saturday, were Joseph Broderick and Lara Broderick – chips off the old block??

If there had been a team prize for the Bournemouth Marathon on Sunday 2 October, BAC would have won it!  Rob McTaggart, who won the award as the first British competitor, was 5th of a total of 2017 in 2.33.41 – not bad for a first attempt!  Next to finish was Jacek Cieluszecki in 2.35.50, and in 8th position was Paul Dixon-Box, in a PB time, by 42 seconds, of 2.40.12.  If a team prize would have required four members, BAC might still have won, thanks to an excellent run by Chris O’Brien, whose time of 3.03.45 was a massive PB by 12 minutes 6 seconds and 2nd V45.

No fewer than 12 BAC athletes were amongst the 3331 who completed the Half Marathon (which started in Kings Park at 8 am – two hours before the Marathon).  Had there been a team prize for this race, it may well have been that BAC would have won that also.  Peter Thompson, finishing 2nd overall, just outside his PB, was followed in 15th place by Tom Paskins, who smashed his PB, and, 80th was Gonzalo Mogorron Flores.  Even a requirement for four team members might have resulted in a win, with Raymond Ngai closely following Gonzalo in 88th position.  One of the most spectacular performances of the day was from Emma Dews, who defied her veteran status by finishing as first lady and 21st overall, reducing her PB by almost one minute.

See below for BAC‘s Half Marathon results and further Marathon and Half Marathon photos, mostly courtesy of, and thanks to, Graeme Miller.

Meanwhile, on Jersey, hopefully also in good weather, Toby Chapman was running in what is clearly something of an international event, the Jersey Marathon.  Toby was 8th overall, of a field of 353, in 2.38.46, and of the UK athletes, Toby was 3rd.

Half Marathon results (BAC): 2. Peter Thompson 1.11.49;  15. Tom Paskins 1.20.33;  21. Emma Dews 1.21.24;  80. Gonzalo Mogorron Flores 1.26.36;  88. Raymond Ngai 1.27.44;  117. Ross Blakemore 1.29.35;  155. Tony Hunt 1.31.44;  181. Pawel Surowiec 1.32.49;  445. Louise Broderick 1.40.28;  478. Mike Cowham 1.41.6;  497. Ian Graham 1.41.35;  978. Estelle Slatford 1.50.45.

Returning to the Bournemouth Marathon…………………..

And to the Half Marathon………………………………..