Virgin Money London Marathon
Of course the big event this weekend is the Virgin Money London Marathon and for more than a dozen members of Orangegrove amongst the 37,000 overall, it will be the culmination of weeks of arduous training and preparation, a lot of it in the cold and damp of the bleak midwinter. May the running omens be with them and may they have the time and energy to enjoy some of the highlights en route in Woolwich, Greenwich, at Tower Bridge, in the Isle of Dogs, at London Bridge and hopefully along The Mall to the finish.
The list of O.A.C. members taking part is extensive: Catherine Fearon, Andy McIntyre, Chris Woods, Darren Houston, Ian Grant, Louise Lemon, Lyndsey Pronger, Trish Magill, Michael O’Donoghue, Paul Woodman, Ralph Coetzee, Robin Montgomery and Sarah Steer. May they all finish, may they travel safely, may their times please them and may they all end up with a medal!
Conditions were as perfect as could be expected for the VMLM; not too warm, not too sunny with a little moisture in the air. By lunch time the results were beginning to come through.
There will be stories to follow and photographs to savour, but in the meantime the following times have been recorded:
| Lyndsey Pronger | 3.13.58 |
| Louise Lemon | 3.43.02 |
| Sarah Steer | 3.55.15 |
| Trish Magill | 4.03.46 |
| Catherine Fearon | 4.47.37 |
| Robin Montgomery | 3.09.55 |
| Paul Woodman | 3.13.06 |
| Andy McIntyre | 3.16.38 |
| Chris Woods | 3.35.41 |
| Michael O’Donoghue | 3.43.13 |
| Ian Grant | 3.43.50 |
| Darren Houston | 3.57.36 |
| Ralph Coetzee | 4.09.53 |
Absolutely superb running from everybody; these times are testament to months of effort, training and camaraderie and each and every one of them should feel very proud of what they have achieved today. Now, make sure you are all at Victoria Park for training tomorrow evening!
Just in case you may have missed the extensive television coverage of the Virgin Money London Marathon, in which some Orangegrove runners featured, the race was won by Eliud Kipchoge (Kenya) in 2.04.42. The first lady was Tigist Tufa (Ethiopia) in 2.32.22.
