April Marathon Round Up

April was a very busy month for Tone Zone runners with 52 marathons run by 47 of our members.

We'll start at Brighton where 31 runners from the Bognor based club took part. Running her first marathon was Kari Mack who blasted to a new club female record time of 3hrs 20mins. Afterwards Mack said "What an amazing day. Have the biggest grin, sorest legs and weird blisters under my toe nails and wearing them all with pride! What an achievement by all the runners and the support was awesome!" Also making their marathon debuts were Michael Manwill, Nathan Bilham, Stan Mack, Adam Norgett, Karen Vilday and Alison Stead. Ian Bayley, Andy Miles, Christine Rounds and Gary Smith all ran personal bests, this was especially pleasing for Bayley who put a few ghosts to rest after 2 or 3 marathons where he struggled to get the time he wanted.

Moving overseas now where Duncan Stephenson-Gill flew to America to run in the Boston marathon. He was faced with some of worse weather the US city had experienced for the marathon with cold temperatures and driving wind and rain. Stephenson-Gill powered through the conditions to run a fantastic time of 3.28.

Also flying the flag abroad was Chris Gallagher how took part in the Madrid Marathon, he posted a time of 3.39 having to cope with the opposite weather from Boston.

Heading back to the UK now for our greatest race, The London Marathon. Tone Zone had 11 runners pounding the streets of the capital this year. Duncan Stephenson-Gill took his place on the start line after only having 6 days to recover from Boston, he still ran a very creditable 3.47. Debbie Patching was running her first marathon since fracturing her hip 2 years ago. It wasn't easy but she battled on to record a personal best time of 5.23. Carole Mulry was also a first time marathoner, she finished in 6.18. Paul Coe and Stuart Thomson had both run at Brighton but they were also in London. They both enjoyed the race with Thomson running 5 minutes slower with 5.19 but Coe excelled in London running 14 minutes faster with a 4.12

The April endurance prize goes to Jude Bazeley. Her first marathon of the month was in Brighton where she crossed the line in 5.34. Thirteen days later she battled the off road marathon delightfully called the Bad Cow Frolic near Corfe Castle, Dorset. On the very next day Bazeley set of again on the same course for an outstanding double, amazingly she was only 6 minutes slower than on day 1 with a 6.34 and 6.40 Bognor Regis Tone Zone Runners Results

Brighton Marathon Kari Mack 3.20; Gary Pidgeon 3.38; Ian Bayley 3.43;Michael Manwill 3.47; Jessica Thomson 4.00; Andy Miles 4.13; Nathan Bilham 4.14; Stan Mack 4.15; Christine Rounds 4.16; Tony Holcombe 4.18; Keith Hardwell 4.19; Andy Shill 4.21; Christopher Chapman 4.23; Gary Smith 4.23; Gervais Ward 4.25; Carl Bryant 4.25; Adam Norgett 4.26; Paul Coe 4.26; Grace Natoli 4.27; Simon Bodsworth 4.40; Alan Coombs 4.49; Gary Gaskin 5.52; David Paige 4.52; Karen Vilday 4.57; Alison Stead 4.57;Stuart Thomson 5.14; Vicky Cooper 5.19; Ian Culton 5.33; David Butler 5.34; Judith Bazeley 5.34; Michelle Ede 6.05 Boston Marathon Duncan Stephenson-Gill 3.28 Madrid Marathon Chris Gallagher 3.39 London Marathon Simon Gill 2.57; Danny Mahoney 3.26; Duncan Stephenson-Gill 3.47; Kate O'Connor 4.10; Paul Coe 4.12; Stuart Thomson 5.19; Debbie Patching 5.23; Martin Playford 5.24; James Savage 5.41; Jade Fish 5.57; Carole Mulry 6.18.25 Southampton Marathon Chris Dummer 4.14; Gareth Stemp 4.42 ; Simon Bodsworth 4.57; Garry Gaskin 5.04; Paul Stevenson 5.09 Bad Cow Frolic Marathon (Saturday) Jude Bazeley 6.34 Bad Cow Frolic Marathon (Sunday) Jude Bazeley 6.40; Joan Woolley 7.04