Pep Pamies runs big PB in Chicago

 Matthew Rallison winning the Middlesex 10k at Victoria Park on October 1.

A sparse report this week, featuring two marathons and 28 Parkruns. The highlight was Pep Pàmies running a 10-minute PB in the Chicago Marathon in his maiden sub-3 time of 2:57:26. And also Christopher Gracie running a 17-minute Finsbury Parkrun.

Chester Marathon, Sunday October 8

Gavin Evans reports:

This one was run in unseasonably hot, largely cloudless conditions with the thermometer reaching 23C before reaching the end of this undulating course, which led to several runners collapsing along the way and requiring medical attention (109 of the 3,500 starters did not complete the race).

I had set a target time of 3:10, which seemed realistic because my last half was 1:27. For once, I ran conservatively, keeping to 7-minute mile pace. But the wheels came off well before the halfway mark and I eventually staggered in at 3:27:08, a 23-year PW.

Four Heathsiders entered the event but only two of us ran it. Phil McGaw ran an evenly-paced race, finishing in 3:38:10, which was a PB by more than half an hour – an impressive performance in such testing conditions.

Results (3,391 finishers)

608th Gavin Evans (V60) – 3:27:08

866th Phil McGaw (V40) – 3:38:10

Chicago Marathon. Sunday October 8

Jonathan Shipley reports:

‘The flat course and cool conditions certainly seemed to suit Kelvin Kiptum.

‘Going in, after dealing with hamstring issues, I had no idea how things were going to go and was very pleased with 3 hr 21 min 39. Ran into Pep Pàmies n the pick-up line who came in with a very impressive 2 hr 57 min 26.’

 Note that this was a 10-minute PB for Pep and he ran it just a week after running a 39-minute 10k in Victoria Park.

Also note that Kipturn shattered the world record in Chicago in a time of 2:01:18.

Results

Pep Pàmies– 2:57:26 (V45)  (PB)

Jonathan Shipley – 3:21:39

Parkruns

On Saturday, 93 Heathsiders competed in 28 Parkruns. There were wins for Charlie Ogilvie (18:13) in Tyne Green, Annabel Liltchfield (20:42) in Old Showfield and Peter Gould (18:25) and Sandra Buckton (24:05) at Ally Pally. Our fastest Parkrunner on Saturday was Christopher Gracie who came second in Finsbury Park in a time of 17:20. Full results  here

Report by Gavin Evans with thanks to Simon Baker, and Jonathan Shipley.