Ripon Runners members Sara Barker, David Brown and James Pollington-Clyne are all celebrating the successful completion of their first London Marathon, which took place on Sunday 26th April. As well as the huge achievement of completing such an iconic event, their sterling efforts also helped raise money for worthy causes – including the MND Association for Motor Neurone Disease and the Blue Cross animal welfare charity.
Sara, from Coxwold, first had to recover from knee surgery last September, before embarking on a Couch-to-5k program to regain her fitness and build up her distance and stamina from there.
Sara said:
I hadn’t been running regularly for the last few years as I have recently had 2 children, so having found out that I had a place in the marathon I knew I had some work to do!
David, who lives in Ripon, is a life-long Leeds Rhinos rugby fan, and had run the Rob Burrow Marathon three years ago – his first marathon distance.
David said:
I only had from December to train for the London race, so it was pretty intense.
I ran with Ripon Runners during the week and built up my long runs to 21 miles, three weeks before race day.
James, also from Ripon but currently studying at Loughborough University, hadn’t run further than 16 miles prior to the London race.
James said:
But I’ve been a runner and triathlete for almost 10 years. Training for the marathon properly began in January, and I built up to running 50km a week, balancing that with my triathlon training.
All three runners agreed on how special the atmosphere was on the day.
Sara said:
The run itself was like one huge carnival. I ran with so many inspiring people, all with unique stories and challenges that they had overcome to get to the start.
It’s a very emotional day which really illustrates the best of humanity and community.
But even with the crowds cheering them on, there was no escaping the huge physical effort involved in completing 26 gruelling miles.
David said:
The second half was the biggest running challenge I’ve ever faced, and the finish line was a massive relief.
I was so pleased my wife had booked a hotel at Trafalgar Square — really close to the finish! The crowds around the finish were huge; all the roads were full of people.
James said:
Crossing the line is a real mix of emotions – both relief and excitement. But for me what stood out was the rush of adrenaline that comes from having completed a big challenge that you’ve worked towards for so long.
As a vet, Sara ran in support of the Blue Cross – a charity that provides veterinary care and rehoming for animals in need, while David ran for the MND Association, inspired by rugby legends Rob Burrow and Kevin Sinfield.
And for anyone thinking of entering the London Marathon themselves, Sara has some wise words of advice:
Train gradually and consistently, set a realistic time goal and don’t sacrifice your experience to chase a time. There are other much less crowded (and perhaps less atmospheric) marathons for that!
About Ripon Runners
- Founded in 1985 by local milkman Cameron Weatherburn, Ripon Runners is an extremely friendly, welcoming club open to runners of all ages, genders and abilities, with a dedicated junior section too.
- Based at Ripon Rugby Club, the club meets on Tuesday and Thursday evenings throughout the year, and hosts regular weekend runs and social events.
- To help keep membership fees low, the club also organises the Jolly Holly Jog, Ripon 10 mile and Ripon Ultra races, which are open to all runners, whether club members or not.
- To find out more, visit www.riponrunners.org.uk
