While the rest of the country was delighted to bask in the continuation of the Indian summer over the weekend, the 8000 runners who converged on Nottingham for the annual Robin Hood Marathon and Half Marathon were hoping for cooler conditions for their exertions.  It looked as though they had got their wish to start with, but right on cue when the gun went off, the sun came out and the races were run in baking hot temperatures.  Adding to that a far from easy course, with a revised route throwing in even more hills than last year, and you have a recipe for potential disaster.
The Viking Striders need not have worried.  They sent three of their best runners, plus Dave Pullman, to contest the marathon and all acquitted themselves brilliantly.  Dave of course is a sub 3 hour man in younger days, and although this was a personal worst, he would be the first to acknowledge that his pre-race training regime, or lack of it, was not designed to break world records.
Martin Booth could have chosen an easier race to make his marathon debut but although he struggled a bit in the later stages and was slightly disappointed with his time, this was an excellent effort full of promise for when he tackles a flat course on a cool day.  Andy Masterman is more experienced at the full distance, and it helps when you know what you’re letting yourself in for, but on Sunday he ran superbly to help himself to a personal best by over 10 minutes.  Andy will surely join the sub 3 hour ranks before long.\
The performance of the day however was that of Giles Harris.  Having sneaked under three hours at London, we knew he was good, but not this good!  To knock another four minutes off that time in those conditions was simply sensational, but there it was in black and white, 21^st place out of 1118 marathon finishers.  Even Giles, who doesn’t list modesty as his main attribute, didn’t know where it had come from.  To put his time into perspective, this was the best time by a Strider since Alan Bexon in 1993.
The Half Marathon was tough enough in itself, and what a relief to peel off to the finish when the already suffering marathon men had to battle through another 13 miles.  The Striders generally suffered in the heat with everybody else, but although Graham Walker did well to be close to his best, and Mark Thompson and Keith Wilson ran good races, Alison Hoggarth was the undoubted star with over a minute sliced off her PB, a fantastic effort in the conditions.
Marathon times:  Giles Harris 2.55.31, Andy Masterman 3.18.18, Martin Booth 3.31.06, Dave Pullman 4.23.23.
Half Marathon times:  Mark Thompson 93.47, Nigel Warner 95.17, Keith Wilson 103.19, Alison Hoggarth 111.09, Graham Walker 113.32, Richard Anness 114.38, Karen Mitchell and Dot Pullman 124.25, Debbie Andrew 127.56, Marina Booth 134.30.