It was a truly historic day at the London Marathon, with headlines dominated by a remarkable sub-two-hour performance at the front of the race a landmark moment for marathon running and with the women’s world record being set too, eight JJs could say they were in the most historic marathon of all time.

Eight Jesmond Joggers took to the start line in warm conditions, supported by the ever-present, electric London crowds. The atmosphere didn’t disappoint, and neither did the performances, with strong runs across the board and a standout achievement for the club.

Leading the way was Laura Chapman, who delivered an exceptional run to finish in 3:05:31, setting a new Jesmond Joggers Club Record in the process, a fantastic achievement on one of the biggest stages in world running.

There were also impressive performances throughout the field, with all the JJs producing well-paced efforts in challenging conditions. A brilliant day out for the JJs at one of the world’s biggest marathons, strong performances, a club record, and memories from a truly historic race. We are all proud of you.

Results:

4,121st – Laura Chapman – 3:05:31 (Club Record)

6,167th – Connor Harris – 3:16:26

6,326th – Sandro Di Simplicio – 3:17:08

12,771st – Floor Christie D-Jong – 3:39:52

13,275th – Ben Richardson – 3:41:29

14,583rd – Alice Hartley – 3:45:18

18,550th – Lottie Rhodes – 3:56:09

26,613th – Emily Green – 4:19:19

And winds did howl on this cold winter’s day.
Sarah Wann, with streak so bright and grand,
Completed the ultra, with heart and hand,
In six hours, thirty-seven minutes, and thirty-eight,
A feat of strength, a victory to celebrate.

Lizzie Warnes battled on, with fierce might,
And completed the marathon in six hours and thirty,
With tough conditions, and weather so bleak,
Her spirit and resolve did never weaken.

Eliza Gutteridge and Lorna Dagg,
In the half marathon, did shine and brag
Of times so great, with strides so strong,
Two hours, thirteen and three, and two hours, twenty-three and two, they did belong.

Ben Talks, with valiant heart and soul,
Completed the half marathon, with great control,

In two hours, and fifty-seven seconds,
A triumph of will, of spirit so resplendent.

Liam Blatch, with fervor and might,
Followed close, with all his might,
In two hours, four minutes, and four,
His victory and spirit, to always adore.

Niran Patel and Oli Howell,
In the half marathon, did not cower nor cower,
With a knee injury, they pushed on and on,
And completed the race, in two hours, twenty-eight minutes, and forty-seven seconds, with hearts so strong.

Victoria Thompson, with flying feet,
Battled the winds and cold, with spirit so neat,
In the 10k race, she did soar,
And finished in one hour, three minutes, and fifty-three, to forever adore.

Thus, the Endurancelife race was done,
And with it, tales of glory and battles won.

Congratulations to all who dared to try,
For in their hearts, they shall forever fly.

10km – Women’s Race

23rd Victoria Thompson 01:03:53

Half Marathon – Women’s Race

41st Eliza Gutteridge 02:13:03
68th Lorna Dagg 02:23:02

Half Marathon – Men’s Race

46th Ben James Talks 02:00:57
58th Liam Blatch 02:04:04
95th Oli Howell 02:28:46
96th Niran Patel 02:28:47

Marathon – Women’s Race

20th Lizzie Warnes 06:06:30

Ultra Marathon – Women’s Race

6th Sarah Bowen Wann 06:37:38 1st F45

Report by Niran Patel

With the weather more in favour of Windy Miller (ask your parents) than racing, the intrepid JJs rolled up to a wind swept and cold Druridge Bay for the lovely Northumberland Beach Trail Runs. These comprised of a 10km and a Half Marathon. With both races setting off together, there was a last minute decision of what clothes to wear, borrowing of gloves and Simon Baker still in his tracksuit one minute before the start. With kit discarded, the race got underway. A quick trip round the lake, then it was on to the beach for a wind swept three miles on hard compacted sand. The 10km race departed half way along the beach to get their run in to the finish with Laurence White being the first JJ, and 2nd M50, whilst our other Lawrence, Dr Chris, was the second home. With evergreen Storm Smith bringing up the rear.

The Half was still in progress and Tom Dowling was having an outstanding race, coming home in 4th place and 2nd V40. Not to be outdone, Laura Chapman bagged a place on the podium with a stunning 2nd place and 1stsenior woman. Cliff Veitch was next home and 4th V50 with Simon Wells next with a 9th V50 placing. Simon Barker was next home and Jessica Williams followed with her 2nd half marathon in as many weeks. David Newman shrugged off a heavy cold to bring up the rear with his third half marathon in as many weeks. Sadly, the race was slightly short due to a human error and the tide being in, but this didn’t distract from a great race round a lovely part of Northumberland.

With the wind still biting the JJs cheered each other home before dashing for the car and Cliff kindly allowing your chairman to put on the heated seat for the journey home.

Race results:  10km Race

13th Laurence White 00:45:47 V50 2nd

18th Chris La Lawrence 00:47:13 Senior 8th

85th Storm Smith 00:56:42 V50 15th

Race results:  Half Marathon

4th Tom Dowling 01:21:39 V40 2nd

18th Laura Chapman 01:33:20 Senior 1st

30th Cliff Veitch 01:36:40 V50 4th

51st Simon Wells 01:41:11 V50 9th

56th Simon Baker 01:42:28 V40 11th

119th Jessica Williams 01:54:58 Senior 15th

157th David Newman 02:03:51 V60 9th

Limited to 40 competitors, the run was described as ‘We put you on a bus…We blindfold you…We take you to an unknown location…You have no tech, no map, no watch, no idea where you are…Will you make it back to HQ or be lost for ever? ‘The Drop’

Two options were available 10 miles and 15 miles as the crow flies from the start. The Jesmond Jackals (Mark Adamson, Laura Chapman, Tom Dowling, Jonny Greenwell, Oliver Howell, Joe Inns and Niran Patel) all signed up as a team in the 10 mile event.

With impeccable timing the Jesmond Joggers Christmas Party was scheduled the day before The Drop, ruining plans for a heavy sesh. So it was with heavy hearts that the Jesmond Jackals departed from the festivities at a sensible hour in order to wake up bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready to take on The Drop. The weather took a turn for the worse, with ice, rain and snow all predicted, leading to last minute additions to the mandatory kit each person was expected to carry (full waterproofs, whistle, foil blanket, hat, gloves, insulated layers, water, snacks, torch). No navigational equipment was allowed with all watches, mobiles stashed in sealed bags, only to be opened in an emergency.

Sure enough The Jackals woke to find a heavy frost and snowfall overnight leading to treacherous paths. The Jackals all met at The Cosey Dove in Spital Tongues, Oli was unable to join the team on the day and it was no real surprise that Niran ‘The Flake’ Patel would not be coming either, faking an ankle injury on his way in. The Jackals didn’t really understand what to expect, with details of the race specifically vague. After race number collection the Jackals boarded the bus and donned on their blindfolds with excitement. As the bus departed The Jackals attempted to work out where the bus was headed by feeling the turns and speed of the road. The driver being wise to this tactic, chose a circuitous route through town, circling roundabouts and doubling back, thwarting any attempts to work out where he was headed. It worked! The Jackals we were completely clueless when they arrived at their destination.

Blindfolds were removed and the Jackals exited the bus, and watched their fellow competitors scatter off in all directions.  It took a beat until Mark A. exclaimed, ‘it’s the start of The Pie and Peas race we are in Ovington’, and sure enough he was right. Knowing exactly which way to go from there did wonders for The Jackals motivation, and they quickly left their competitors behind, as they headed down the hill, through Ovingham, over the Tyne and along the riverside path through to Wylam and following the Hadrian’s Way cycle path back to Newburn.  It was a beautiful route along the Tyne, The Jackals appreciating the crunch of the snow and ice underfoot and the crisp air, giving the event a very festive vibe.

Taking it in turns to push the pace, the Jackals made great progress along the riverside path but being mindful of Jonny ‘Gammy Ankle’ Greenwell,  Tom ’Dodgy Shin’ Dowling and Laura ‘Covid Lungs’ Chapman; with only Joe and Mark appearing to be completely injury/illness free.

Past Newburn the route took a less beautiful route, through Lemington, over the A1 and northbound to the West Road, cutting through Cowgate, where delightfully crunchy frozen leaves were replaced with frozen dog sh*t and an uphill struggle. Cutting through Nuns Moor the team arrived back at the Cosey Dove and were genuinely surprised to find out we were the first back and with a comfortable lead of over 30mins on 2^nd place. Yay!

The team celebrated their success in the warmth of the Cosey Dove with Cheesy Chips (Mark^TM) and some free beer courtesy of the generous barman.

JJ Runadvisor – 5 stars!

1st place – Jesmond Jackals – 1:53:56.