Belles take London Marathon team gold

The Belles are fast running out of space at home for their silverware this year, a problem that was exacerbated for three of the team after it was announced that they had won gold in the team category at the London Marathon.

Jess Saunders, Laura Bowman and Alix Vermeulen won the England Marathon Team Championship, which is calculated by aggregating the finishing times for the first three runners from a club.

Saunders led the team home in 2:50. “I’m very proud to be able to race with such a strong Belles marathon team,” she said.

“Being with Belgrave has given me so many opportunities and makes all the long runs and hard sessions worth it!”

Jess Saunders is all smiles after powering home in 2:50

Bowman finished in 2:56, with Vermeulen following in closely behind in 2:58. “It was quite unexpected,” Vermeulen said, “especially the gold!”

“I’m very very pleased with this and I’m thrilled to share it with the girls!”

Alix Vermeulen cruises over Tower Bridge