Brilliant Belgravians storm London Marathon 2023

Belgrave Harriers’ women have raced into contention for a medal in the England Marathon Team Championship.

Women’s road captain Mhairi Hall had a superb marathon debut. Photo: Jerry Sun

Roared on by a raucous club supporting contingent on Tower Bridge and with miracles unfolding in the elite packs ahead, 36 Belgravians took to the streets of London for its most famous race. Twenty-nine finished in under three hours.

Belgrave stands on the cusp of making more of its own history, its women’s team having won gold in the England team category in 2022. Marina Wong led the Belles home in a scorching 2:42, followed by Jess Saunders - the sole survivor of last year’s winning team - and Mhairi Hall. Wong was the 14th woman overall to finish the London Marathon.

Saunders, who finished 40th, slashed almost a minute from her 2022 time to finish in 2:49, while Hall completed her first marathon in 2:56. The competition’s outcome, which is decided by an aggregation of the club’s first three runners, will be announced in the next few weeks.

‘The best support I’ve ever had’

Gone were last year’s dry, accommodating conditions. The class of 2023 had to negotiate flash downpours in the first hour of the race, as well as a colder climate. Nobody in claret and gold seemed to mind.

There were heroics across the field. The unbreakable Ollie Garrod finished in 20th position overall, followed by Matt Hensley in 42nd and Chad Wolpert in 107th.

“Yesterday was my ninth London Marathon, and it was by far the best support I’ve ever had,” Garrod said. Belgrave’s world record-holder for 40 miles targeted 2:20, but settled for marginally less after pulling his abductor at the 16th mile.

Belgrave Harriers were ably backed both off and on the course. Neil Wilson became a 2:35 guy with the pacing support of men’s team manager Steve Gardner. Clubmates ran closely together, willing each other on through the rain.

Mimi Corden-Llloyd, also making her marathon debut, battled through the final 10km to finish seconds ahead of Sarah Riceman, both claiming 3:05.

“It was a really tough experience and I feel like I learned so much,” Corden-Lloyd said. “The real high was getting to halfway with my Belgrave teammate Imogen Stead and seeing the swathes of club supporters on Tower Bridge.”

Oliver Walker, who finished in 2:40, echoed Corden-Lloyd’s praise of the travelling band. “There were also several remarks out on the course about how many Belgrave runners there were,” he observed.

The day the music died

Some Belgravians turn out in charity colours at the London Marathon. Laura Shrimpton posted a superb 3:56 and raised £2,564 for the London Air Ambulance along the way.

Shrimpton came into her training for the marathon injured and was unable to run more than a half marathon in the build up. She encountered pain at the halfway point, before her music shut off with 15km to go. But solid nutrition and hydration management brought her home.

“You just tell yourself that pain is only temporary and we are tougher,” she said. “Boom. Done. Elation.”