Belgrave show strength in numbers at the London Marathon

Belgrave Harriers sent a team to the London Marathon that demonstrated the club’s strength in depth.

An impossible benchmark had been set overnight. On October 2, Belgravians in London woke to discover that their clubmate Reece Edwards had stormed to the Australian marathon crown in Melbourne, finishing his race in 2:14:42 and in third place. 

There would be no podium heroics in London for Belgrave. Instead, with the first Surrey Cross Country fixture just days away, the club fired a warning shot at its rivals in a showcase of its sheer depth of talent. Robbed of the talented Henry Hart by a freak injury in the weeks leading up to the race, 18 Belgravians completed the London Marathon; nine did so in less than three hours.

‘It felt like I was walking’

This was the first full-scale attempt at a London Marathon since 2019. Around 42,000 runners started in Greenwich towards Tower Bridge, before kinking east and back, and finishing on The Mall. Their patience was rewarded with sunshine and cool temperatures; the white heat of the crowds energising, feeding and rallying the runners.

Some runners banded together in search of their goals. Dylan Mitchard and Rob Kelly set out in tandem, locking themselves into six-minute miles with a gang of sub 2:40 hopefuls. Both went through the 10km mark in less than 37 minutes, moving quickly and confidently through the masses.

“It felt amazing,” Kelly said. “It felt like I was walking.” The pair crossed the halfway mark at Tower Bridge in less than 1:19.

Kelly remained on pace for his sub 2:40 target until the 16th mile. “I knew I was cooked at that point but gave it all I had to get home,” he said, “waddling home” in 2:45:11 behind Mitchard, who finished in 2:43:57. Kelly would spend the rest of the evening waddling around pubs in Clapham, “which was way harder than the actual marathon”.

They were followed closely behind by Alex Mills, who completed the race in 2:46:19. Like others who started in the ‘red’ wave, Mills was condemned to a first half spent jockeying for space, after the various starting waves merged in Woolwich. “I’ve gotten quite used to starting further back and find it helps to build into pace, but this was too much,” he said.

Mills was on track for a personal best until around a mile to go, falling just shy of his 2:46:12 set in Seville in February. A Battersea resident, Mills guessed that he had run another 100 laps of the park in the lead-up to London.

On his training, Mills said that his group likes to focus on alternating between sessions at race pace (3*3 laps + half a lap jog/1 lap on ½ off*7) and steady target long runs, these sitting at around 5% slower than race pace.

“I’ve learnt a lot from this approach and think running at the target pace for a good chunk of the marathon distance is essential for understanding the feel and intensity of your goal,” Mills said.

Other standout performances from the Belgrave men included runs from Team Singapore athlete Daniel Leow (2:41:28) and recent joiner Nick Colli (2:51:13). 

‘I’m looking forward to April already’

The 2023 edition will return to its usual April slot. Belgrave participants will once again have to handle the rigours of a cross country season alongside their marathon training. 

The Belles will mount a title defence assured of their strength at the sharp end of races, knowing others can step up when required.

This was Alix Vermeulen’s first marathon. “I’m so happy to have achieved sub three on my first go!” she said. 

Alix Vermeulen emerges from Tower Bridge

“I was lucky that everything pretty much went according to plan - no stitches, gels went down well (besides the last one) and my pacing was good.” This is an understatement: Vermeulen’s race was one of exquisite pace management, posting 5km splits of 4:13 to 4:14 from the 15km mark until the finish.

“I really started to go down the pain cave at 35km,” Vermeulen admitted, her pain concealed by her splits. She emerged from the cave intact, and the French athlete is keen to have another go in a few years’ time.

Belgrave runners were grateful for the support they received from their teammates throughout the race.

“I felt exceptionally lucky to have such amazing support around the marathon course, which certainly helped as in my usual style I went out a bit too fast!” Jessica Saunders said. Finishing at the head of the Belles in 2:50:01, Saunders smashed through the halfway mark in 1:23:00.

Jessica Saunders shows off her finishers’ medal

Like many of her clubmates, Saunders had spent hours in the build up to London thrashing around Battersea Park. Undeterred by that experience, and with even more to give, she is ready to go again. “I’m looking forward to April already,” she said.

Laura Bowman registered the Belles’ third sub-three time (2:56:50), followed by Imogen Mackie in 3:09:10.

Rob Kelly and Dylan Mitchard are all smiles at the finish line