Marathon marvels tackle London race

In near-perfect running conditions, Beckie Dawson ran her fastest-ever London race, crossing the finish line outside Buckingham Palace in 3:34.22.

Jon Carpenter, Emma Cook and Samantha Cross were all running their first marathons.

Jon was raising funds for Stay Brave and finished in 5:24.20, raising more than £300.

Emma was raising funds for Papworth Hospital and finished in 5:32.21, raising more than £2,000 so far.

Samantha finished in 5:43.02 and was fundraising for Cancer Research, so far taking her total to over £750.

The Longhorn Running Festival is a hidden gem in the, a six-mile off-road loop with 5k, 10k, half marathon, marathon and 60k ultra options around Sherwood Forest and the grounds of Thoresby Park.

The 5k event saw Fiona Wrisberg and Nicola Irving take on their first event having embraced the recent RunWalkRun sessions.

Fiona finished in 38.03 and Nicola crossed the line in 39.51.

John Burton and Tanya Knight took on the marathon.

Having run the first loop together John then went on ahead and had a strong run, finishing the off-road 26.2 miles in 3:41.57, enough for fourth overall.

John also collected a trophy for first place in his age category.

Tanya completed her fourth marathon of the year in 4:18.19, third in her category.

John is running challenging events to raise funds for Pilgrim Hospital’s Royle Eye Clinic and Guide Dogs and Tanya is fundraising for the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance and Meningitis Now.

Martin Tebbs finished 15th in the 60K Ultra in a time of 6:26.35.

The Authorpe 10k always puts on a fine array of cakes for the finishers and Wrangle’s Tony Tomlin was one of those.

Tony had a good run on the hilly 10k route and finished in 55.04, which he was well pleased with.

Boston Community Runners offer track sessions on a Tuesday evening at the Princess Royal Sports Arena and meet on Thursdays for a social run at the Peter Paine centre, Rosebery Avenue (both 7pm).