London marathoners - 28 April 2019

Congratulations to the record number of ARC members who successfully completed the 2019 London Marathon: Roxy Babla, Victoria Bird, Barinderjit Cheema, Nick Ford, Claire Gibbs, Nicola James, Anne Kelsall, Marie Lynch, Ian Malsbury, Michael Mason, Victoria O'Connor, Mark O'Rourke, Toby and Angela Oury, Emma Preston, Jackie Shan, Lisa Wakeman and Emily Wilson-Gavin. All are to be congratulated on huge personal achievements.  Our 50+ strong cheer squad was much appreciated too - thank you all for helping promote all that is best about ARC. 

Many of our runners were also fundraising, with a total of over £13200 raised between them for various national, international and local charities.  See below for individual runners' stories:
First ARC finisher in 2019 was Toby Oury, running his last marathon following medical advice after hip surgery and probably suffering from jetlag!  Congratulations Toby on a brilliant run and PB time of 03:08:19.
Second home for the club was Mark O’Rourke  in a PB time of 03:29:21.

After running his first marathon in London during 2015 with a charity place Mark O’Rourke loved the experience so much he went on to catch the “marathon bug”. He went on to run another three marathons.

​For London 2019 Mark was lucky enough to get a place through the ballot and ran for “fun” but trained hard for this great time.  Congratulations Mark.
Nick Ford was our third sub-4 hour finisher,  conquering the marathon in a PB time of 03:56:24, after his first marathon, in Birmingham 2017 "almost broke" him! 

Nick arrived late to the ARC squad after winning his place through a social media competition. Nick chose to use this place to support the Midlands Air Ambulance for whom he raised £910.
Lisa Wakeman, our first ARC lady home was hard on Nick's heels. She fought through sickness on the day to finish in 03:57:08.  Well done Lisa!  

Before the event Lisa said:  "I am running the VLM 2019 after securing a GFA place. Really looking forward to the challenge of running my second marathon along with the training in the lead up to it. Most importantly I am looking forward to experencing the atmosphere of the day and hope to enjoy every minute of it. Will be proud to wear my ARC vest in London!"
Second ARC lady home was Anne Kelsall, who finished the marathon in a Good For Age time of 04:19:28 and enjoyed the sights and experience far more than on her first attempt, with a much larger group of ARC than the three in 2013.

Anne raised £824 for Breast Friends Sutton Coldfield. 
Ian Malsbury gained one of the club places and  finished in a PB time of 04:21:33.

Before the race Ian said: "Ever since I cheered my wife on at the London Marathon I’ve wanted to run it. But being rejected every year I never thought I’d get the chance. I was so excited when I heard I had been given one of the club places, I get to cross a race off the bucket list!"

Congratulations Ian.
Marie Lynch was gifted a charity place through her husband Nigel's work, who raised over £1300.  She completed the race in 04:24:03 - well done Marie.  

This was Marie's third marathon and a bit different to her favoured hilly terrain in Snowdonia!
42 is, as we all know, the answer to "life, the universe and everything" and we had three runners coming in at 4hrs 42.

First of these was Barinderjit Cheema, ​aka Usingh Bolt, completing his 6th London marathon, with Manchester earlier in the month and Milton Keynes the following week.

With a huge JOGLE challenge later in the year, Barry was originally focusing his fundraising efforts there and running London for fun.  However, the loss of a work colleague at an early age inspired him to try to raise money for the British Heart Foundation through his marathon run.  By the time of the race he had raised £380.  
Congratulations to Jackie Shan, our second 4hrs 42 finisher, who completed this, her first marathon, in a fantastic time of 04:42:36.

After 4 failed ballot attempts for the London Marathon she was amazed and delighted to be drawn out for a club place in Nov 2018 and was proud to run in her club colours.
Roxy Babla was our third runner to finish in 4hrs 42 - 04:42:28 to be precise, which was a huge PB for her - many congratulations Roxy!

Having obtained her place in the ballot (for the second time - how lucky is that?) Roxy decided to run for Africa Educational Trust as her family originate from Africa and she is a teacher. Roxy said - "When visiting family in Africa I have been to schools and seen how children are so eager to learn and want an education but just can’t afford it. I believe as a teacher Education opens doors and your education is your wealth something no one can take away from you. Surely these children too deserve the right to a great education and to build their future for themselves and their families?"

​Roxy raised £582.50.  
​​Still in the 4hr 40s, Emily Wilson-Gavin completed this, her first marathon, in 04:48:03.  Well done Emily.
Next to finish was Michael Mason, who gained a charity place, raising money for Whizz Kidz.

Congratulations Michael, for raising £2183.75 and completing the course in a PB time of 04:53:50.  
Angela Oury finished this, her first marathon, in 05:53:58.

Having gained her place for 2018 through the ballot on her first attempt she had to defer after a 6 month illness but by doing so got to run the same event as Toby.

Congratulations Angela on this fantastic achievement.  
First of our 6-hour finishers was Emma Preston, who completed this, her first marathon, in 06:10:53.  Well done Emma.
Nicola James gained a charity place to run this, her first marathon, and raised £3684.30 for PHAB kids who help children with disabilities and their families to enjoy life as much as possible.

Well done Nicola for all your fundraising and for completing the marathon in 06:14:56. 
Victoria O'Connor obtained a charity place to run this, her first marathon.  She ran for Round Table Children’s Wish, who grant wishes to children with life threatening or terminal illnesses. 

Congratulations to Victoria, who completed the marathon in 06:40:47 and raised £1735.
Victoria Bird gained a place to run this, her first marathon, for PROUD, a local support group based in Walsall, set up in August 2004 by parents who have children with Down’s syndrome. 

Congratulations to Victoria, who beat the odds and completed this marathon in 06:46:45.  By the time of the marathon she had raised £1620. 
Claire Gibbs completed this, her first marathon, in 08:11:28.  Well done Claire on this achievement, the impressive training and your amazing determination.