#clickyourclock on your weekend result

Record numbers finished the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday as 39,200 completed the gruelling 26.2-mile journey from Blackheath to Westminster, making the 36th edition of the race the biggest in its history by almost 1,500 runners.

 

One finisher established a new world record and two broke course records on a day when astronaut Tim Peake became the first man ever to run a marathon in space and the event on Earth celebrated its one millionth finisher.

 

The star on the ground was Eliud Kipchoge who produced a #oneinamillion performance to smash the men’s course record and become the second fastest marathon runner in history.

 

Jemima Sumgong provided the day’s big drama, turning near tragedy into triumph just a day after Shakespeare’s birthday, as she rebounded from a heavy fall to seal the fifth Kenyan double in the event’s 36 editions.

 

Sumgong shrugged off her tumble and held off defending champion Tigist Tufa to take the women’s crown in 2:22:58 while Kipchoge out-kicked compatriot Stanley Biwott to retain the men’s title in 2:03:05, one minute 25 seconds inside Wilson Kipsang’s course record and just eight seconds outside the world’s best ever.

 

Kipchoge set a 30km world record en route to victory as he swept over event co-founder John Disley’s London course quicker than anyone else on two legs, becoming the first man since 2008 to defend the London Marathon crown.

 

Tatyana McFadden defended her title too, becoming the first to win four women’s wheelchair crowns in a row since Francesca Porcellato in 2006, while Marcel Hug won the men’s race for the second time to clinch his second victory in six days and deny David Weir a record seventh win. 

 

McFadden and Hug both have maximum points in the inaugural Abbott World Marathon Majors wheelchair series and grabbed gold for their nations in the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup, while China’s Zheng Jin set a T11 world record in the women’s race for visually impaired runners.

 

Before all that breathtaking action, crowds around the Finish Line had already seen a course record fall in the Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon when national cross country champion Josh Cowperthwaite (handicap -1.4) marked himself out as a star of the future by taking six seconds from the Under 15 boys’ mark.

 

The nation’s stars of the present were also in form as four British runners booked their tickets to the Rio Olympics, led by Scot. Callum Hawkins (handicap -6.4 ),who was eighth in the men’s race in a big personal best of 2:10:52 and a new best handicap score.

 

Tsegai Tewelde (handicap -4.2)  was second Briton home, the former Eritrean providing the day’s big shock as he achieved the qualifying mark and took a huge 3.0 points from his handicap score, while Alyson Dixon (handicap -1.5) and Sonia Samuels (handicap -1.2) secured their slots in the GB women’s team and also reduced their handicap score by 0.2 and 0.3 respectively.

 

After the elites came the masses, a record field of 39,523 sent on their way by Peake’s 10-second countdown. All but 377 completed the course, the marathon’s one millionth finisher somewhere among them, their name to be announced on 9 May.

 

Of the celebrity ‘names’ who finished today, none was quicker than world champion cyclist Chris Newton who beat his own best time from 12 months ago as he crossed the line in 2:44:37.

 

Not far behind was the day’s top Dame, the double Olympic champion Kelly Holmes (handicap 7.0), who surprised even herself by cruising down The Mall to clock 3:11:27 as the fastest female celebrity runner and by knocking 0.2 from her handicap score.

 

Actress Natalie Dormer was not far behind in 3:51:21, while ever-present Chris Finill (handicap 2.9) finished his 36th race in 2:56:05, maintaining an incredible record with his 35th sub-three-hour time.

 

Alun Cairns was again the fastest MP in 3:28:02, knocking 10 minutes from last year’s time, while Dan Jarvis also improved his time by running 3:43:38.

 

Meanwhile, there were 31 Guinness World Records, 30 on terra firma, and one in space, where Peake completed the Digital Virgin Money London Marathon in 3:35:21.

 

Sean Fitzpatrick (handicap -0.6) was fastest of the Earthlings as he broke the record for wearing a film character costume in 2:39:08, followed rapidly by Alistair Smith (handicap 13.6), who clocked 2:45:37 as the fastest in a nurse’s uniform.

 

Naomi Flanagan (handicap 5.2) was the quickest of the women, clocking 3:08:34 sporting a Tinkerbelle costume to become the fastest dressed as a book character.

 

“It was an unforgettable experience,” said Peake, a sentiment echoed by more than 39,200 happy London finishers.

 

There were also three records broken at RunBalmoral over the weekend.

Occasional flurries of snow drifted down from the Cairngorms but the cold weather did little to curb the enthusiasm of thousands of competitors taking part in the festival.

Scotland international Jenn Wetton (handicap 1.4), broke the longest-standing record in the history of the Balmoral meeting when lifting the women's title in the Stena Drilling Tartan 10km.

Wetton, who was surprised by the severity of 'the hill' recorded 36:20 to shave three secs off the previous best mark set in 2006 by Aberdonian Lynn Wilson and she also took 0.2 from her handicap score.

The Stirling-based athlete was delighted with the result. She said: "My dad has run here many times before and he told me about the hill, as did my coach, Derek Easton, but it was a lot tougher than either of them made out."

Aberdeen AAC's Nicola Gauld (handicap 1.6) , the 2013 winner, was runner-up in 36:45 and took 0.3 from her handicap score. while Sarah Liebnitz (handicap 3.0) repeated her 2013 result by taking third position in 38:31 and knocking 0.1 from her score.

The over-40's award went to Ashley Pearson (handicap 12.7) in 42:56 and Sylvia Cranston won the over-50's in 44:50.

Scottish 10,000m track champion Will Mackay (handicap -3.6) made up for the disappointment of missing the London Marathon by winning the men's 10km and taking 0.1 from his handicap score.

The Aberdeen AAC runner had planned to compete in the capital but an achilles injury hampered his training so he turned to the Balmoral race instead.

His decision paid off with a clearcut victory in 32:28, finishing 48secs ahead of John Newsom (handicap -3.6) with Andrew Brown third in 35:45.

Mackay was satisfied with his performance, saying: "I was pleasantly surprised as my training hasn't really been going too well. It has been a bit on and off, so hopefully this will be a turning point. It's the first race for a while that I've felt reasonably good."

Alan Reid (handicap 3.3) won the special prize as first kilted runner for the seventh time in 12 years when finishing ninth overall in 37:54. He was also first in the over-50 age group and he took 0.1 from his handicap score.

Mark Norris (handicap 6.2) picked up the over-40's award when taking 10th spot in 37:55.

Rebecca Eggeling, (handicap 3.8), smashed the girls' course record in the Kongsberg Maritime 2.5km race. Rebecca, who also won last year, recorded 7:52 to scythe 11secs off the previous standard set by her clubmate and friend Naomi Lang in 2014.

 

Teenager Anisha Badial (handicap 6.5) set a course record of 20min 48secs when winning the Jogscotland Challenge three mile Wee Trail race on the second day of the festival when bright sunshine, largely blue skies and calm conditions greeted competitors.

The Scottish under-17 trail running champion was delighted but admitted it was a tough run.
She said: "I really enjoyed it but the hills were tough. I'm happy to win and now I'm going to concentrate on the Scottish hill running series."