It was a very successful weekend in Ghent, Belgium (spelt Gent in Flemish, the majority language) for three Newmarket Joggers, who tackled the Sofico Gent Marathon on Sunday 30th March. Jimmy Smith (2:51:38 SB, 98th of 4,493 overall, 28th of 779 in M40-49, 77.62% age grade) completed his 31st road marathon and his 25th sub 3-hour marathon time, with an impressive finish in his age group, despite no separate 45-49 category. Then came Marc Drury (3:11:03 PB, 418th overall, 18th of 323 in M50-59, 73.08%) beating his previous best time of 3:12:14 gained at Manchester in 2022 and achieving a negative halfway split of 3 minutes. Third Jogger home was Paul Holley (3:15:29 SB, 521st overall, 24th of 323 in M50-59, 76.14%), who stayed with Marc up to 20 miles and took only 57 seconds longer for his second half split, having initially upped his pace from halfway. It was a double birthday weekend, with Paul’s birthday on Friday and Marc’s on Sunday, his PB day😊, so cause for a good celebration all round.
Above top, after the race: Paul, Marc & Jimmy; Marc ringing PB bell; Paul & Marc. Bottom: relaxing in Ghent the
day before the marathon.
Camino Ultra Gratitude 25K, Saturday, 29th March: Just a week after returning from her training camp in Portugal, Caroline Mcintosh (3:20:24, 117th of 127 overall, 61st F of 70, 1st of 1 in F70+, 60.24%) competed in the Gratitude 25K in the Lea Valley, which was a sub-race within the main 50K Camino Ultra event. The route started in Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, and followed the Lee River navigation and towpath all the way down to the London Stadium in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Caroline achieved very even splits along the slightly downhill route; all good preparation for her London Marathon challenge in April.
Above: Some of the beautiful scenery along the Lee River towpath. Thanks to Caroline Mcintosh for photos. In the right hand picture, the London Stadium lies ahead.
Blickling Spring Half Marathon, North Norfolk, Sunday, 16th March: Apologies for missing Jon Brooker’s half marathon race two weeks ago. He recorded 1:40:04 in his first half marathon race of 2025, finishing 54th of 542 overall, 2nd of 14 in M60-64 and earning 71.30% age grade, so a very good performance.
Jon Brooker finishing the Blickling Spring Half Marathon. Thanks to Jon and to Total Race Timing for photo.
Bury St Edmunds (BSE) Half Marathon Beer Run, Saturday, 29th March: Reuben Smith and three friends got together for the opportunity to combine training with visiting as many pubs in BSE as possible; not a race. For the record, Reuben’s distance was 13.6 miles and his moving time 2:13:02; not bad at all, with elapsed time 4:41:54. It was an impressive feat to complete this half marathon run, while calling at a total of about 8 pubs on the way. Photos of the pubs are below…maybe you can name the ones missed off this list…not deliberately. They’re likely all Greene King pubs: The Greengage; The Rushmoor Arms; The Tollgate; The Nutshell; The Fox Inn; Greene King Beer Cafe (attached to brewery?). The BSE Beer and Cider Festival (held inside St Edmundsbury Cathedral) is on for 6 days in late August (leading up to Bank Holiday Monday), so this run could be a successful addition to the Festival program…..summer version of the Jingle Jog.
Thanks to Reuben Smith for all the great photos.