Spring marathon season is now in full swing and a few PH members have already done their over the last few days, with more to come in London and Belfast over the next couple of weeks.

Last Sunday we had five members competing at the Manchester Marathon. As usual when it comes to marathons, Graeme ‘Marathons Don’t Run Themselves’ Doig was the top man for PH in 2:44:32. Luke McNeil had set a blistering pace, passing halfway in about 1:15 but succumbed to cramp later on, still finishing in a very respectable 2:48:23 on his marathon debut. Another marathon newbie, Aaron Bennet, had done well to make the start line after watching the Pars reach the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden on Saturday afternoon, but still came through to finish in 2:57:44.

Just slightly under 24 hours on from joining the club, though still in his Hamilton Harriers vest on this occasion, Paul McNellis also cracked the elusive sub-3 barrier timing at 2:58:26. Finally, Jamie Strachan was another running his first marathon and managed a very consistent run to come in under his target at 3:27:45.

Also running a marathon last Sunday was Jordy Hutt, who is still in Mexico, and took on the Puerto Vallarta Marathon. Jordy finished in 3:49:42 in very humid conditions, having also suffered from cramp from the 15 mile mark and making for a painful last 11 miles.

Then on Monday, Gayle and Katrina Lindsay ran the iconic Boston Marathon in Massachusetts, USA. Gayle smashed the 3 hour barrier, and the almost 10 year old PH club record, running 2:56.58 as a Project3 Puma athlete. Kat also ran a new PB of 3:16.58.

Closer to home on Sunday, Andrew Wright ran his local race, the Gartmorn 6 Trail Race, and finished 2nd overall, and 1st V50, in 36:18. Malcolm Hammond finished as 1st V70 in 46:44. Neil McLure ran the gruelling Ben Chonzie Hill Race over 22.9k, and with 1435m of climbing, finishing in 3:35:50.

Huge well done all on a superb long weekend of racing. Let’s see what this weekend brings!