21 Striders ran in marathon

From the archive, first published Monday 30th Apr 2007.

THE hot spring weather helped boost the number of marathon runners from the Billericay Striders running club.

Last week they boasted 19 runners in the race, but by Sunday two more had shown their hand to battle through the exceptionally hot weather.

Club secretary Dave Sweet said: "Yes, we did actually have 21 members who started and only one didn't finish, because of breathing problems around the 12 mile mark.

"Paul Wyatt, who's in his 30s, took just three hours, three minutes to run the course, beating his personal best by more than 30 minutes.

"He's been a runner for some time, but has only just joined the club and has improved his training since then."

However, Mr Sweet did admit the conditions hit his efforts in the event, which saw five club members finish the event in less than three-and-a-half hours.

Laughing he said: "It took me three hours, 14 minutes and 31 seconds. That's two seconds slower than last year, so obviously I'm slightly disappointed."

Most of the club's runners took their sore feet to the Blue Boar in Billericay High Street to spend Sunday evening re-telling stories of the race.