Ryde Harriers Gary Marshall took bronze in his age category in the Anglo Celtic Plate – a 100-kilometre race staged at Mallory Park Racing Track in Leicestershire.
100 kilometres (62.1 miles) is approximately the distance as the crow flies from Portsmouth to Wembley stadium in London.
The Anglo Celtic Plate is a historic event, where teams of 5 athletes of men and women compete for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, running 20.7 laps of the motor circuit, which contains 2 tough hills on each loop.
Individuals can enter to race against the internationals, and Gary produced a phenomenal performance to finish overall in 6th place in a time of 7hours 11min 02sec.
Despite a bright day for the 08:00 start, a strong north easterly wind made it chilly and hard work from the gun.
Gary – who was extremely well prepared and confident – set off on the first circuit just behind the leaders and settled into a group of 3 athlete behind GB International Rob Payne, where the 3 of them go into their rhythm for a number of laps running each of the 5km loops in around 19min 30sec.
After passing the marathon distance in under 3 hours and then the 50km marker, there were significant positional changes, as athletes tired or the more experienced ultra-athletes had picked up the pace. Gary was the only individual entrant amongst the top 10 internationals with the final 5 laps remaining.
Taking on a planned liquid and nutritional plan at the end of each lap proved very successful, as although slowing slightly, Gary worked his way through the field, passing the early leader, Payne, and still looking very strong and in control.
Having to dig very deeply on the final lap, he finished overall in 6th place, in front of 19 of the men representing their country, with his time representing running each of the 62.1 miles in 6min 56.2sec.
2 of the athletes who finished in front of him were also in the Masters 40-45 category, so this meant that Gary was awarded the bronze medal for the British Championships, a great achievement.
Geoff Watkin of Ryde Harriers commented:
“I have been aware of Gary’s ability to run extreme distances for some time, so we worked together to plan to run in this championship race. His preparation to detail – particularly regarding the fuelling before and during the race – was spot on, which is so important in these long events.
By beating 5 of the men who were selected for England plus an international time, I hope that Gary will have the opportunity to gain an England selection for next year’s Anglo Celtic Plate. He thoroughly deserves it.”
