Paris Marathon 2007

The 2007 Paris Marathon was an interesting experience for a group of runners from Sheffield and Prestatyn who travelled to the French capital to have an attempt at this huge distance.

Amongst the group there was a huge range of fitness and experience.The fact that they all finished the race however was a testament to the determination of all the runners.

On the day however the great surprise was the fast time set by Laura Pennington, the only female in the group but the fastest runner by a huge margin. On the day Laura was over an hour faster than any of her male competitors. Despite her initial nerves she proved to be the coolest of the runners when it came to pacing herself for the full distance. Running at a steady pace for both halves with a sensible split meant that Laura reached the end of the race comfortably and untroubled.

Brother David set off at a much faster pace.For a novice runner he set a remarkable first half time of 1.40. He was unable to sustain this pace and finished eventually in over five hours, vowing to do more training next year.

Jamie Kershaw showed huge camaraderie by staying with his Sheffield friend Liam throughout the race. Jamie, a veteran of three marathons now, is capable of much faster times but chose to run with a colleague. He led the more inexperienced friend to the end to finish in a good time of five hours.

The rest of the group, Chris Woodfine, Matt,and Elliot all got to the end showing great courage to finish what was for them a massive achievement.

Photos ... a link to more photos...and... the night out

Laura Pennnington in the 2007 Paris Marathon with only a mile to go looking fresh and strong.Laura went on to complete the marathon in just over 4 hours, a remarkable achievement for her first attempt at the distance.
The class of 2007.From left to right David Pennington, Chris Woodfine, Matt, Jamie Kershaw, Laura Pennington and on the far right Liam.
Elliot had just cause to be satisfied with his performance.A knee injury slowed him in the race but he bravely carried on to complete the marathon with the rest of the team.