A MEMBER of a Chelmsley Wood running club, who has completed every London Marathon since the event started, safely crossed the finish line at Sunday's event.
Dale Lyons, aged 81, tackled the 26.2 mile course on crutches, but still managed his target of getting round in just under eight hours.
The ardent competitor, from Centurion Running Club, is one of just 11 men who have entered and finished every race since the inaugural marathon in 1981.
Dale, who ran this year's event for the national disability charity Sense, has had quite the running career.
Writing last year, he recalled running two London Marathons in a single day, breaking the Guinness World Record for going the distance while tossing pancakes and "flying" round the course dressed as a bustard - a species of bird which was reintroduced to Britain in the mid-noughties.
This year every one of the dwindling band of "ever presents" lined up for their 38th consecutive year and every one of them made it to the Mall.
Sunday's event - the warmest on record - involved more than 40,000 runners. This is more than four-times the number of men and women who pulled on their running shoes for the first ever event, which took place on a rather drizzly March day.
The "ever presents" website said: "The 11 have completed all 38 London Marathons - some times quicker and sometimes slower.
"They are all club runners and all except one have PBs inside three hours, in some cases well inside! They cover the whole spectrum of today's athletics; they come from all walks of life, different locations and assorted occupation. Most are now retired!!"
You can find out more about the Centurion Running Club, which meets Tuesdays and Thursdays at North Solihull Sports Centre, by visiting their homepage.
No comments:
Post a Comment