Marathon woman Ania braves brutal Boston run

The colours of Dacorum and Tring AC were flown across the country over the Easter weekend '“ and even overseas.
Ania Gabb jumps for joy with her Boston Marathon medalAnia Gabb jumps for joy with her Boston Marathon medal
Ania Gabb jumps for joy with her Boston Marathon medal

Hayley Oates competed in the first-ever Formula 5 Duathlon event, which consisted of a 1.6km run, 8km cycle ride, 1.6km run, 8km bike and another 1.6km run.

Organised by Big Cow Events at the National Bowl in Milton Keynes, near to Teardrops Lakes, it was a completely closed bike circuit and a pretty run.

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Hayley plodded through the runs and made her time up on the bike sections, which she loved, to finish as the first lady overall in 59:46 – and was the third-fastest on the bike, even including the men.

RunThrough’s Good Friday 10km event held in London’s Victoria Park, which borders South Hackney and Bow in the East end of London, offered wide, flat paths and an opportunity for a personal best (PB).

The route did not disappoint and D&T’s Andy Guilder stormed round in a new PB of 49:37.

The start of the long Easter holiday weekend saw D&T’s forthcoming London Marathon runner Celia Findlay take on the Easter Maidenhead 10-miler, held on Good Friday.

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Having tweaked her calf 
at the Oakley 20km just 
10 days’ ago, this race was a 
test to see how she fared 
and her calf held up.

Celia finished as the third VF50 in an impressive time of 74:00. This speedy time was enough to smash the V50 club record which Celia already held.

D&T’s Kate Crossland and Matthew Sudlow battled the elements while taking on the Yorkshire Three Peaks Challenge over the weekend.

As if trekking a total of 24 miles and scaling Ingleborough, Pen y Ghent and Whernside – the three highest peaks in God’s own country – wasn’t tough enough already, the heavy rain, strong winds and sleet certainly didn’t make it any easier.

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They completed the challenge just shy of 11 hours in a very respectable 10:58.

Across the pond, the weather on Easter Monday was substantially more clement, soared to a blistering 26 degrees in New England, USA, for the flagship Boston Marathon.

Despite the lack of breeze or shade, D&T’s Ania Gabb powered round Boston’s 26.2-mile course.

Ania said: “It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, a million times tougher than I imagined”.

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The course offered very little downhill respite, being mostly uphill and with few flat sections. Ania was on target for her goal of 3:05 up until mile 15 when the hills and heat proved particularly testing.

Seeing partner Rhys at mile 21 was emotional as she felt mentally and physically spent by then.

Ania is a seasoned marathon runner and said she had never felt like this before.

Unfortunately, at the finish line, all Ania’s efforts accumulated and she ended up being stretchered off the medial tent, racked with cramp and exhaustion.

Despite the incredibly challenging conditions and course, Ania still finished in a staggering 3:15:53.

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