Lowe bags the bronze at national championships

One-lap specialist Phillipa Lowe, representing the University of Hertfordshire, delivered the race of her life to come away with a brilliant bronze medal in the 400m.

Lowe started off the competition with a win in her heat, completing the lap with a controlled time of 56.47s, which sent her through to the semi-finals.

In the semis, she ran a quick 54.75, fast enough to qualify for the final, where she finished a close third with a PB of 54.50. Her time places her in the top-10 for the UK for the year to date.

Also competing in the championships were Sarah Grover, running for York University, who qualified for the semi-final of the 800m with a time of 2:25.36, and Jon Rendell, who went through to the final in the 4x200m relay for his university, Cardiff Met.

Despite their efforts in qualifying, the Cardiff Met team finished well off the pace after a fall.

Elsewhere, four Dacorum & Tring AC Road Runners – husband and wife team Doug and Esther Hamilton, Doug’s brother Duncan and girlfriend Rachel Lewis – took on the Hampton Court Half Marathon in preparation for their spring marathon and ultra marathon endeavours.

Esther is training for the Brighton Marathon, her first attempt at the distance, to raise funds for Prostate Cancer UK, while Rachel and Duncan will take on the Edinburgh Marathon in May, with Rachel running for the Charis Tiwala charity.

Closer to home, a team of 13 Road Runners took part in the GVH 17-mile training run as they gear up for the London Marathon and a range of other spring marathons.