Spring Marathons, 12th April 2026
April is definitely marathon season, and this Sunday we had Claremont representation in three marathons – in three different countries.
Nearest to home, though still a long way south in Brighton, was Alex Oliver Evans. The course stays mainly on the coast, so is by all accounts a beautiful run, but, as we know up here, coastal runs are much-affected by the vagaries of the weather. The sun shone for Alex, but I think the wind must have contributed to Alex, and many others, slowing in the second half. Despite this, Alex can be proud of finishing in 4:18.
Next we cross the Channel to Gay Paree and Sarah Taylor. Starting on the Champs Elysee, the route takes in many of the city’s famous sights before heading east around the Bois de Vincennes and returning along the river with views of the islands, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower. Then it is a stretch through the Bois de Boulogne to finish on the approach to the Arc de Triomphe. Sarah certainly enjoyed it, describing it as “My slowest marathon but the BEST one!
Beautiful route and amazing support 1000/10.”
Finally, further south still, we had our ‘Mackem in Milan’, Catherine Young. Catherine really smashed it, running with almost metronomic precision to finish comfortably under 3½ hours. She even pushed on near the end to record a negative split. She summed it up as “Happy with the return after 5 years; first ever negative split. Already feel like I need to do another one!”. Note that the Milan marathon doesn’t seem to publish finish positions.
Well done to all three.
| Brighton | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 4930 | Alex Oliver-Evans | 4:18:05 |
| Paris | ||
|---|---|---|
| Position | Runner | Time |
| 56436 | Sarah Taylor | 6:04:05 |
| Milan | |
|---|---|
| Runner | Time |
| Catherine Young | 3:23:15 |
