EIGHT Dursley Running Club athletes were on the start line for last Sunday’s Virgin London Marathon around the streets of the capital.

Andy Hara, Dave Halford, Peter Woodward, Nathalie Langley, Neil Malpass, Rich Shirley, Laura Gaby and Rachael Goatman-Thomas all took on the 26 miles 385 yards challenge, with Goatman-Thomas taking another step on her fantastic journey from alcoholic to athlete, raising around £4,000 for the charity Addaction.

Shirley (pictured above finishing) ran his first ever marathon and was through 5km in 21:21mins, and, with a half-marathon personal best of under 85 minutes, three hours looked possible.

Hawkins posted 25:48mins for his first 5k, which was true old school running, take it out hard and hold on!

Behind Hawkins, Malpass, Halford, and Woodward started more conservatively. Goatman-Thomas completed 10K in one hour 17:32mins, slowing to a more realistic pace of around nine minutes per kilometre.

Shirley’s showed exemplary pacing up to 25km, varying by only three seconds as he reached half-way in 91 minutes.

By now, all the Dursley athletes were well into their strides. Langley had started steadily along with Gaby at 6:46 mins/km pace, and maintained it around that mark up to 35km whilst Gaby dropped away. At 30km the Dursley athletes’ efforts began to take their toll. Shirley dramatically slowed, Hawkins also suffered over the last 12k and Malpass reported his legs were going AWOL Goatman-Thomas dropped to 10:16mins but picked it up again to finish nine mins/km.

Hara and Langley limited their losses over the last 12 kms with Hara picking up his pace in the last two kilometres, his first 5K was his slowest until he reached 35km and the variance over the race was a mere 22 seconds.

Shirley kept going to stride home in The Mall in three hours 12:13mins. Hawkins was next in three hours 52:32, an excellent 46th in the MV65 category.

Halford came home comfortably in three hours 57:34, Woodward was just past the four-hour mark by seven seconds, and Hara’s excellent pacing saw him home in four hours 07:57mins.

Malpass was not far behind in four hours 10:35mins, Langley was home in four hours 45:27mins Gaby four hours 49:57, with Goatman-Thomas the club’s Lanterne Rouge finishing in an incredible six hours 11:17mins.