This Is Guernsey

By Tom Edwards

Competitors gather in the Mall following the Flora London Marathon.

JELLY BABIES saved the day for one of the Guernsey runners at yesterday’s London Marathon.

Lee Garland hit ‘the wall’ at 22 miles and might have caved, had it not been for the sweet-toothed generosity of spectators.

The Castel resident turned in a respectable three hours and seven minutes, but was disappointed he did not make his target of two hours 48 minutes.

‘My memories of it are a little hazy and it will take me a while to recover,’ he said.

‘The Jelly Babies definitely kept me going.’

Seasoned marathon runner Mark Oliphant ran a personal best of three hours and 28 minutes.

Speaking this morning, he said he felt ‘pretty sore’ after the gruelling event.

‘The atmosphere was amazing, with people lining the streets pretty much all the way, particularly towards the end.’

Mr Oliphant was running for the Guernsey Cardiac Action Group, because his father had a heart attack last year.

‘I think I raised about £800, which I’m chuffed about. My girlfriend and parents came to watch me. Seeing them was a huge boost.’

Andy Biggins also ran an identical time of three hours and 28 minutes.
He said he was overwhelmed by the sheer number of people who were running.
‘I set out to beat three and a half hours and I set myself a pace aimed at achieving that, but you never know what’s going to happen.

‘A lot of friends came to watch and I saw all of them, which was even more extraordinary.

‘The weather wasn’t great, but that didn’t matter. I was surprised about how much I enjoyed the whole experience and how quickly the time went by.’