A cloudless, breezeless, merciless morning on Brighton seafront. It was roasting hot and that was just for the spectators. Your correspondent picked up a nasty pair of deep-fried calves for his apparently-recently-painted-ballustrade-leaning troubles, not to mention a rather hoarse voice.
No spoilers. I'll report that all made it round in fairly decent shape. I managed to miss Tom Roper not once (14 miles) but twice (25 miles). Apologies Tom. I also missed Mr & Mrs Stillwaddler on their westbound trek, happily not on the return leg. SW gave me a cheery wave and beaming smile as she passed.
And Dan. Well, Dan was simply unmissable.
It's fair to say that those I saw looked remarkably sanguine given the brutality of the conditions, with the notable exception of Simon Ho who had flown past at 14 miles well set in the top fifty, but by the time he reached us with just over a mile to go he was propped up between two local runners who, I presume, helped him hobble over the line.
Stevio, Adi, Shaun (Billings), Cathy, all looked in good form and finished strongly. A select few pictures are offered below for your perusal.
I bring no less impressive news of Ladyrunner and her adventures on the cobbled streets of Rotterdam.
Equally blessed with a very warm day and little breeze Julie adopted a run 2k/ walk 45 seconds strategy, sauntering home in a hugely impressive 3 hours 54 minutes.
Hats, shirts and most other garments off to all our intrepid sons and daughters of Pheidippides.
I'm off to bathe in aftersun lotion before, suitably inspired, loping gently across the downs with my fledgeling pack to soak up the last rays of this fabulous day. I shall then down a brace of hard-earned Hopping Hares and retire to (hopefully) watch Rory McIlroy don a rather old-fashioned yet undeniably stylish green jacket.
The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph
Brighton Marathon entry 2011
