MBNA CHESTER MARATHON Chester Racecourse, 08 October 2023
incorporating the British Masters championships
Over a less than easy course the event has grand plans for the future and here incorporated the British
Masters Championship as well as home countries team and England Masters event, Martin Duff reports.
The event hosted its first British Masters records:
- Annabel Granger (Pictured in her England strip) in her first marathon as a W50 set a new age group record of 2:47:44 to beat the previous best by around three minutes, when she was the first home in the British Masters championship. She was in fifth place overall behind Reading’s Naomi Mitchell who won the open race the title in 2:41:21, albeit a time well outside her best 2:30:34 when finishing second in the 2021 Manchester Marathon. She also lies second in the 2023 W45 lists for her London Marathon 2:45:21.
- Then Treena Johnson improved her own W60 record by being the first over-60 woman inside three
hours with 2:57:24 as the age group record continues to evolve.
Also In women’s race: - Second overall woman was the ultramarathon runner W35 Melissa Gibson, who was the first master
in 2:43:32. This was a marginal personal best, on the back of running in the South Africa Comrades
Ultramarathon in June and 5 more marathons in the last five weeks. She was not entered in the
BMAF championship although was part of the England Masters team in the separate England
Athletics Masters International. - the oldest competitor was W80 Eileen Hieron, in 6:13;28 and duly took her BMAF medal. She was
also first W80 in the London Marathon.
In the men’s open race, masters athletes also figured prominently: - The first master home in the men’s race was Jack Nixon of St Edmund Pacers win in 2:24:28 and he
finished in second place in the overall open race to the younger Ashford runner Marshall Smith,
whose 2:21:32, a near three-minute personal best. It was also a personal best for Jack Nixon as he
improved his time from Manchester earlier in the year by 40 seconds. - In third spot in the open race was Swansea’s Blair McWhirter with 2:27:48 to annex the BMAF M40
gold and did so by nearly two minutes from Jim Hickinbottom. - Martin Green won both open and BMAF M45 titles with a 2:34:27 clocking, despite being only the
third ranked in the UK in his age group. - Michael Aldridge has won BMAF titles at various distances and here, in his first year in the age
group, added the overall and BMAF M50 marathon title with a 2:31:13 clocking, his best for ten
years to go second on the overall UK rankings for the year. - There were comfortable overall and BMAF wins for Lee Aherne and Neil Kelly in the M55 and M60
classes but Arunners Tim Boone who annexed BMAF gold had to concede to Datchet’s Chris Higgs by
more than six minutes in the M65 open race. - M70 John Swift had a three-minute victory over fellow BMAF runner Stephen Mead as David Crook
was the oldest male finisher in 4:50:44 but did not enter in the BMAF event.
Overall:
1 M Smith (Ashf) 2:21:32; 2 J Nixon (St Ed, M35) 2:24:28; 3 B McWhirter (Swan, M40) 2:27:48; 4 J Bromley
(Buckley) 2:28:32; 5 R Payne (Clee) 2:29:04; 6 A Darby (Ely, M35) 2:29:27; 7 J Hickinbottom (Shrews, M40)
2:29:46; 8 M Alderson (Low F, M35) 2:30:34; 9 J Dakin (Der) 2:30:36; 10 M Cooper (St Alb, M40) 2:31:07
M40: 4 J Hudson (Norw RR) 2:33:04; 5 M Amos (Hunt) 2:34:17; 6 L McIntyre 2:36:24
M45: 1 M Green (N Wales RR) 2:34:27; 2 C Filer (Wyc P) 2:36:11; 3 S McCarron (Sale) 2:39:43; 4 C Griffiths
(Roth) 2:41:13; 5 J Lidbetter (SoC) 2:43:31; 6 D Thomas (B&R) 2:43:39
M50: 1 M Aldridge (Woott RR) 2:31;13; 2 D Lawson 2:33:40; 3 S Shaw (ESM) 2:37:34; 4 T Sadler ((C’brook)
2:38:51; 5 A Quigley (W End) 2:41:05; 6 T Farrer (Hunts) 2:41:37
M55: 1 L Aherne (P Bryn) 2:44:35; 2 D Williams (Mid M) 2:46:48; 3 R McGrath (S’port W) 2:48;25; 4 L Neeld
(Stone) 2:48:59; 5 S Spiers (Les C) 2:51:12; 6 R Gornall (Stroud) 2:51:59
M60: 1 N Kelly (M Aber) 2:47:23; 2 S Plummer (ESM) 3:01:53; 3 G Cockill (R Colch) 3:03:23
M65: 1 C Higgs (Datch) 3:18:43; 2 T Boone (Arun) 3:23:19; 3 J McElhill (Inspire) 3:25:40
M70: 1 J Swift (S’port Str) 3:28:36; 2 S Mead (Stow) 3:31:11; 3 M Walker (S’port W) 3:51:56
M75: 1 K Uzell (Stone) 4:18:49
M80: 1 D Crook (Regis) 4:50:44
BMAF Championship
M35: 1 Nixon; 2 Alderson; 3 J Elgar (MMM) 2:32:13.
M40: 1 Hickinbottom; 2 Cooper; 3 L McIntyre (R Through) 2:36:24
M45: 1 Green; 2 Filer; 3 McCarron
M50: 1 Aldridge; 2 Shaw; 3 Farrer
M55: 1 Aherne; 2 McGrath; 3 Spiers
M60: 1 Kelly; 2 Plummer; 3 G Morris (Ware) 3:04:06
M65: 1 Boone; 2 B Greaves (Royt) 3:27:28
M70: 1 Swift; 2 Mead
M75: no entries
M80: no entries
Women:
1 N Mitchell (Read) 2:41:21; 2 M Gibson (Ealing E, W35) 2:43:32; 3 M Goodrum 2:44:57; 4 L Mapp (Hunts)
2:46;56; 5 A Granger B&W, W50) 2:47:44; 6 L Flynn (Les C, W40) 2:51:29; 7 K King (St Ed) 2:51:59; 8 A
Klucnika (NHRR) 2:53:35; 9 H Tarasewitz (B’wks, W40) 2:53:44; 10 S Flaherty (Bing, W45) 2:53:51
W40: 3 S Hoskin (Mile H) 2:57:47; 4 M Beever (Stainland) 2:58:19; 5 H Roberts (Dart) 2:58:35; 6 : Ebbs (Rei
P) 3:01:24
W45: 1 J Johnson 3:06:34; 3 F Todd (Border) 3:11:49; 4 C McCarron (Sale) 3;12;17; 5 J Bentley (Stone)
3:12:57; 6 R Arnott (NHRR) 3:13:09
W50: 2 B Peake (Aire) 3:09:48; 3 L Andrews (Kenil) 3:14:28; 4 P Davies (SWRR) 3:16;50; 5 R Dowse (L Goat)
3:17:45; 6 J Dawkins (Cornelly) 3:23:56
W55: 1 L Albrecht (Arun) 3:26:12; 2 K Marchant (Beck) 3:27:11; 3 E Prinsep (Roms) 3:27:13; 4 S Watson (Les
C) 3:30:43; 5 A Cobb (R&N) 3:32:23; 6 S Blackburn (Rushmere) 3:35:44
W60: 1 T Johnson (Dews) 2:57:24; 2 C Kluth (Hedge E) 3:29:01; 3 H Bolt (Datch) 3:36:21
W65: 1 A Simmons (Hayle) 3:53:08; 2 F Davies (P’Pridd) 3:56:05; 3 J Binns (Datch) 4:00:19
W70: 1 J Wall (St Ed) 4:00;39; 2 A Newton (BRJ) 4:02:18; 3 L Tout (Tamar) 4:45:14
W75: 1 L Danoch (Ciren) 5:05:45
W80: 1 E Hieron (Durs) 6:08:11
BMAF Championship
W35: 1 H Ansell (Stadium) 3:10:47
W40: 1 Flynn; 2 Tarasewitz; 3 Beever
W45: 1 McCarron; 2 Arnott; 3 N McClusky (Maldwyn) 3:13:14
W50: 1 Granger; 2 Andrews; 3 Davies
W55: 1 Marchant; 2 Blackburn; 3 S Anderegg (Mil K) 3:39:56
W60: 1 Kluth; 2 R Oberholtzer (Blay) 3:45:19; 3
W65: 1 Simmons; 2 Davies; 3 Binns
W70: 1 Newton; 2 Tout; 3 A McKay (Mass F) 5:15:52
W75: Darroch
W80: 1 Herron