
AFTER having an 18 month break from marathon running Leamington C & AC’s Sue Harrison accepted an invitation to return to the ‘Conergy’ Hamburg Marathon on Sunday.
Harrison, ranked 24th on the elite women’s start list, started conservatively with the intention of running an even paced race. Passing the 10km point in 36-34 and halfway in 77-26 she found herself within seconds of her target time.
Rising temperatures slowed the pace but Harrison was not the only one to suffer at this stage as only one of the top 12 ranked women was able to record a personal best.
That was Irina Timofeyeva from Russia who set a new course record of 2-24.14, over four minutes clear of Kenya’s Pamela Chepchumba.
Harrison clocked 2-39.50 to claim 17th place and 86th overall in the joint men’s and women’s results. It puts her 5th on this year’s UK marathon ranking list.
Harrison, who is supported by LA Fitness Warwick, said “Hamburg Marathon was superbly organised and the crowd support was amazing. I will now take a couple of weeks break before sitting down with my coach to plan the rest of my year.
“I was hoping to run a new personal best but, having beaten a number of athletes who had competed for their countries in major championships, I am fairly satisfied with my achievement.”