Lancashire runner wins at last gasp on a sweltering day for Edinburgh event

Published on Monday 24 May 2010 01:57

PINK tutus, pink kilts and pink faces were seemingly de rigueur for this year's Edinburgh Marathon, the sun which drenched each and every one of the 26 miles from the city centre to the conclusion at Musselburgh Racecourse yesterday ensuring that those without appropriately air-conditioned apparel felt the adverse effects of the conditions.

Beads of sweat poured down the cheeks of one unfortunate runner in a padded super-hero costume, but even those with more serious intentions were not immune. Phil Hinch, of Tipton Harriers, held victory within his grasp when he constructed a two-minute lead after pulling away before the half-way point.

Exhausted and riddled with cramp in the closing stages, he suffered the miserable fate of watching Steve Littler speed by when he was forced to stop within sight of the finish. The sympathetic cheers he received when jogging the final 200 metres were of little consolation.

"I knew he was struggling because they told me at the 24-mile mark that he'd stopped to pick up two bottles of water," revealed Littler, a part-time joiner, who ran 2.26.31. "But there was still a huge gap and I thought the race was still over. At 25, he was coming back to me, but I saw him stop at the final corner and I sprinted past. I was dreaming of getting into the top three but getting first is amazing."

Sarah Gee (Reading) won the women's race by over two minutes from Julie Briscoe (Wakefield) but there were others among the 13,000-strong field who matched their resolution, if not their times, raising millions for good causes en route.

Impressively, one group of four competitors completed the event, having cycled from Leicester over three days last week. "We did 100 miles per day," explained Chris Brown. "So we feel rough now. But all of us are doing Ironman next year so it's good preparation."

The conditions were more favourable earlier in the day when the Scottish half-marathon championships were held amid a dawn drizzle that had the field sheltering under every available tree before the start. For the opening four miles, Scotland's Martin Williams and his fellow Great Britain international David Webb were engaged in a two-way battle out front, disappearing into the thick haar as the remainder of the field disappeared behind.

Turning towards Portobello Beach, Leeds-based Webb accelerated and his rival had no response. Chasing a new personal best, his eventual time of 1.04.55 was five seconds over his target, despite a healthy margin over his disappointed challenger.

"I just felt flat over the second part and I seemed to be going slower than over the second half of last year's full marathon," admitted Williams, who will team up with Webb in this summer's European Championship marathon. "I was going probably a bit too quickly at the beginning.. I know I'm not in shape to sustain that over a half marathon. It was a bit quick.

"David slowed in the second half and so did I but even though I had one eye on the clock, it was difficult to think of making a push when I have bigger things coming up. I didn't want to hurt myself for the sake of taking a few seconds off my time."

Diane Lauder (Gala Harriers) edged out Jennifer McLean (Edinburgh) for the women's title in a personal best of 76.59. "There was a guy following Jenny all the way round and cheering her on," she revealed. "That kind of spurred me on towards the finish when I went past her."