Harrison walks the Black Dog

Needing to show the England selectors her endurance levels, Leamington C&AC’s Sue Harrison opted to sidestep the Regency 10k and travel to Suffolk to contest the 29th running of Bungay Running Club’s Black Dog Marathon.

Warm, sunny conditions faced the runners on a testing two-lap course through the Suffolk countryside.

Harrison’s aim was to run just under seven minutes per mile for the 26.2-mile race and after a steady start she found herself in eighth place overall at the halfway point which she reached in just over 88 minutes.

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The 39-year-old’s consistency over the second lap saw her cross the line in 2hrs 56min 19sec to finish third overall and smash the women’s course record by more than 12 minutes.

It was a double success for the organisers as race winner Carl Prewer (Lowestoft RR) took two minutes off the men’s course record with his winning time of 2:42:56.

The second woman home, Monica Fee from Long Eaton RC, was nearly 18 minutes behind Harrison in 3:14:09.

Harrison confirmed she was more than satisfied with her race pace which saw her miling under 6min 45sec, adding: “Any runner looking for a spring marathon should consider this race as it is a fair test and superbly organised.”

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