It was an honour for Stuart to represent England once again and earn another National vest at this race on Saturday 26th March, which was televised. The forecast didn’t look good for the day itself, but this didn’t bother Stu too much, as he was there to race and nothing was going to get in the way!

 

Race day arrived, very windy and trying to rain. After warm up, Stu found himself on the start line ready to race with some of the best Half Marathon runners in the world. He was looking to hold a 5m/m pace, and as the race got under way, was lucky just to jump out of the way of the mass pile up – which was due to the eventual race winner’s fall! 

 

Gathered in with a group, Stu’s pace steadily increased mile after mile and it felt great to be among some top Internationals! Passing 10k in 31:25, Stu was on course for his target time. Between 7-8 miles he pushed on a little, splitting the group up. As the skies darkened, Stu knew the wind would become an issue for the last couple of miles. He passed the 10 mile mark in 50:40, so knew a PB could still be on the cards, but, as predicted, the storm hit, bringing heavy rain and strong winds; as Stu turned into the last couple of miles, it was like hitting a brick wall! He pushed on and finished 67:18 – just outside his PB, but Stu was really pleased with his run, finishing 10th in the Home Countries and Open Race, and 72nd in the World Champs.

 

 

A week later found Stu running for the Salford Harriers at the Northern 12 Stage Road Relay race in Sunderland. It was a strong team and had a good chance of winning the event for the first time since 1998. 

 

Stu was on the first leg and, having not reduced his training, already had a few miles under his belt and was feeling good. His leg was a short distance of 4 miles, so he just pushed on early. After the first lap there were three runners at the front, and then two more joined the party. It felt fast – despite heading into the wind and a couple of steep climbs. As they headed into the last mile, the group split, but Stu, having done most of the work on the first two laps, managed to hang on to 3rd on leg one, putting  the team into a solid position, leading them to a win and being crowned the Northern Champs! 

 

The London Marathon will be Stu’s next race, which is not long away now, and all here at TORQ HQ will be cheering him on!

 

The TORQ Performance Running Team is sponsored by the following and without them, we would not be able to do what we do, thank you: