The largest finishers’ medal in the country for record field and record performances

Race report: CLIF Bar Kent Roadrunner Marathon - Saturday, May 30, 2015

Photos: Half the entrants ran in their Roadrunner vests © tzruns

Glorious sunny skies and a cool breeze greeted a record-setting field at the fourth annual CLIF Bar Kent Roadrunner Marathon.  Over four hundred runners lined up for the race with the amazing spectacle of over half the field sporting their Roadrunner vests – a sea of red-white-and-blue!

The tzruns team have evolved their Roadrunner event into so much more than just a UKA-licenced road race.  While it’s still first and foremost a race, there’s also incentives for runners to dress up (this year’s theme was cow-related tomfoolery) and to jump and dance in front of cameras.  All finishers received the largest finishers’ medal in the country.

The undoubted highlight of the race was the incredible performance of Hannah Oldroyd (UKnetrunner).  Yorkshire’s Oldroyd metronomic pacing proved the class of the ladies’ field and she was rewarded with the race win and took home £50 for securing a new course record (2:53:45). What made the performance truly remarkable was the style – Oldroyd ran the whole 26.2 miles wearing a cow hat and tights and even found time to perform a mid-race hand-stand without slowing!

The men’s race was again a demonstration in pacing control with another Yorkshire runner, Simon Newton (Ackworth Road Runners) taking the spoils and the cash prize for another course record (2:40:42).

Photos: Race winners Hannah Oldroyd and Simon Newton © tzruns

This Roadrunner event is all about being inclusive – the lapped course means the speedy guys are always mixed with the rest of the field, creating a unique supportive and friendly atmosphere throughout.  Behind the speedy guys there were heart-warming stories of personal bests and debut marathon achievements.  Amongst the latter, a special mention must go to Mark Ellis (Sleaford Town Runners) and his club mate Mike Folland.  Mark overcame his blindness to complete his first marathon and celebrated his finish with a great deal of excitement thanks to the tactile sense from the enormous finishers’ medal.

Vassos Alexander, known to millions as the sports reporter from BBC Radio 2’s Chris Evans Breakfast Show, completed the race and made a tremendous impression on his fellow runners as he seemed to find the energy to support every one as he ran.

Entries are already open for the 2016 CLIF Bar Kent Roadrunner Marathon (28th May 2016), with the race almost 50% full in the first forty-eight hours.

Photos: The enormous finishers’ medal © tzruns

For more information and to enter, please visit: www.kentroadrunner.com

Men's results

Women's results

Click here for full results