Falklands : Falklands Runners Score Big in Stanley Marathon
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 21.03.2005 (Article Archived on 04.04.2005)

The first annual Stanley Marathon has ended at 1600 on Sunday, 20 March 2005 with many of the winners having Falklands connections.

Photos (c) J. Brock (FINN) - H. E. the Governor Mr. Pearce Handing out the prizes to the Stanley Football Club.

FALKLANDS RUNNERS SCORE BIG IN STANLEY MARATHON

By J. Brock (FINN)

H.E. the Governor Mr. Pearce presents the prize to the Stanley Football Club

The first annual Stanley Marathon has ended at 1600 on Sunday, 20 March 2005 with many of the winners having Falklands connections.  Last walker, Jane Clement, made it with just seconds to spare – six hours after she started.  She was the last entrant to finish.  Standard Chartered Bank Manager, Nick Hutton, who also ran in the marathon, spoke to those who gathered at the prize giving.

“We are all standing here because without a roof on the Town Hall, this was the next best venue.  If you will indulge me just for a few minutes, to thank a few people because events like this don’t just happen.  And, I am very grateful to a number of people for all the work that they’ve done.  The winner was Hugh Marsden, as you will find out.  Hugh actually played a very significant role in organising this.  There were exchanges of e-mails to strengthen my resolve when I was on the boarder-line of cancelling the event.  But also, a week ago, he was actually out riding the marathon route on his bicycle, while measuring the course.  I would also like to thank my brother for also coming out to measure the course and putting up the signs, along with Stuart Holsford, who is the Bank’s country manager in Iraq and Afghanistan, who came over to help with the organising and also running in the event.

In particular, I would like to thank the bank staff and all their families for giving up their Sunday to coming out and doing the marshalling.  This was a real community event.  Steve and Jeanette Vincent and Tim and Sally Blake did the relay handovers.  The Falklands Conservation Watch Group organised all the drinks stations and took that off our hands.  I think they did a great job.  Mr. Keith Biles, the former Manager of the Bank and Kate and Stevie Burston organised the time checking at the airport and at Sapper Hill.

I thought the Royal Falkland Islands Police did a sterling job this morning with traffic control, so I’d like to thank them.  I think the media coverage has been very good and I thank the news outlets for the coverage they have given this to try and raise its profile.  Thanks to Ross Chaloner who produced the maps and the PWD Crew that came out and organised the barriers Late last night they set those up.  Stanley Services, the Narrows Bar and the Airport made their toilets available on a day they didn’t really have to so I appreciate that.

Beth Cubit works in our London Office and she came down here to help me because I was running in the race.  She has been the race director and she’s held it all together today and I am very grateful to Beth for all the work she did.  I would also like to thank everyone present for making this a success.  We hope that this is the first of many annual marathons.  In the course of arranging this, I have been approached by a tourism company that talked about laying on cruise ships to bring runners down to run in what is now the Southern most marathon in the world.  That can only happen because you came out today.  I really appreciate that.

There is one personal thanks I would like to make.  If Steve Dent hadn’t been around, this race would not have happened.  There were many times that I lost the resolve to continue but he kept me on the path.  He also organised training schedules and he helped me in the purchase of all the equipment you have seen around the place.”

Steve Dent then came forward and accepted a tankard for all of his hard work.

H. E. the Governor Mr. Howard Pearce, before he handed out the prizes, said a few words.

“I have to say, as a non runner, I could only regard this event as an exercise in collective masochism.  And, I would like to mention the two masochists and Chief – first of all, Nick Hutton, who not only took on the task of organising this event but has actually run in it as well.  I think that’s quite amazing. 

Also, I would like to mention Stuart Holsford, who is Standard Chartered Bank’s Manager in Iraq and Afghanistan.  As if that were not enough, he has also run today and that is even not enough.  Today was his 6^th marathon out of seven, which he is running in seven months.  I might add that he is raising an enormous amount of money for charity. 

I would like to reiterate your thanks to everybody that has been involved in organising today’s event.  I think it’s a tremendous effort and an enormous success.  Nick, it has been your vision, your idea and it must be tremendously satisfying to see it come through to this very successful day. 

I very much hope that this will, indeed, be the first of many marathons to come here in the Falkland Islands.  It’s the world’s most southerly marathon.  If this could become an annual event in the marathon runners’ calendar, I think that would be tremendous.

I would also like to thank and congratulate everybody who has taken part in this event.  I know that Nick had one or two worried moments when the applications weren’t coming in.  We had a conversation on Surf Bay Beach about that and I may have said one or two encouraging words then about it all happening at the last minute – it has. 

If one does enjoy these things, I hope, you’ve enjoyed it.”

TEAM RELAY PRIZES:

3^rd:  3 hrs. 16 min. 54 sec.  Lancashire Lads

2^nd   3 hrs. 15 min. 08 sec.  Log SP Squadron “B”

1^st   3hrs. 2 min. 20 sec.     Falkland Islands Football Team

WOMEN’S OPEN:

3^rd  4 hrs.  53 min. 25 sec.  Trudi Liddle

2^nd  4 hrs.  21 min. 10 sec.  Sarah Dance

1^st  3 hrs.  34 min.  49 sec.  Kelly Angus

MEN’S OPEN:

3^rd  3 hrs. 19 min. 53 sec.  Reshem Shreips

2^nd  3 hrs. 11. min. 46 sec.  William Bundy

1^st  3 hrs. 07 min. 30 sec.  Hugh Marsden

A special prize was awarded to Tom Blake for being the first Falklands born runner across the finish line. 

This article is the Property and Copyright of Falkland Islands News Network.