HANNAH Alderson may well have found her best distance after celebrating a stunning debut in the TCS London Marathon.
In her first attempt at the classic 26.2 miles challenge the Bristol & West AC runner ran a time of 2hrs 35mins 56secs, which remarkably not only made her first woman across the line from the massed start but also second quickest British woman overall.
Only Rose Harvey from Clapham Chasers, who was in the elite women’s field, ran quicker with 2:27.59 while former GB international and Olympian Steph Twell was slowed than Alderson on 2:39.16.
To further underline the quality of Alderson’s performance it puts her seventh on the South West All-Time List and was a quicker debut than the current No 1, ex-Bristol & West AC Olympian Claire Hallissey (PB of 2:27.44 after a debut of 2:36.14).
“I always wondered if the marathon distance might suit me as I always like running longer distances when I was younger,” said Alderson.
“But the marathon always seemed such a long way but I put in the training and I guess all the training I did when I was younger gave me a good base.
“So maybe it is my distance! But at the moment I am really happy with my debut and it is something to build upon.”