Stubbington Green Runners

THE COUNTDOWN TO the London Marathon is less than three weeks away, and for many of the 26.2-milers, all roads pointed to Cranleigh in Surrey.

With April the time to taper, and the marathon training distance start to come tumbling down, this for many of those competing was their final long run before the big day on April 23rd .

Stubbington's Jon Leigh had promised he would use Cranleigh as a steady run, and this he did with a nice and gentle time of 2hrs 48min 32sec to finish 119th . Not far behind in 126th was Nick Kimber who has been training and racing well, to record a useful time of 2:49.19.

Lesley Harding, gunning for her first London Marathon, has been running up to three hours in training. She went nice and steady at Cranleigh for a time of 3:02.04 and 202nd . Lesley has set her prime goal is to get round London, but has admitted she is hoping for a good time too.

The Cranleigh race attracted 417 runners from all over the south of England, many of them from Hampshire. The first man home was Roger Barr from the London-based Serpentine Running Club in a swift time of 2:12.14. Top female finisher was Sarah Gee from Bracknell Forest Runners who came home in a time of 2:28.00.

Stubbington's Jane Butler opted for the shorter 15-mile distance. She finished in a time of 2hr 24min 39sec to place 85 th overall. A field of 153 runners took part in the 15-miler, with the race won by Justin Macenhill from Striders of Croydon in 1:33.07. Unattached runner Beth Handyside was the first woman in 1:50.20 for 12th overall.

The Surrey-based race was relatively flat with few hills. The 15-mile event consisted of a nine-mile lap to the south and east of Cranleigh, followed by a six-mile lap to the west of the town. The 21-mile race repeated the six-mile loop.