A NEW record was set at the annual London marathon recently as a bumper 53,0000 runners took up the challenge of running the 26.2 mile course and among them were four brave souls from Aberystwyth Athletic Club.

Following his incident plagued run at the Boston Marathon and a miraculous ankle injury recovery, Edd Land completed the course in a sub three hour time of 2.56.48.

Lina Land finished in 4.19.25 with Mel Hopkins doing his first London marathon in a time of 4.21.32 and Vlad Prodan crossing the finish line in 4.58.46.

12 Lina and Edd Land - all smiles after completing London Marathon
12 Lina and Edd Land - all smiles after completing London Marathon (Pic supplied)

For Edd Land it was an opportunity to get back to track after Boston: “I went out to Boston looking for a sub three hour run but basically everything that could go wrong did go wrong.

“I wasn’t sure if my ankle would heal in time for London, and it was touch and go, but luckily for me it did and in the end I was very happy with the time.

“This is a huge event now but that does mean the support is incredible thought the whole of the race, and good to see Aber AC represented among the thousands.”

Closer to home and the annual Dyfi Dash Sprint Triathlon is an excellent event if you want to try out your skills at a triathlon.

Organised by Clwb Triathlon Cerist in Machynlleth it incorporates a 400m pool swim, a 19km cycle ride and a 6km run.

Eight Aber athletes took on the challenge with a few venturing into triathlon competing for the first time.

One of those was Damian Sidnell who led the Aber contingent home in a time of 1.21.27 securing 2nd in his age category.

Line Macaire was not far behind in 1.23.41 with Billie Atkins in 1.36.31 and Lynwen Huxtable completed her first ever triathlon in 1.37.25.

Another first timer Moss Inns finished in 1.39.54 with Irene Griffiths securing an 11 minute PB in 1.48.41 with Martin Tranter coming in at 1.56.46 and Rachel Richards completing her first ever triathlon in 2.06.39.

For Rachel – this probably won’t be her last triathlon: “I entered this race in February, not sure why considering I struggled to swim more than a length without forgetting to breathe, but I thought why not, something different!

“I did get a bit anxious in the swim with everyone watching and I then lost a couple of minutes on the bike when the chain came off, but in the end I was delighted with my time.

“This is a great event, especially for triathlon newcomers and I would definitely do it again.”

If you would like to hear more about Aberystwyth Athletic Club and join in its activities visit aberystwythac.wordpress.com or find the club on Facebook.