Marathon debutante Bruinvels clocks course record as Martelletti lives up to pre-race favourite tag in Manchester

Georgie Bruinvels and Paul Martelletti saw off good domestic fields to win the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon on Sunday.

Dominant on her marathon debut, Aldershot, Farnham & District athlete Bruinvels clocked 2:37:21 to break the women’s course record and secure victory by almost seven minutes.

Run Fast’s Martelletti followed up his six victories over the half-marathon distance in 2015 with a win over 26.2 miles, crossing the finish line in 2:17:47 as windy conditions made his 2:16:49 from Berlin in 2011 an even tougher target.

Following a cross-country season which saw her finish fourth at the English Nationals and seventh at the Inter-Counties and World Cross trials, Bruinvels had run a 74:28 half-marathon for seventh at Reading in March.

She returned to the roads to take more than a minute off Emily Wicks’ 2014 course record in Manchester, beating Belgrave Harrier Samantha Amend who ran 2:44:13 and St. Helens Sutton runner Gemma Connolly with 2:47:18.

Martelletti was almost a minute clear of men’s race runner-up Eoin Callaghan of Star Of The Sea who ran a big PB of 2:18:45. Cardiff’s Michael Kallenberg was another to set a big PB as he ran 2:19:00 in third.

Altrincham’s Dave Norman was the winner in 2012 and 2013 and although he didn’t compete this year his brother Andy was in action, however after a promising first half he failed to finish.

Wheelchair racer Mark Telford clocked 1:46:52 for his first victory over 26.2 miles.

The marathon had been officially started by Ron Hill and Mara Yamauchi, with Hill forming part of a ‘champions’ relay team featuring four former Manchester Marathon winners. He was joined on the team by Steve Kenyon, who ran 2:11:54 for the fastest time at a Manchester Marathon in 1981; Bashir Hussain, who had a hat-trick of wins between 1996 and 1998, and Jackie Newton, who won the women s race in 1998.

Four Athletics Weekly readers were also running the marathon as event ambassadors, with Andy Pearson running 2:34:15, Gill Bland finishing just outside three hours with 3:01:20, Tom Martin clocking 3:21:49 and Amile Inusa running 4:11:44. You can read about their preparations for the marathon in a series of updates for AW, the most recent of which can be found here.

See the April 23 edition of Athletics Weekly magazine for a more in-depth report by Trevor Baxter and pictures by Harry Shakeshaft

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