Stoneman eyes half team win
A SHORT jog to the start, followed by two brisk laps, will be job done for Dylan Stoneman in the 2023 Bath Half Marathon on Sunday.
A personal best and helping the Team Bath AC senior men’s squad to the team title – he will be joined by Alex Carter, Leon Chevalier and Chris Pickering – would add up to a perfect Sunday morning for the 18-year-old international steeplechaser, who lives on the course.
“I’m really looking forward to the race as there will be a lot of people out there cheering me on,” said Stoneman, who is coached by Mark Thomas.
“To be honest I’m not sure how I will go as the last few weeks haven’t been the best as I have been ill and missed a chunk of training.
“But I’ll give it everything and see how it lands. It would be really good if we could win the team award as we were second last year and we have a strong squad with my training partner Alex Carter looking for 67 minutes and Leon Chevalier aiming for around 68 minutes.
“Potentially we have four guys who can run under 70 minutes.”
Stoneman has been eagerly awaiting this year’s race since making his debut in 2022 when he had just turned reached the minimum age of 17.
He ran a personal best of 73mins 36secs that day, having made his half debut a few weeks earlier at Cardiff with 76:26 but has since gone on to break the UK Age 17 record with a sparkling 69:09 at Reading in April.
“If I can run another PB I’ll be very happy,” added Stoneman, a former winner of the Running Bath/chron competition.
And if dad David can achieve his target time of 1hr 55mins then it really will be a happy Sunday in the Stoneman family home.
In the women’s race, Amber Gascoigne heads the Team Bath challenge and will have her sights set on the PB of 81:17 she ran last year when finishing 17th and third W40.
Also look out for the club’s senior endurance coach Paul King, who will be practising what he preaches in his first half since 2021.
■ LAST weekend, King was on the sidelines cheering on the club’s senior athletes at the National Road Relays around Sutton Park, Birmingham, with the women finishing 28th and the men 41st.
“Despite both teams being slightly weakened by injuries, illness and unavailability both the men and women put on a strong performance and should be proud of their efforts,” said King.
“These are the highest positions at the Nationals for both teams that anyone can remember and bodes well for the future.”
Anna Domville (15:35) ran the club’s fastest time on stage one with Bethan Francis (15:36) just behind and then solid support from Annabelle Wallace (16:27) and Ruth Mckean (16:41).
Alex Carter (18:08) set the tone for the men on the hotly contested first stage followed by solid runs from Elliott Avis (18:56); Sean Barry (19:57); Aidan Daniel (19:39); Chris Pickering (18:53) and rounded off by Justin Davies (18:46).
■ FURTHER afield across the Atlantic, Tom Hutchison was crowned over-70s champion at the World Masters Marathon Championships incorporated into the Chicago Marathon.
While Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum hit the headlines with his stunning world record of 2hrs 35secs, Hutchison produced his own amazing performance with a time of 3:27.10 to claim his first global title.
And for sure Hutchison’s outstanding performance was achieved without wearing those new Nike prototype carbon-plated super shoes weighing in at around £400.
Clubmate Justin Maelzer was also running and finished in 4:16:00.
■ ALSO on the marathon front, Dan Jones completed the Chester event in 2:43.08 for 42nd place, which was slightly disappointing for him.
“Dan will now focus on the cross country season over the winter before hopefully taking on the London Marathon next April,” said King.
■ The athletics coverage in the Chron is sponsored by Running Bath.