Dixon best of British in capital marathon show
JUST as she did last year, Alyson Dixon led the British charge in yesterday’s Virgin London Marathon.
To cap a fine performance where she finished 14th against a top-quality field, Dixon not only ran over two minutes quicker than in 2016 but her time as she crossed the line in the Mall of 2hr 29min 06secs was 24 seconds faster than her previous best marathon time.
After such a resounding run, Dixon, who competes for the Sunderland Strollers, can now rest up before preparing for the World Championships in London this August.
The expected challenge from Jo Pavey didn’t materialise as the fivetime Olympian called it a day around the 16-mile point due to cramp, although at that stage Dixon was already over a minute ahead.
Aldershot’s Charlotte Purdue finished one place behind 38-year-old Dixon in 2:29:23 and looks also likely to be selected for the World Championships.
The elite race was won by Kenya’s Mary Keitany in a women’s-only world record of 2:17:01. Dixon led the crop of British women from the very start as she went through 10km and 20km in 34:57 and 69:38 respectively to open up a 30-second gap on compatriot Purdue.
As the kilometres crept on, Purdue clawed back the gap, as less than 15 seconds separated the duo at 35km, but the Sunderland Stroller held her form and dug deep to repeat her feat of finishing as the top Briton.
Post-race a delighted Dixon said: “I might have been a little more sensible but I was feeling so good. The training has gone really well so I felt like I was in really good shape – you don’t get too many chances when it all comes together.
“I’m sure I gave some people a worry back home though. If you don’t try, you’ll never know; I’d rather leave the course knowing I’d given everything rather than looking back and regretting holding back.”
In the elite men’s race, Kenyan Daniel Wanjiru, 24, won in 2:05:56, with Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia second nine seconds adrift.
There were some excellent runs by other local athletes lining up in the massed start with Morpeth duo Ian Harding and Ady Whitwam the leading men to finish, while Gateshead’s Michelle Nolan (Gateshead) was first North East athlete home in the women’s massed contest.