The majority of people visit Seville, the capital city of Andalusia in Spain, to relax and soak up the atmosphere and maybe some Sangria. Those people are not Aberystwyth Athletic Club athletes as two members joined 14,000 other runners to run the popular Seville marathon.

Billed as one of the flattest marathon courses in the world, it offers the potential of fast times and this proved the case for both runners. Gail Evans came away with a 16 minute marathon Personal Best in a time of 3.39.33 while Lina Land beat her set target time by five minutes finishing in a time of 4.09.25.

It was a tough race in the heat but Gail was delighted with her finish time. She said:

“Everyone says this is a race with potential fast times and I had targetted a pb and was very happy with a 16 minute Personal Best. It was a hot day and I did think a few times I would prefer to be by the pool! But my training has gone well and that all paid off – the challenge now is to beat this time but for now I’ll just enjoy this success.”

For Lina Land, this was her 71st marathon and her fourth since the birth of her second child and while there were some tough moments during the race, she was very pleased with her time, her fifth fastest in marathons.

Lina said: “I originally entered Seville with a goal of running a sub 4:15 race, a big goal but on paper not unrealistic - it’s a flat course and the field isn’t too busy. I had a week from hell with my preparation though with an emergency dentist appointment and an injury and thought I’ll have to bin my goal.

“But there is this part of me that only kicks in in race conditions, when running gets tough and when miles are long, it comes out to fight. I welcomed that strength and managed to run my best marathon since 2018.

“It was good also for Gail and myself to take part in the 5k ‘breakfast run’ the day before which took in part of the route and gave us a taste of what was to come.”

Slightly closer to home but over the border in the English capital, Aber AC’s Toby Driver took part in the 10th Anniversary London Winter Run 10k for Cancer Research UK, a closed road event around the landmarks of the city of London, with 25,000 runners. Toby finished in an impressive time of 51.56 and loved the experience,

“The race itself starts in front of the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square before weaving its way through the city on closed roads passing St Paul’s Cathedral and running along the Thames river. With over 25,000 runners it creates a great atmosphere and with huge crowds of supporters I was delighted to represent Aberystwyth Athletic Club in this wonderful event.”

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.