St Helens Striders' 'phenomenal' results in London Marathon

In a race that is as difficult to enter as it is to run, St Helens was well represented by 16 Athletes from the St Helens Striders Running Club and the results were phenomenal.

There were standout performances across the board, with new overall club and age category records being set.

First over the line was Tom Chadwick, who set a new Men’s Marathon Record with an outstanding 2:27:12, followed just 15 seconds later by Paul Howard in 2:27:27 and Cameron Hannon in 2:31:00.

All three men beating the previous record of 2:34:28 which was set by Cameron in Edinburgh last year.

Kelly Hamilton set a new Women’s Marathon Record with her exceptional 3:04:30, beating Sarah Cameron’s five year old record of 3:05:48 from London 2019.

Whilst he missed out on the overall record, Paul Howard’s performance did earn him a new 35-39 age category record, beating his time of 2:41:42 set on Jonkoping, Sweden in August 2023.Gary Eddleston also broke his own 40-44 age category record with a time of 2:53:37, bettering the record of 2:59:14 that he set at the Manchester Marathon last year.

As if all those new records weren’t enough Tom, Paul, Cameron, Kelly, Emma Callery (3:10:11) and Hannah Whittaker (3:13:02) ran so well, that they have earned themselves a Championship Entry for London 2025.

Gary, Dylan Redican (2:52:23), Jonathan Kirkman (2:54:23) and Kieran Allen’s (2:55:31) performances were so good that they have earned the right to apply for ‘Good for Age’ for next year’s London Marathon too.

We also saw fantastic running from John Williams (3:06:38), Darren Eckersley (3:28:11), Dean Thackray (3:59:47), Tony Dagnall (4:09:57), Laura Cashmore (4:40:47) and Darren Miller (6:06:09).

Daniel Merrick, Running Coach, St Helens Striders, said: "Many other Striders got involved, either travelling down to London to cheer them on in person, tracking them using the online app, watching them on the live feed and posting about them on the Facebook group.

"The London Marathon brings everyone together in a way that no other race does.

"The value of being part of a group should not be underestimated. By working together, the St Helens Striders pushed each other to achieve great things."