Abingdon Marathon
BabyRunner has a strong affinity with the Abingdon Marathon, and are proud to have been the race sponsors since 2008.
Our marathon world record was set at Abingdon.....
| Pushed for Time |
Reproduced from |
| The publishers of the Guinness World
Records keep a category for, "fastest individual completing
a race pushing a pram". Two members of Headington Road
Runners in Oxford have, in the space of eight days in
October, claimed both the marathon and the half-marathon
records. Firstly, Pat Read (right) pushed his daughter Rowan (aged four and weighing two and a half stone) around the Abingdon Marathon in her Baby Jogger in 4:06:30. Read suffered in the later miles - probably because it was his first marathon in 18 years. "It was a hard slog," he recalls. "But Rowan was superb. She kept a mileage chart and spent the whole time waving to the spectators. |
Photo Ed Nix,
Copyright Oxfordshire Newsquest |
Photo Mark Watkins,
Copyright Stroud News & Journal |
One week later, it was Gary Harris's turn, at the Stroud Half-Marathon (left). Initially, it looked as if the weekend's strong winds might put his attempt in jeopardy, but after a test-run, Harris (who has a PB of 1:09) decided to proceed and borrowed Rowan for his run. "The buggy was surprisingly easy to push," he said. "Once we got going it seemed to run along by itself. The wind did prove to be a problem when it blew from the side, but once it was behind me I flew". Harris smashed the world record of 1:30 with a highly respectable 1:23:39, finishing 88th out of 1195 competitors.
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