On Sunday, Alex Millington of Newport & District Running Club took on his first ever marathon, and chose the Amsterdam Marathon for his debut of the distance. Taking place on an anticlockwise course to the south of the city centre, the route takes runners through areas such as Prinses Irenebuurt, Duivendrecht and Watergraafsmeer with an out and back section along the river Amstel. The start and finish are located at the Olympic Stadium, which played host to the 1928 Summer Olympic Games.

Alex running in the pack during the stadium section

Alex set himself the target of going faster than 3 hours, and smashed that target with a time of 2 hours, 54 minutes, 57 seconds, which put him 774th overall out of a field of almost 17,000 runners. He said afterwards: “My main goal was a sub 3-hour marathon so I was very pleased with my finish time. I would highly recommend this marathon – nice and flat, with great support throughout.”

Alex at the race, just outside the stadium