Last month, Newport & District Running Club were represented by four members at the London Marathon, perhaps the most famous race in the world. Starting in Greenwich, participants first head east, before turning west once they reach the river. They cross Tower Bridge before again heading east, taking in a lap around the Isle of Dogs before heading back west towards the finish on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.

Alex Millington was the first Novaportan runner to finish, taking 2 hours, 51 minutes, 42 seconds to complete the course, and placing 1,841st. Kay Wilkinson-Smith was next, taking 26,489th position with a time of 4:18:48. John Metzger ran a time of 6:52:18 in 57,66rd place, whilst Liz Mountford finished 59,021st in a time of 7:28:41.

Liz Mountford with her medal after the London Marathon!

Liz said afterwards: “After deferring from the London Marathon in 2025 due to injury, not being able to run for several months, and the fact it would probably be my only chance to take part in the London Marathon, I decided I was going to get myself to the start line of 2026 and hope for the best; my main goal was to finish on the Mall.

I had a lovely day, the atmosphere and encouragement from the crowds was uplifting and it certainly helped get me round. I’ve never experienced a race like it before, it was amazing running over Tower Bridge and past the Elizabeth Tower and hitting my target of being able to finish on the Mall was the ultimate prize!”