Partridge Happy To Book A Euro Place

ALDERSHOT ATHLETE AND BARLOW TAKE TOP SLOTS IN THE RACE TO BERLIN

“JOB done,” smiled a content Lily Partridge in the immediate aftermath of a London Marathon debut which saw her finish eighth and tick a number of substantial boxes.

First, her time of 2:29:24 was not only a big personal best after she made her marathon debut in Seville last year with 2:32:10. More importantly, the Aldershot athlete also came well within the European Championships qualifying standard of 2:36:00 and booked her slot for the team bound for Berlin in the summer by finishing as the top Briton.

She will be joined on the team by Tracy Barlow, who may not have clocked a personal best but followed in ninth place with 2:32:09 to take the second qualifying spot.

In the absence of the injured Charlotte Purdue, the elite women’s field only featured a trio of Britons rather than the intended four and Rebecca Murray acquitted herself well to run 2:39:37 in what was her first attempt at 26.2 miles.

Partridge is hardly a seasoned campaigner either when it comes to the marathon but she has learned much in the past year. Following the satisfaction of Seville came the blow of Berlin when she was forced to stop in the latter stages of the race in the German capital after an injury-affected build-up took its toll.

This time there were no such issues and confidence had been high before the race thanks to a consistent training block. Even pacing proved the key for Partridge, who was accompanied by Barlow until around the 25km mark.