Some people will travel a fair old way to run 26.2 miles and two of Aberystwyth Athletic Club’s most seasoned runners crossed the Atlantic to run through one of the world’s most recognisable cities.

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is known for its flat and fast course. The race starts and finishes in Grant Park and travels through one of the world’s most magnificent cities. The course has produced four world records, several national records and countless personal bests.

Maggie Collingborn and Paul Scullion had originally secured their places two years ago through a ‘good for age’ qualification but due to the pandemic this was their first opportunity to take part and both finished with admirable times in a field of over 40,000 runners. Paul finished in a time of 3.43.33 with Maggie finishing in a time of 4.20.40.

Maggie was delighted to finally be able to take her starting place at such an iconic race: “I had been waiting quite a while to run in this race and was delighted to get my starting place a few years ago only for the pandemic to take it away from me.

“So it was great to finally line up along with Paul and wave the flag for Aber AC. The atmosphere was incredible with an apparently 1.7 million supporters lining the route – an experience I’ll never forget.”

Slightly closer to home and just the other side of the border, the Bath Half Marathon was held recently and another two Aber AC members made the journey over the bridge.

Damian Sidnell at the Bath Half Marathon october 2022
Damian Sidnell at the Bath Half Marathon (Aber AC)

Damian Sidnell crossed the finishing line in 1.38.01 with Patrick Finney not far behind in a time of 1.39.42.

The Bath Half Marathon is a ‘big city’ race, starting and finishing in Bath city centre and this was the race’s 40th anniversary, which meant plenty of celebrations according to Damian Sidnell.

Patrick Finney at the Bath Half Marathon october 2022
Patrick Finney at the Bath Half Marathon (Aber AC)

He said: “The weather was perfect for this fantastic event and the 40th anniversary made this a very special race to be a part of. There were close to 7,000 runners so to finish in the first ten percent made it a worthwhile journey, and great to see Aberystwyth AC feature again in the final results.”

If you would like to hear more about Aberystwyth Athletic Club and join in its activities visit aberystwythac.wordpress.com or find the club on Facebook.