Spring marathon season has now truly blossomed, with both Manchester and London creating spectacular scenes in the UK.

These events attract almost 100,000 runners between them, with a handful of those inspirational athletes calling Tameside their home.

To celebrate some of the amazing local women who embraced the 26.2-mile distance, first we’ll take a look at the East Cheshire Harriers athletes.

Completing her debut marathon in Manchester, local legend Hayley Simpson impressed the community as she came home in a time of 3:25.25.

Having previously said she would never run a marathon, Hayley trained immensely hard to conquer her first race of this distance.

“I can’t even describe what an amazing experience it was. I went from saying I’d never run a marathon to being persuaded by the group that I run with on a Sunday to do one.

“The long Sunday runs were definitely worth it to cross the finish line 3 hours 25 minutes, a time that I never would have predicted.

“The atmosphere was amazing, I started to slow from halfway, and then from mile 18 I started getting upset, I wasn’t expecting the emotions at all.

“I saw the East Cheshire team at mile 22 too, and their support was unreal, I can’t thank them enough.

“I was able to see my mum and dad at mile 24 and 25, and I said I would never do another one, but I may look to do London marathon next,” Hayley said.

Just one week later, fellow East Cheshire athlete Katie Kay headed to the capital to complete the London Marathon.

One quarter of the Local Runners Podcast, Katie lives and breathes running, and had been in deep preparation for the race.

A London Marathon fanatic, Katie describes it as a ‘big carnival’ and loves everything about the event.

“London 2023 was my fifth marathon and there’s no getting away from the marathon being one of the hardest things you will ever do.

“But that’s what makes it such an incredible achievement, it’s such a journey and most of us say we will never do it again, but we do.

“It’s something no one can take away from you, and the feeling will stay with you forever,” she said.

Katie completed the London Marathon in a remarkable time of 3:10.42, earning a huge 13-minute personal best time.

This time also allowed her to qualify for a championship place at next year’s London Marathon.

Hyde Striders athlete and Reuben’s Retreat fundraiser Rachael Horrocks ran a fantastic race at Manchester, raising incredible funds for her charity.

“I didn’t get the PB I was looking for, but I got round in under 5 hours, and I managed to raise over £700 for Reuben’s Retreat.

“I’m sticking to my word and saying this will be my last marathon, but now I’m looking forward to the Tour of Tameside in June,” she said.

Her marathon achievement was fabulous and raised money which will be highly appreciated for the Glossop charity.

Saddleworth Runners athlete Joanne Edgerton also took on the Manchester Marathon.

The Tameside community will recognise Jo’s name, as just last year she took on the Brathay 10 in 10 Challenge, running the Windemere marathon 10 times in 10 days.

Her commitment to running is inspirational, often acting as Race Director at the local parkrun and encouraging the community to get active.

“It was perfect weather conditions at the Manchester Marathon, the rain held off which was a blessing.

“The thing with marathons is your training can go brilliantly, but anything can happen on race day. Things can go wrong, as it did for me.

“The support at Manchester was superb, fellow runners and supporters cheering, the atmosphere helped so much. The marathon is a long way, and it really is hard work.

“But the feeling at the end after all those weeks of training, overrides all the pain you’ve suffered, especially when you have that medal around your neck,” Jo said.

Taking on a marathon is truly an immense experience and statistics say less than 1% of people have run this distance.

Spring marathon season has begun in the most spectacular fashion, and now local runners can look forward to the summer, when the Tour of Tameside returns.

🏃 Tour of Tameside 2023 🏃

We're proud to be delivering this year's four-day running festival, which takes place from 15 to 18 June. 

Find out more and book your place here. 

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