1:21pm Friday 10th July 2009
Benfleet Running Club’s Keiron McGill confirmed his potential as one of the outstanding running talents in the county in the Self Transcendence 10 at Battersea Park.
He took fifth place in a strong field in a PB of 61mins. 41 secs.
In 2009 McGill has been showing what a class athlete he is by running an impressive 1:23:33 at Paddock Wood Half- Marathon in March, taking eighth place at the Bluebell 5 in May and running 36:48, just seconds outside his personal best, at Hatfield Broad Oak 10k the same month. On his latest performandce he admitted: “One athlete took off at the start like he was on fire and promptly disappeared — but I held a distant second place with someone on my shoulder.
“At the four-mile point the guy on my shoulder injected some pace and disappeared.”
This left McGill third but then an athlete who seems to have become his great nemesis, Stephen Philcox of Barking came past with another. So he was down to fourth. Added McGill: “The six-mile point came and suddenly, out of nowhere, the guy in third began slipping back. This was a potential lifeline. “After going straight past, a spot on the podium beckoned once more. “But then another athlete, from London Front Runners, appeared and went past like a train — so much so that he in fact went on to take apart everyone else in front and win the race. “With two miles left the legs had tightened and I was struggling to maintain any form and pace. “Now a very tall, rangy athlete from Serpentine rubbed salt in the wound by ghosting past as if I were invisible.”
The fifth spot did not disappoiint McGill as he ran four seconds faster than his previous best for the distance, established at the Great South Run in 2000.
He was rewarded for his efforts by taking a trophy awarded to all athletes who finish in the top seven.
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