The first major marathon of 2023 saw running clubs head to Brighton - although there were other big events closer to home.

Stevenage Striders had 10 involved on the south coast, many of whom were making their debut at the distance.

Matthew Robinson was the first of them to finish in three hours 34 minutes 40 seconds with Kirsten Jarvis the first of the club's females.

Among the others from the club was a 25-minute PB for Hannah Morton who dipped under five hours with 4:54:59.

Fairlands Valley Spartans had Steve Dobner and Dave Pattman involved with the former also recorded a 25-minute PB.

He finished in 3:47:37 while Pattman was less than five minutes behind.

The Comet: Stef Gransby, Sue Bryson and Dawn Loynes were marathon debutants at Brighton. Picture: STEVENAGE PHOENIXStef Gransby, Sue Bryson and Dawn Loynes were marathon debutants at Brighton. Picture: STEVENAGE PHOENIX (Image: Stevenage Phoenix)

Stevenage Phoenix had a quintet running, the best of them being Lewis Green who managed 4:11:25.

Tom McGrath had only run one marathon before, that also at Brighton, and he improved his PB to 4:18:01.

Dawn Loynes, Stef Gransby and Sue Bryson were all debutants at the distance with the times of the first two being club age graded records.

North Herts Road Runners completed the local line-up with Luke Nicholl going under three hours and Rachel Arnott's 3:18:14 placing her fourth in her age category.

Mike Phillips was delighted to finish his debut marathon in 3:43:04, especially as he started cramping in the last 10 miles.

The other big event to take place was the London Landmarks Half Marathon, which started in Trafalgar Square and finished on Whitehall.

A trio of Phoenicians made the trip, Greg Bradbury taking advantage of the good running conditions to set a PB and age group record of 1:41:21 while Darren Gilbert's return from years of injury ended with a time of 2:12:49.

Angela Goodwin continued her preparations for this year's London Marathon with a finish in 2:38:05.

Lucy Crocker was the first Strider home in 1:51:04, chopping a massive 27 minutes off her PB, ahead of the tightly packed Helen Moye and Chris Newton, separated by 21 seconds.

Julia Middleton finished in 2:32:58 in her first half with Soman Mohapatra also running for the club.

Spartan Chris Watling finished in a respectable 1:55:02 while Danny Scanlon recorded 1:30:21.

Closer to home, the Sandy 10-mile race proved popular as well as quick for one North Herts Road Runner.

Katie Harbon not only finished fifth overall, winning the female race as well, but her time of 59:40 was not only the quickest a lady has ever run the course but enough to smash a 16-year-old club record in the process. 

The men’s team of Robert Harris, Ian Datlen, James Keogh and James Dalton brought home the team prize for the Squirrels.

Mark Legate of Stevenage Phoenix also set a personal best and club age record with 1:28:33.

Claire Pullen was the first Spartan to finish, coming home 84th in 1:18:18, with Jim Brown, Tricia Hopper, Sharon Crowley and Paul Holgate also taking part.