Bradford College

Racing Ahead!

The Gaz de France Leeds Half-Marathon

Thousands of runners gathered in Millennium Square, Leeds to take part in one of the most popular runs in the UK – The Gaz de France Leeds Half-Marathon. The participants had excellent running conditions on the dry and bright Sunday morning.  This was in stark contrast to the previous year’s damp and overcast conditions. More than 5,000 people signed up for the 13.1 mile event, and an estimated 3,000 took part in the main run.

Amongst those participating, were a team of five from Bradford College: Jacqui Tankard, Christine Harrison, Alun Ireland, former student Michael Blackburn and team organiser Tony Gill. Beginning at Millennium Square, the runners followed a route through the city, north along the ring road and back via Kirkstall Abbey.

Tony laughed and explained:  “Alun completed two legs of the run, as we had people dropping out at the last minute, as usual!”  Last year the Bradford College team nearly didn’t compete on the day with a runner short. Despite this, team organiser Tony Gill, did not allow it to come in the way of the team finishing the marathon.

Tony continued: “Jacqui completed the first leg and did really well, she then handed over to Alun who did two legs, followed by Mike, Christine, Michael and then me.”

Seasoned race veteran, Tony Gill, is no stranger to competing in marathons, in previous years, Tony has won the Leeds Half-Marathon, also coming second and third over the years at the annual event. Tony said:  “I love running.  It’s a real stress relief. No matter what’s going on you’ve got a hobby that helps you to switch off.” 

Tony has also come 29th in the Great North Run, taking 66 minutes to complete the half marathon, where thousands of people take part every year.  In 2001 Tony also ran a marathon 150 mile trek, in just five days along the Leeds, Liverpool Canal to raise money for a family friend suffering from the incurable muscle wasting disease, Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  

This is the second Leeds Half-Marathon, team member Jacqui Tankard has participated in with her colleagues from the College. When asked how Jacqui felt to have succeeded in completing the course, she replied:  “It’s a really positive, fantastic feeling. If you’ve ever been to an event like that (and I’ve only ever been to one previously) the atmosphere is just brilliant! There’s such a range of people taking part – and everyone’s having a fantastic day, so it’s a very positive experience.”

In a bid to improve on last year’s performance, Tony set up a running club to prepare runners, Jacqui, Christine, and Alun for the marathon. Tony said: “We’ve been going out three times a week for a jog around the park at lunchtimes from McMillan.  It’s great to get out of the office and do something positive.”

The team’s dedication, commitment and hard work had obviously paid off, as the runners impressively completed the race and finished 3rd out of 140 teams! This was a marked improvement on last year’s performance, which saw the Bradford College team finish 10th.  Tony ran the last leg of the marathon and said: “It was hard work, it never gets any easier.” He smiled and added: “The older you get, the harder it gets.”

Tony expressed his delight at completing the marathon, concluding:  “I was chuffed that we came 3rd!” He added: “If I’d run a little bit faster, we might have come in 2nd.  We were only 30 seconds behind that team. I think the fact that we’ve been going out regularly at lunchtimes has really helped.” Tony has ambitious plans to continue the teams successful running streak, he said: “The aim for next year is to try and improve and get second or even first position!”  Watch this space to see how they race ahead...