A SAINT GOES MARCHING IN
Socially distanced.
Goddard! Goddard! Goddard! Hooooooo!
Stablemate Ben “Lion-O” Goddard felt the magic and heard the roar as he clocked a thunderous 2:28:07—a mere 84” off his best—at the Valencia Marathon, taking 443rd place overall. Mee-ow!
The storied publishing professional thought the Spanish weather was “simply perfect: sunny the day before, but a good temperature on race day—couldn’t have asked for better, really!” Lucky sod!
The Stable News’ resident lion tamer, Ally “the Chin” Smith, caught up with the big cat at the terminus:
AS: Whish! Crack! Easy, big boy! Did you have a good time today?
BG: I did. I tagged along with fellow Stablemates Mark Rose and Robbie Cox.
AS: Always good to be alongside the pride. Carry on.
BG: Valencia always seems to come together perfectly for the marathon—great atmosphere, perfect weather, and good groups to run with at the sharp end. There was a big group from Woking AC, which made for a brilliant personal experience.
I knew I wasn’t quite in PB shape, so set out to run 2:30 and went nicely under.
AS: Simply exquisite! Any other marathons coming up?
BG: Next big priority is Berlin 2024, but I want to go sub-70 in a half before then (and sub-32 for 10K, if that’s not being too greedy!)
AS: May as well get the lion’s share while you can! Good luck to you, and congrats again. Cracking stuff.
BG: Thanks, Ally!
Coach Stazza was chilling chestnuts by the open air conditioner with a nice glass of sherry when the Valentia Edetanorum results came in:
“Would you Adam and Eve it? … Benny boy boshed out a blinder in the home of the Tower of Santa Catalina … Now let’s get to work on the sub-70!”