Shadrack Tanui describes Greater Manchester Marathon as "fantastic"

Greater Manchester Marathon winner Shadrack Tanui describes the event as ‘fantastic’

The ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon took over Manchester on Sunday 8th April as more than 13,500 runners set out for 26.2 gruelling miles.

Elite athletes from around the world were joined by enthusiastic runners for the route which encompassed Trafford, Stretford, Urmston, Altringham, and Sale.

The winner Shadrack Tanui, 31, from Kenya, finished in an impressive time of 2:21:17 which was a course record, it was the first UK marathon for the athlete.

Quays News spoke to Shadrack who came 5th in the 10k distance at the Rio Olympics, he said: “I am happy because I’ve won this race for Manchester, it’s a nice course.”

Listen to the full interview below:

The first female athlete Dani Nimmock, who runs for the City of Norwich Athletics Club, finished in a time of 2:38:24 which was a new personal best.

Her previous personal best in the marathon distance was recorded in Frankfurt, Germany with a time of 2:48:16, she ran just under 10 minutes faster in the Greater Manchester Marathon.

Dani Nimmock finishing first in the women's race — Dani Nimmock finishing first in the women’s race

Among the athletes were 65-year-old Steve Bassam who was taking on his 100th marathon and Claire Lomas who suffered a severe spinal injury back in 2007.

Claire is completing the 26.2 miles using a robotic suit and is hoping to finish the distance in up to 10 days, beating her marathon record of 17 days.

The course was packed with supporters cheering on the runners to keep them moving through to the end.

Elation and exhaustion were the overriding emotions of the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon finishers, some of whom were completing a marathon for the first time, others hoping for a PB on the notoriously fast, flat course.

Just two days after the event, 5,000 places for the ASICS Greater Manchester Marathon 2019 were released, next years event is scheduled for Sunday 7th April.

5,000 PLACES RELEASED! A limited allocation of 5,000 places have just been released for the @ASICSUK Greater Manchester Marathon 2019.

Click here to secure your entry at bargain price of just £45 https://t.co/m47jIOy8v9. #ManchesterMarathon pic.twitter.com/P3yrJhuyFL

— Manchester Marathon (@Marathon_Mcr) April 10, 2018

This years event was a huge success and with fast times achieved on the course, it is likely that more elite runners will be looking to compete in future events.