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Regional press news - this story published 07 October 2005

Post team triumphs in half-marathon slog

by holdthefrontpage staff

Evening Post journalists took to the streets for the Bristol half-marathon, and saw off media competition by beating the local BBC in the corporate challenge section of the race.

A record number of Post journalists took part, the team of six comprising picture editor Shaun Thompson, assistant picture editor Rachel Profit and reporters Simon Peevers, Rupert Janisch, Hugo Berger and Lucy Parkinson.

The Evening Post came 44 out of 96 corporate teams, the staff running alongside 10,000 other entrants.

Each member of the Evening Post team had their own tale of triumph, as all six crossed the line and raised hundreds of pounds for the paper's One In Four cancer campaign.

Hugo Berger, Rupert Janisch, Rachel Profit, Lucy Parkinson, Simon Peevers and Shaun Thompson (kneeling)

Shaun Thompson broke his ankle during training in the summer, but managed to recover fully to finish the 13.1 miles in a respectable 1h 52mins.

Hugo Berger, running for the second time, shaved nine minutes off his personal best when he finished in 1hr 44.

He said: "I would have taken it if you had offered it to me before the race, but I feel I could have done better. I started too far back and got stuck in traffic."

Rupert Janisch came close to beating his personal best when he finished in a blistering 1hr 25, just two minutes behind Olympian legend Steve Cram.

Rupert, who has hitherto failed to exhibit any real sense of urgency about anything, said: "I was very pleased with my time, it was a lot faster than last year.

"I think I paced myself quite well and I am looking forward to it next year."

Lucy Parkinson and Rachel Profit were also pleased with their efforts, considering their relaxed attitude to training, putting in times of 2h 18 and 3h 3 respectively.

Self-appointed team captain Simon Peevers said he was disappointed with his performance, limping over the line a shade under three hours.

The reporter, who has run the half marathon twice before, said: "I had spent two weeks before the race on holiday in France, gorging on cheese and fois gras, washed down with litres of red wine, and on reflection I don't think that was the best preparation.

"At least I managed to finish, but it wasn't exactly dignified. Coming round the last bend I saw an elderly gent who had been power walking his way round, and I knew I had to finish ahead of him.

"I managed to find enough in the tank to sprint past him on the line, but it comes to something when you have to barge an 80-year-old bloke out of the way to salvage some vestige of pride."

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