Alyson Dixon smashed her personal best to retain her British Marathon title and gain selection for the World Championship with a brilliant performance in the London Marathon.
Her brave front running tactics saw her clock 2hr 29min 6sec yesterday to chop 24 seconds off her previous best, set in Berlin in 2015.
She valiantly held onto first place despite a late charge by rising marathon star Charlotte Purdue, just 17 seconds behind in second place.
“The crowd were shouting how far my lead was, but I couldn’t here them clearly because of the noise,’’ said the Sunderland Stroller.
Dixon set off with a determined purpose, with selection for the World Championship, in London in August, the goal.
She was in the lead at 10k (34.57) and by halfway reached in 73.21 she had a 38-second lead over Purdue, with Tracy Barlow third (74.08).
Five-times Olympian Jo Pavey was starting to struggle at this point, the 43-year-old going through in 74.45, before dropping out just after 16 miles.
By 35k, Purdue had whittled the gap down to Dixon by 14 seconds and, by 40k, it was just seven seconds.
But the gutsy 38-year-old Dixon dug deep and found that bit extra at the end of her epic journey of 26 miles and 385 yards to take the win comfortably by 80 yards.
This was a superb run by Dixon, who admitted being a little frustrated with recent performances leading up to the marathon.
She said. “I’ve been left a bit frustrated with the races I’ve done so far. I know I’m in great shape but it’s just not showing itself in races. But, at the end of the day, I know what shape I’m in, from training and fast races in the build up to a marathon don’t really mean much, it’s what happens on the streets of London that counts.’’
Well the Rio Olympian certainly put any thoughts of doubt well behind her and again showed the class needed to gain selection for another World Championship......
Original Article Sunderland Echo:
http://www.sunderlandecho.com/sport/athletics/brilliant-aly-clinches-world-championship-place-with-outstanding-london-marathon-effort-1-8507914