Sick Maisch is too good for the rest
ULRIKE MAISCH overcame sickness to win £2,500 as first woman home at the Standard Chartered Jersey Marathon.
And to cap a fine day for the Sarnian distance runners in the sister isle, a squad comprising Lee Merrien, Mike Wilesmith, Dave Emery, Jason James and Richard Friedrich – the last-named the husband of Maisch – won the relay event within the main race.
Maisch, the one-time European marathon champion and a previous winner of the Guernsey title, crossed the finish line at Weighbridge Square in a time of 2-57.28.
‘The race was really tough because I’ve been a bit sick this week,’ she said.
‘The training over the year was OK and I thought I could go for 2-55, but there was quite a lot of things happening over the last week and I felt really tired.
‘The first half was really tough, going uphill but then downhill I recovered and saw the other two ladies with about 12k to go – it pushed me a bit, I kept my pace and it worked out well.’
The men’s race was won by Kenyan Hillary Chirchir in 2-22.32.
James de Garis marked his marathon debut by finishing as the leading Sarnian, clocking 2-51.
