Full glory for Galpin and Whitty in half marathon

In over a decade of committed training with Guernsey, Sheffield University and now Derby AC, Galpin had a few divisional victories to his name, and could be counted on to place highly over the longer distances such as these.

And so striking gold in 72min. 50sec. at Sunday’s big race proved a real high point in the 24-year-old’s athletics career.

‘I was a little bit stunned, to be honest, coming across the line,’ he said.

‘It’s the first time I’ve really won a Guernsey race, or any race really, full stop. It’s just surreal.’

Galpin had just led in 466 other finishers over the 13.1-mile run from L’Eree to North Beach, which took place in virtually still conditions but with the double-edged sword of constant sunshine.

The race started fairly clustered up front, showing signs of breaking up around two miles in with Mike Batiste, James Priest and heroic cancer survivor Pete Amy also in the lead quartet and Rick Weston hanging just off them.

Guernsey 2023 half-marathoners Priest and Galpin soon made moves to gap their pursuers, before the latter pulled away just after Port Soif.

It was eventually Batiste that provided the firmest challenge, running his own race in only his second ‘half’ to overtake Priest on the west coast and reel in Galpin around Vale Castle.

But Batiste ended up battling not only Galpin but a stitch in the final 1.5 miles, which helped his young rival charge ahead and break the tape. Batiste followed with a massive personal best of 73-01.

‘When I saw that I had a mile to go, I just thought to myself, “Well, this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity, really” and thought I’d just kick, give it everything I have.

‘If I stay ahead, then I stay ahead. If he comes back past me, he’s the stronger runner, so fair enough to him.

‘Coming along this straight was quite painful, but I was starting to believe with each step that I was going to make it – sure enough, coming round the corner, seeing the tape there, that’s when I was in disbelief.’

He added: ‘The support was amazing. The live band in particular [near Bordeaux]... it was quite motivating and helped me get through.’

Galpin, who fell cruelly 5sec. outside the Island Games A standard, now hopes for a solid cross-country season before pushing for that Orkney 2025 spot.

‘Coming into the new year, I’ll target another fast half marathon and try to get a good A standard to put me in contention for getting selected. Hopefully that’ll lead into the Island Games in the summer.’

Priest held on for third in 73-32 as Sammy’s older brother, Dan, finished fourth in 73-56. The top four had all beaten the toughened Island Games B standard.

Next came big PBs from Ethan Woodhead (74-48) and Andrew McArthur (74-52), but the show of depth continued with 11 total athletes getting in the 1-15s or faster.

This included an astounding performance from Amy, who ran 75-24 for eighth and top veteran just six months after a huge 9.5-hour operation, after which the doctor said he would never regain his fitness.

‘I simply can’t believe it,’ Amy said in an emotional social media post.

‘If you’d have said that I would return to running and racing after my “op” I would have agreed with you.

‘But if you’d said I’d do it in just six months and run that time, I would have thought you were mad.’

Second veteran Matt Jamieson also ran a PB, 75-43, while U20 Jack Rees also defied his age by debuting in 76-39.

Among the women, Nat Whitty underlined her domestic No 1 status, even over this less familiar distance and after facing illness in the build-up.

The Guernsey 800m record-holder won in 83-52 as her only realistic rival, five-time champion Ulrike Maisch, followed as top veteran and second overall in 87-04.

Whitty had already made most of this gap by the half-way point around L’Islet – but then things went slightly awry.

She had ultimately been quite critical of her own performance after struggling through the second half.

‘I was quite surprised to still get the win,’ she admitted.

‘I started really well and felt really good for the first half.

‘I just dropped off the back of the group I was in and that was it – I just really struggled to get into it after that.’

Nevertheless, she ran well within the Games A standard and now sights an even faster time at next month’s Manchester Half.

‘A PB would be nice – I thought I was in PB shape today, or thereabouts.’

Standing in a new east arm finish area buzzing with support, she added: ‘I had never done the Butterfield Half before and I nearly said to someone I was running with, “The support is amazing”.

‘I’ve been the one supporting previously, and I was just really impressed by the support on the course.

‘There’s so many people here too.’

One woman who did not walk away disappointed was Vanessa King, who mustered her own PB of 88-23 for third.

Significantly, that put her just inside the B standard for Orkney 2025.

She had inter-island company from Jersey’s Chantelle Frazier initially but ran the more consistent race, with her opponent following in 89-57.

Guernsey Marathon champion Lindsay Sword (90-45) and Abbie Swain (92-10) were the next two women in.

That is not to mention the fastest athlete of all.

Spectators got a view of fast-paced wheelchair racing when Poole’s Mark Sinclair, who started before the main pack, zoomed along the course in 44-31 on his handbike.