Aberdeen long-distance runner Aaron Odentz came home as the third-fastest Scot as he made his marathon debut in London on Sunday.
The 23-year-old, who lives in Dyce and graduated from the University of Aberdeen earlier this year, ran 2:28:03 to round off a successful season which has seen him continue his transition to longer events, having previously been a middle-distance specialist.
More impressive still was that it was the first time Odentz had run over the marathon distance, having previously competed in 10k races and half marathons.
The two Scots to finish ahead of him in London were Shettleston’s Weynay Ghebresilasie – who was also the first Briton home – and Kenny Wilson of Moray.
Odentz’s sub-2:30 clocking came despite a minor misjudgement in the opening half of the race, where he admits he allowed himself to get carried away by the magnitude of the event.
The London Marathon is well known not only for its course which passes almost all of the capital’s landmarks, but equally its atmosphere, with thousands of people lining the streets to cheer on competitors of all abilities.
He said: “I started off slightly too quick, in hindsight.
“It was my first marathon, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I went through halfway about 30 seconds too quick and then suffered in the last six or seven kilometres.
“For a debut marathon, I was still pretty happy to get round.”
Odentz added: “You hear people who have done the London marathon before and they say how good the atmosphere is, but you take stuff like that with a pinch of salt – I don’t really believe all that stuff.
“But, actually, doing it on Sunday, the atmosphere – particularly going round Cutty Sark and Tower Bridge – was incredible.
“You didn’t really notice you were running and it probably spurred me on a bit too much. That’s probably why I went a bit too quick in the first half!”
Supporters help Odentz to finish line
Indeed, Odentz did suffer in the final stages of the race, as would be expected given the gruelling nature of the event – but the support of family, friends, and fellow Scots saw him through to the finish line on the Mall.
Odentz said: “It was at about 33k that I looked down at my watch, saw I was slowing down a bit, and thought: ‘that’s it, I’m not going to be able to take it back up.’
“It was just a case of staying mentally tough and holding on as best as possible.
“The crowds on the side of the road were great, so I was using them as much as I could.
“My friends and family were scattered about the course, which really helped. There were random Scottish people who saw the Aberdeen vest and started cheering on and shouting: ‘Go on Aberdeen’, which was really nice.”
It was a highly-encouraging performance from Odentz, who has recently joined Repsol Sinopec as a supply chain analyst.
With the London Marathon featuring as the final competition for many distance runners in the 2022 season, Odentz will now allow himself two to three weeks off before returning at the east district relays later this month.
He explained: “Over the winter, I want to focus on cross-country and help the team at Aberdeen AAC do as well as possible.
“I think we’ve got a really strong squad for the winter and we have the potential to finish really high up as a team at the east districts and national championships. That’s a goal, along with going for a sub-31 10k at some point.”
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