Houston, There Is No Problem . . . As Natasha Cockram Sets Marathon Best

By Owen Morgan

Rising Welsh marathon star Natasha Cockram has celebrated being named among the elite field at this year’s Virgin London Marathon by setting a new personal best in America.

The Micky Morris Racing Team athlete sliced a minute-and-a-half off her lifetime best for the 26.2 mile distance at the Houston Marathon on Sunday.

Cockram, who only ran her first marathon last April, has now lowered her best mark by over 10 minutes since winning the Newport Marathon on her debut.

The Gwent product’s third marathon outing in Houston saw her finish 11th in a high class field dominated by Ethiopian athletes who claimed the top five places.

The Welsh runner clocked a time of 2:34.18, eclipsing her previous best set at the Dublin Marathon last October.

Cockram will now turn her attentions to April’s London Marathon, which will incorporate the Welsh and British Marathon Championships, as well as acting as a trial for the Great Britain team ahead of this September’s World Championships in Doha.

Amazing new Marathon pb of 2:34.16 for @cockram_natasha at the @HoustonMarathon today. pic.twitter.com/16ci3YRGuY

— Welsh Athletics (@WelshAthletics) January 20, 2019

The 26-year-old’s new personal best is well within the IAAF’s World Championship qualifying standard of 2:37.00.

However, she will face fierce competition for places on the Great Britain team from the likes of England’s Tracey Barlow, who ran 73:03 over the half marathon distance in Houston.

Another athlete competing over the 13.1 mile distance in Houston was Llanfynydd’s Dewi Griffiths.

Like Cockram and Barlow, the Swansea Harrier is also preparing for the London Marathon.

Griffiths claimed eighth place on Sunday, crossing the line in 61.44 – just 11 seconds outside his personal best set at the Cardiff Marathon in October 2017.

Since then he has been hampered by injury which saw him miss out on last year’s Commonwealth Games.

However, since returning to action last August, he has showed signs of regaining the kind of form which saw him run 2:09.49 on his marathon debut, also in October 2017.

His time in Houston is over a minute faster than he ran at last October’s Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff.