Wheelchair racers battle through windy conditions as preparations for the Paralympics pick up pace

David Weir and Shelly Woods battled through tough conditions at the Thruxton Motorsport Centre as they emerged victorious at the inaugural Müller 2021 Wheelchair Marathon.

Weir won comfortably in the men’s 12-lap race in 1:44:45 in windy weather from Danny Sidbury with Callum Hall third.

Woods also found conditions difficult as she won in 2:00:40.

“To be honest, it is probably one of the toughest marathons I have done in a long time,” said Weir. “Quite a tough one to start the season but I’m just thankful that we could get out and do something. Otherwise, I probably wouldn’t have had a marathon until Tokyo.

“It’s good practice and it shows me what I need to do in the next phase of training. For this time of the year, I’m in pretty good shape, probably the best shape I’ve been in for as long as I can remember. So, I’m pretty pleased with the performance.

“It’s nice to be out and see some of the lads as well and see these young athletes competing in the marathon distance.

“I haven’t got the top 10 athletes here and I was going out on my own, but I felt pretty strong all the way around. Usually it takes me a few marathons to get up to speed. I’m hoping I’ll get the opportunity to race abroad at some point, so we’ll have to see. It’s a good start so I am happy.”

In what she described as the ‘toughest marathon she’s ever done’, Woods won the women’s marathon in a time of 2:00:40 ahead of runner-up Mel Nicholls.

Woods said: “It was very very tough. I was aiming for 1:58 (Paralympics qualifying mark) but I was just outside it. But with those conditions I am quite pleased with the time I did.

“It was brutal out there but, it is great to race. There aren’t many opportunities to race at the moment, especially the big marathons, so it’s amazing that British Athletics were able to put this event on.

“My training has been going well and I’ve proved I can do a good time. I’m still coming back after I had my son. I had some time out after London Paralympics and didn’t go to Rio. It’s my son’s fourth birthday today, so I’m still steadily getting my times back up there. I feel like I’m getting better all the time, so that is a good thing.”