FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Mini Marathon Memories: Josh Griffiths
16/03/2018
The Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon is one of the most prestigious
youth events in the country and has seen some of the cream of British
runners come through the system and then go on to make their mark on the
world stage.
This year is the 10th year the Mini Marathon has been the British
Championships for under-13, under-15 and under-17 athletes and held over
the three mile distance.
Over the course of six weeks, until the eve of the 2018 Virgin Money London
Marathon, we will be looking at some of the athletes from across the United
Kingdom & Northern Ireland who have come through the ranks of the Mini
Marathon to make it on the global stage.
Josh Griffiths, Wales (2008: 20th under-17 men's race)
Josh Griffiths was a journalist's delight after his breakthrough
performance at last year's Virgin Money London Marathon as he told tale
after tale to stack up the popular storyline of a club runner overcoming
some of the best distance runners in the world.
From having to leave his pre-race meal of salmon out overnight in his hotel
room because he did not have access to a fridge through to having to follow
a paramedic to the Start Line because he had no idea where he was going,
Griffiths did not need a scriptwriter to make his story sound more amazing.
But one element of Griffiths' tale that was widely overlooked was that
though he may not have been familiar with the first 23.2 miles, the Swansea
Harrier certainly knew the final three miles of the route.
Just six years earlier, the Great Britain international travelled up to
London with the Welsh team for his one and only appearance at the Virgin
Money Giving Mini London Marathon where he finished 20th in his first taste
of big city road racing.
"I had only started running three years before," recalled Griffiths. "Well,
that's when I first joined a club. I had got my first Welsh vest in 2009
and then a second one in 2011 but the Mini Marathon was always another of
my big aims as a junior athlete. I had watched it on TV and it looked
pretty cool."
Then, as now, Welsh running was in rude health and just making the
Principality's Mini Marathon team was a challenge in itself.
"The Welsh Schools Cross-Country Championships were the qualifiers,"
Griffiths explained. "I really wanted to qualify in 2010 (as a bottom year
under-17 athlete) but I didn't run well enough to make the team.
"I knew that 2011 would me my last shot because I would be too old
afterwards and when I got in it was really exciting."
Griffiths went into the race not knowing what to expect. He had finished
third at the Welsh Schools Cross-Country Championships that winter but 82nd
in the Intercounties Cross-Country Championships which, like the Mini
Marathon, brings together the best athletes from around the UK and Northern
Ireland.
It was also his first major experience of racing in front of big crowds.
Griffiths said: "I was really happy with how it went because I didn't
expect to finish that high up. The distance was a bit of a new one at the
time for me but I was happy with the time. And just the experience of
running in front of those crowds was something amazing and not what I was
used to back at home in Wales. I had never known anything like it!"
Griffiths finished in 20th place overall, 51 seconds behind the winner
Robbie Farnham-Rose. His Welsh squad finished second in the team standings
and included his Swansea Harriers team-mate Liam Lloyd who was 11th and
Elliot Slade who finished 13th.
"It was a good team that year," Griffiths said. "And it was a great
experience travelling down as a team and staying in a hotel the night
before. It was all a new experience and I really enjoyed it."
The event also proved to be a bit of a vision into the future for Griffiths
who stayed on to watch the full marathon and immediately found himself in
thrall to the 26.2-mile distance.
"It was an eye-opener for me," he said. "I remember watching the main race
and thinking ‘I want to do that'. I didn't know when I would do it, but I
knew I wanted to do it at some point."
In the end, Griffiths ended up doing his first London Marathon a bit sooner
than expected as he got a championship entry for the 2017 race and the
rest, as they say, is history.
From storming through the field to finish in a time of 2:14:49 and
qualifying to represent Great Britain in the World Championships marathon
back in London last August.
The whirlwind has continued into 2018 and next month, Griffiths will be on
the Start Line of the Commonwealth Games marathon on the Gold Coast,
Australia, once again representing Wales.
"The time between my Mini Marathon in 2011 and then my first Virgin Money
London Marathon in 2017 has gone pretty fast and, in some ways, last year's
London Marathon opened my eyes to what I could become, just as the Mini
Marathon had done in 2011.
"I made a big leap forward in 2017 and really enjoyed it but I want to keep
moving forwards in 2018 and I'm really looking forward to doing that at the
Commonwealth Games."
2011 Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon Under-17 men's results
1. Robbie Farnham-Rose (South East) 14:22
2. Kieran Clements (East) 14:30
3. Andrew Monaghan (Northern Ireland) 14:33
4. Luca Russo (South East) 14:49
5. Marc Scott (Yorkshire & Humberside) 14:51
6. Matthew Rose (West Mids) 14:53
7. Callum Johnson (North East) 14:55
8. Jonathan Davies (South East) 14:55
9. James McMurray (East) 14:56
10. Benedict Westhenry (South West) 14:58
20. Josh Griffiths (Wales) 15:13
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