Stephen Garrett, twice an Isle of Man representative at the Island Games in middle-distance track events, produced an excellent performance at the Chicago Marathon.
Garrett recorded a substantial personal best of 2:48:39.
Starting conservatively, Stephen ran an impressive negative split, passing halfway in 1:26:33 before covering the second half in 1:22:06 — over four minutes quicker than the first.
Although not currently a member of Manx Harriers whilst living away from the island, Stephen was keen to wear the club vest on the international stage and proudly display his allegiance to the Isle of Man.
Reflecting on his achievement, Stephen said: “I was absolutely delighted with the result. It’s an incredible event! It was my second Marathon, having run Barcelona last year, where I didn’t respect the distance and crashed hard at 30km.
“I took this one more seriously. I’ve been fairly consistent with my training, averaging around 40 miles per week over the last four to five months, including one quality threshold session or long run. Alan Corlett has kindly been setting my programme, so I was in good hands.
“My target was always to break 2:50 to secure some good-for-age entries for 2027, including New York and others. I set off steadily before pushing on after halfway. Everything went my way on the day, which is rare over that distance!”