The 19-year-old triathlete finished the famous 26.2-mile course in a recorded time of 2hrs 42mins 30secs. In the process, her first-ever competitive attempt at the distance smashed the previous Channel Islands record, held by Guernsey’s Louise Perrio, by 7min 29sec.
The Oxford University student competed in the mass women’s race, finishing fifth overall, but Tony Miller, from the NUoTS, said that the times for the mass race begin only when the athlete crosses the start line, as opposed to when the starting pistol is fired.
In Ridgway’s case, it took her 5mins 25secs to cross the start line after the gun was fired, meaning her official time stands at 2.47.55. This still stands as a CI record and beats the previous junior best performance by over two minutes.
It is not considered a UK junior record – only a ‘best performance’ – because there are no world or UK junior records in the marathon.
‘The lesson for next time,’ Miller says ‘is [for Ridgway] to stand a lot nearer the start line.’
