HOLMFIRTH Harriers’ David Turnbull and Rob Savin beat their previous personal best times as they took part in the annual Amsterdam marathon.

The event, which starts and finishes in the Olympic Stadium, always attracts a strong field and this year was no exception.

Turnbull, looking to improve on his 2-27.00 performance at this year’s London Marathon, went into the race with high hopes after some recent strong performances.

Coached by Alwyn Dewhirst, Turnbull set off strongly and maintained his characteristic even pace running, going through the half way point in 1-11.32.

With the field starting to stretch over the last 10k, Turnbull did well to hold his race together, finishing in 42nd place with a time of 2-23.48 - a time which takes Turnbull into fifth place on the list of Holmfirth Harrier performances over this distance.

Savin, who is improving race by race, was looking to drastically improve his marathon time, and he started this race strongly.

He paced the half way mark in 1-22.26 and maintained his performance into the last 10k, showing his mental strength to battle through the pain barrier.

Finishing with a time of 2-48.25, Savin beat his personal best time by over an hour, placing 287th.