Running Man Ricky Heads for Telford
Ricky Walden finished the New York marathon in a time of four hours and 17 minutes last week but now has his sights firmly set on the bright lights of Telford and the Pukka Pies UK Championship.
First though he will need to negotiate one round of qualifying at Prestayn's Pontin's just a mere sprint from his home in Bagillt.
Walden is on course to break into the world's elite band of 16 players who miss out on the qualfiying section for the first time in his career. The 27-year-old has made steady progress in the past two seasons which has also seen him lift his forst major trophy in Shanghai.
He is well aware though that a succesful qualfiying campaign is required to keep on track and cranking up the practice regime after his Marathon exploits.
Victory on November 30 would take him through to the final stages at International Centre in Telford setting a mouth-watering clash with world champion, John Higgins.
“I really want to qualify and get through to Telford. There’s a lot riding on the match in terms of the ranking points,” said Walden, who is officially ranked 20th but stands 13th on the provisional list.
“It took me a while to recover from the Marathon and I had a few days in Las Vegas afterwards to celebrate, but I’ve got my head down now and I’ll be living on the table for the next few weeks.”
Walden's run raised £1500 for Teenage Cancer Trust, and he said “It was even more difficult than I thought it would be”.
“There was a point where I thought I wasn’t going to make it, but I managed to run all the way. At the end I felt very emotional, I couldn’t believe I had finished it. I was just delighted to show that I could do it as I am not a natural runner. I am going to continue with the fitness but it will be a while before I take on another marathon.
