JOHN Scarborough, 61, from Upton ran with the Didcot Runners club and finished in four hours, 48 minutes and 24 seconds.

He said: “I really enjoyed it. For the first half I felt like I was flying, then I got cramp at 20 miles.

“It was quite hot, and a lot of people were struggling with cramp: if you drink more it dilutes the electrolytes in your blood.

“But the atmosphere was really good, and the organisation was spot on, much better than when I last did it five years ago.

“I was in pen seven at the start, but it was only eight minutes before I started.”