The fastest yet London Marathon was completed yesterday as more than 35,000 runners tackled the 26-mile course.
St John Ambulance said 6,038 runners sought medical help during the race. Sixty-eight people were taken to hospital for treatment, but no one died.
Chef Gordon Ramsay, running his 10th consecutive marathon, said he was unsure if he would compete again. “That was difficult. My 10th marathon and, I have to say, definitely the most difficult,” he revealed.
“I said I was going to do 10 in a row so I’m not going to decide to come back yet.”
Model Nell McAndrew recorded a time of 3hr 10min, so she was the first celebrity to cross the finish line.
On hearing the news, she said: “I can’t believe it. It’s nice to have a woman win the title this year.” McAndrew, who was raising cash for Cancer Research UK, said she would enter the race “every year until I’m 80”.
Paul Simons, of London, completed the fastest-yet marathon while dressed as Santa Claus. The 45-year-old postman finished in 2hr 55min 50sec.
He said: “Three hours is magical, it’s the pinnacle. You can hold your head up high if you are a member of the sub-three-hours club.”
Adventure-seeking TV star Monty Halls donned a dolphin suit as he battled to the finishing to help protect some of the Moray Firth’s best-loved wildlife.
Mr Halls – best known in Scotland for his Great Escape series filmed on the west coast – completed the 26-mile challenge in just over four hours to raise cash for a charity which supports the Moray Firth’s dolphin population.
Speaking afterwards, Mr Halls said he got a great reaction from the crowd, and vowed to hit his £10,000 fundraising target.
In his Great Escape programme, marine biologist and professional diver Mr Halls abandoned city life to become a beachcomber.
He revealed that sightings of bottlenose dolphins near his makeshift home near Applecross, in Wester Ross, inspired him to undertake the marathon.
He said: “I was lucky enough to have several encounters with dolphins, and that inspired me to do what I can to protect the dolphins of the Moray Firth whose special area of conservation is under threat from oil and gas exploration among other things.”
Mr Halls said he had hoped to complete the marathon in less than four hours but said his body “just ran out of gas” during the final six miles. But he said it was a great experience he would be happy to repeat.
He added: “It’s an amazing event and the crowd was fantastic. I really enjoyed it. It’s like the whole city loses its mind for a day.”
Anyone interested in donating cash to the cause should visit www.justgiving.com/montyhalls.