DAVE Connell Of Huntingdonshire Athletic Club came 213th in the London Marathon on Sunday, finishing ahead of 36,000-plus runners and completing the course in a new personal best time.

Connell, who is 37 and lives in Fenstanton, told The Hunts Post: “It was the best run of my life. I executed my race plan perfectly and, as a bonus, I even managed to catch and overtake Dracula at 25 miles!”

Connell knocked two minutes off his previous best time to finish the race in 2 hours 41 minutes and 31 seconds.

“It was an awesome day and there was amazing support from the crowds,” he said.

“I was really happy with the result as I have never previously been able to complete a marathon without having to walk at some point towards the end.

“Training and racing had gone well all winter and I started the race with a plan, was disciplined, stuck to it to the letter and got my reward with a two-minute personal best.”

The club had another seven runners taking part in the world famous race while the Riverside Runners club had 18 members running with Paul Veitch finishing in 306th in 2 hours 43 minutes and 51 seconds, equalling his previous best time. Alison Cooper was their first lady home when she finished in 5861st place.

There were eight Ramsey Road Runners in London with Michelle Prior, Rob White and Gavin Stokes all knocking chunks off their personal best times.

And a team from BRJ Huntingdon travelled down with Tony Goldsmith, Nevander Holland, Simon Titmus and Ricardo Miller all choosing the event for their debut club marathon.

Karen Charman finished the race with a massive personal best, wiping 26 minutes off her previous time – and there were other personal bests for Nykki Webber and Sarah Hall, who smashed her PB by almost 15 minutes.

BRJ RUNNERS

556 Darren Preston 2.50.50, 4458 Stephen Burton 3.29.22, 4513 Stuart Hill 3.29.39, 4832 Sarah Hall 3.31.32pb, 6085 Ricardo Miller 3.39.08, 10824 Sue Yendley 3.59.17, 13167 Nicola Webber 4.09.00pb, 14142 David Dunkerley 4.13.01, 16388 Simon Titmus 4.21.34, 20056 Nevander Holland 4.35.36, 23782 Karen Charman 4.50.37pb, 25700 Tony Goldsmith 4.58.41.

HUNTINGDONSHIRE ATHLETICS CLUB: 213 Dave Connell 2.41.31pb, 1362 Shane Hunt 3.01.56, 1588 Sean Barker 3.04.59 pb, 2657 Gair Matthews 3.15.17, 3350 Alex Smith 3.21.40, 5601 Caroline Saunders 3.36.17, 21073 Pauline Stocker 4.39.35, 25407 Sue Richardson 4.57.26pb.

RAMSEY ROADRUNNERS: 1184 Simon Mead 2.59.39, 3498 Michelle Prior 3.22.53pb, 4114 Robert White 3.27.30pb, 4570 Andrew Brett 3.29.55pb, 5368 Gavin Stokes 3.34.45pb, 6262 Stephen Ashurst 3.40.00pb, 12738 Martin Kirk 4.07.14pb,

32647 Sandra Butler 5.45.46.

RIVERSIDE RUNNERS: 306 Paul Veitch 2.43.51, 1516 Phil Redden 3.05.14, 2154 Malcolm Pritchard 3.11.03, 2214 Simon Boothby 3.12.38, 5861 Alison Cooper 3.37.54pb, 7039 Annie Furbank 3.44.01, 8582 Dave Irwin 3.51.18, 9885 Netta Tyler 3.56.16, 10236 Nicola Jones 3.57.23, 11216 Naomi Goldsmith 4.0.43, 12444th Rob Moir 4.5.57, 13674 Matt Pyecroft 4.11.11, 20048 Peter Dunning 4.35.36, 21307 Vincent Hainsby 4.40.30, 23068 Karl Hiner 4.48.06, 26884th Nigel Owen 5.5.09, 27308 Lee Radley 5.8.07, 34722 Maija Bissett 6.13.33.