Hunts AC star Dave Connell chose arguably the world’s most famous race in which to deliver the performance of his life.

Connell claimed a fine 50th place finish in the London Marathon on Sunday when clocking 2:29.47 – his fastest-ever time by more than five minutes.

He arrived in the capital with the goal of running a sub two-and-a-half hour race and he succeeded by 13 seconds after pacing himself superbly throughout.

The 40 year-old smashed the previous club marathon record of 2:36.00, which had been held by Terry Cole for the past 34 years.

A delighted Connell said: “I’m very lucky to be able to do what I do and try and make the most of the running talent I’ve developed over the years.

“I can safely say this run proves how important goal-setting is and believing in yourself, your training and sticking to a race plan.

“I feel amazing and very proud of what I achieved. I’m so happy that all the hard work, sacrifices and consistent training has paid off.”

Cornell was not the only Hunts Ac member to pound the streets of the capital on Sunday.

Wayne Gimblett finished just outside the top thousand runners when crossing the line in 1,054th in a time of 2:53.42 which knocked more than five minutes off his personal best.

Sean Barker was just outside his top mark as he clocked 3:00.50 for 1,958th place.

Caroline King was another athlete to succeed in lowering her personal best as she crossed the line in 3:33.00 - an effort which left her just outside the leading 1,000 ladies and 6,776th overall.

Husband and wife Jason and Gill Mundin covered the marathon distance for the first time in 4:13:48 and 4:35:12 respectively.