Tamworth AC’s Ben Evans travelled down to the capital for the 2017 London Marathon this weekend. Making his first appearance in the UK and England Marathon Championships, he arrived well prepared and conditions on the day were perfect for racing.

He quickly settled into a comfortable pace and was running well as he passed the half way mark in 1:19:33. At 18 miles, Ben’s race was briefly disrupted by a sudden calf problem, but the pain quickly subsided enough for him to keep his rhythm and make a strong final push to the famous finish line.

Ben’s efforts were rewarded with a superb finish time of 2:38:35, smashing his personal best by nearly five minutes.

Afterwards a smiling Ben said “Today was the race of my life. I’m absolutely delighted with how I ran and of course the result. I thought it was game over when I felt my calf go, but I’m so relieved that it didn’t cause me any real problems. I’ve had incredible support from my club mates and this has played a huge part in what happened today.”