Grantham Running Club take part in the Manchester Marathon which started at Old Trafford

Ten members of Grantham Running Club were among the record number of 35,000 participants at the Manchester Marathon.

Starting at Old Trafford, the course had a new city centre finish on Oxford Road near Manchester University, with the streets from start to finish lined with more than 140,000 spectators.

Weather conditions, while perfect for spectating, were less favourable for those running the 26.2 miles, with sunshine and temperatures hitting 20 degrees.

First back for GRC was Andrew Devine in a time of 03:03:42.

Andrew struggled in the heat and took the decision to run slower than marathon effort to ensure he crossed the finish line.

Mark Angeloni was second to cross the finish line for the club.

After carefully following a training plan and despite going into the race with one niggle that re-occurred at mile 16/17, Mark managed to get a well-deserved personal best of 03:27:29.

Given the niggle and heat on the day, Mark was pleased to achieve a personal best and congratulated all who took part in their performances.

Dean Riggall was next home for GRC, running a well-paced race to cross the line in a time of 03:44:25.

Hannah Whittaker was the first lady to cross the line for the club in a time of 03:53:36, returning to the course after previously running the Manchester Marathon in 2022.

Next to see the welcomed sight of the finish line was Zoe Wragg who, after a good training block, was disappointed to finish in 04:16:54.

Zoe struggled with the conditions of the day but was boosted seeing fellow GRC members running the event.

Sophie Davies was pleased to complete the marathon following illness and not being back to 100 percent health on the day of the race. She crossed the line in 04:27:20.

Warren Stark, fresh from doing the Tokyo Marathon in his quest to complete the six majors, finished Manchester in 04:25:21.

Joining more than half of this year's participants taking on their first marathon was Holly Wragg.

Following a good training block, conditions on the day meant Holly was disappointed to finish in 04:32:21.

Despite promising Manchester would be her first and last marathon, Holly was quick to sign up for next year's event in what will hopefully be cooler conditions.

Matthew Atter struggled with an injury in the latter stages of training and, despite making it to the start line, experienced leg pain from mile four to 18 where he was disappointed to have to retire from the race.