A previous Team GB marathon runner from Hook has placed tenth at the London marathon today (Sunday, October), beating her time from 2019.

Charlotte Purdue was keen to bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on the Olympics earlier this year.

In 2019, Purdue finished 10th in the elite women’s race at the 2019 London Marathon in a time of 2:25:38 – her personal best and the fourth fastest time ever by a British woman.

However, she missed out on Team GB selection for this summer’s Tokyo Games after an injury ruled her out of the Olympic trials in Kew Gardens in March.

But, she managed to maintain her top 10 female spot at this year's London Marathon, 28th overall, with an amazing time of 02:23:26.

Speaking to PA news agency ahead of the event, the 30-year-old said the London Marathon is an event which excites her as much as the Olympics.

“Obviously I was disappointed not to get selected [for Tokyo] but then I quickly focussed on something else and having the London Marathon was a great thing to aim for,” Purdue said.

“It’s always something that I want to run every single year. For me the London Marathon is as exciting as the Olympics so I just put all my focus into training for this race and I’m excited to run.”

More than 40,000 runners hit the streets of London today for the long-awaited return of the event, but there were many differences to usual.

Large groups did not wait at the start line together and instead participants set off in more than 40 waves across a 90-minute period with no official pacers this year.

Participants were encouraged to wear a bottle belt so they can carry a drink to further reduce touchpoints on the day and they were asked to invite just one supporter to reduce crowds along the route.

Those running in central London have had to be able to show a negative lateral flow test for Covid-19.

Since the race was first run in March 1981, The London Marathon Charitable Trust has awarded grants totalling in excess of £93 million to more than 1,490 projects in London and across the UK.