THE 2016 London Marathon was special for two reasons, the countdown to the main start was given by British astronaut Tim Peake on the International Space station and the millionth finisher crossed the line since the race was first staged in 1981.

Fifteen Farnham Runners lined up among the 40,000 entrants on a chilly but dry day. Many of the Farnham Runners had raised sponsorship, almost £10,000 the estimated total, for a variety of charities.

Farnham’s star performer, Sarah Hill led them in, her time of two hours 55 minutes gave her 39th place in the ladies race and seventh in her age category, and Rob Gilchrist completed the run in two hours 56 minutes.

Next Stuart Morel settled for a fine three hours five minutes, and Steve Tyler clocked a personal best of three hours 27 minutes.

Charles Ashby completed the race in three hours 28 minutes, while Neil Ambrose finished in three hours 30 minutes – raising £1,100 for Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Second Farnham lady Emma Pearson finished in three hours 30 minutes, raising £400 for the Royal Marsden Cancer charity, while Steve Bailey finished in three hours 33 minutes.

Nicola Douglas clocked in at three hours 54 minutes raising £1,300 for Family Action, with Lucy Hogg just one minute behind in three hours 55 minutes, collecting £2,200 for CLIC Sargent.

Greg Strutton raised £2,200 for the NSPCC, completing the marathon in three hours 58 minutes, while Tina Harrison who ran for a Breast Cancer charity finished in three hours 58 minutes.

World record holder for the ladies distance on a treadmill in 12 hours, Susie Chan, was chosen for the second year to be a Runners’ World pacer, for sub four hours this time and she guided them to the finish in three hours 59 minutes.

Peter Strange completed the marathon in five hours 17 minutes, while Jenny Andrews came in at five hours 29 minutes, raising £2,100 for Citizens Advice, Waverley.

On the same day Peter Chapman and James Musgrave chose the much quieter Shakespeare Marathon through the Warwickshire countryside. Peter achieved a new best of three hours 41 minutes, while James came in at three hours 58 minutes.

Helen Gooch ran in aid of Farnham boy Harry Barnley who suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, completing the marathon in four hours 58 minutes.

She said: “I am so pleased that I did it under five hours. I am suffering now though as I can’t really walk properly and have a huge blister. It was amazing running past all the landmarks in London and the crowd were awesome. I couldn’t have done it without them.

“I have raised just over £3,000 and I am really pleased with this amount as it is for such a worthwhile charity, and Harry was there watching at the MD cheer point on Tower Bridge which was the ultimate boost.”

Kevin Loth said it was a “fantastic experience” after raising £2,700 for the Help4Harry campaign, and Phoebe Gardiner who completed the marathon in three hours 41 minutes raised £1,932 for Disability Challengers.

“The London Marathon was an incredible event to be a part of. The sheer number of runners was like nothing I’ve ever seen. The atmosphere the whole way was brilliant, the crowds were so loud, even along the route where we were a little way out of town”. said Phoebe.

“My two highlights were running over Tower Bridge which was quite emotional, and at mile 21 where the Disability Challengers’ team were stationed giving their support. It was incredible to have them there cheering me on and gave me a huge boost at a hard point in the run.

“They have been amazing all throughout the process, and I’m so glad I can give them a much needed boost to their funds.”

The previous week nine Farnham Runners were among more than 9,000 who completed the Brighton Marathon.