A Cirencester man has run the London Marathon in memory of his mother.

As well as completing the 26.2 mile run, Alex Hall also raised almost £3,000 for the World Cancer Research Fund (WRCF).

He decided to raise money for them in memory of his mother who passed away in 2017 following a short but tough battle with hereditary stomach cancer.

As an academic nutritionist, Alex’s she strongly believed in the charity's focus on the link between cancer and diet, weight and physical activity.

Alex said: “Training for the marathon has been a proper odyssey, as I started 22 months ago and haven’t really stopped since.

"Despite the London Marathon being one of the toughest things that I have ever done, the sense of accomplishment not just in myself for completing it with a good time, but also the amazing amount of money and support I have received from friends and family makes this a real highlight of my life.

"For me World Cancer Research Fund was the only charity I was ever going to approach and I am so grateful to them for giving me this opportunity to do it.”

Priyanka Kotecha, head of events and development at WRCF, said: “We couldn’t be prouder of all our runners who took to the streets virtually and in person after years of waiting and training for the big day.

"We are so grateful to Alex and everybody who donated to our cause, which has raised nearly £3,000 for WCRF. This generous donation will allow us to continue to fund our ground-breaking research and to empower people to take action to lead healthier, happier, cancer-free lives.”

This year’s London Marathon was the biggest marathon in the world, with more than 40,000 participants taking part, plus an additional 40,000 people joining in virtually.

The last time this many people took to the streets for the event was in 2019. Last year, due to Covid-19, the event was postponed until October and only elite runners were allowed to compete, with non-elite given the option to take part virtually.

This year marks the first time that both the mass and virtual events have happened simultaneously.