The eyes of the nation fell on Sunday’s London Marathon and local clubs did themselves proud with some fine performances, particularly from the ladies.

Ilkley Harriers had nine finishers, with Sally Malir coming 12th in her age-group, 120th lady overall, in 3hr 10min 49sec.

Rachel Wolfenden, nine minutes behind, also ran brilliantly. Jonathan Sinclair broke the three-hour barrier in 2hr 55min 22sec.

Keighley & Craven’s Amy Green made her strength count with an excellent 3:07:42 while club-mate Gill Capstick finished well in 3:49:01 and raised £2,468 (to date) in memory of her brother.

Eccleshill Road Runners had Julie Steele running her first marathon in a respectable time of 4:49:39, with Claire Elener (3:22:56) and Robert Sutton (3:34:19).

Paul Gaile took pride of place for Pudsey Pacers in a new personal best of 2:48:12, followed by Richard Gibson running his first marathon in 3:12:58. Another debut marathon performance came from Alistair Chapman in 3:33:21.

Other Pacers running in the metropolis were Emily Lawrence (3:46:46), Dave Cooper (a personal best of 3:47:28), Dave Byrom (his first sub-4 marathon in 3:55:36) and Jenny Cooper (a PB of 3:58:02).

Bingley were led home by Richard Balshaw, achieving his sub-3 target in 2:56:47. Waheed Khan followed in 3:15:05 and evergreen Oliver Downing in 3:29:06.

Maria Carrera was first Bingley lady in 3:46:47, followed by Sarah Callaghan in 4:01:25, Claire Jones in 4:17 and Gillian Fletcher and Sally Robinson in 4:43.

For St Bede’s, Michelle Eyres ran creditably in 4:33:30, while Diarine Nethercott fought off an injury sustained in the last month of training to finish doggedly in 4:55:20.

Warm sunshine welcomed the Sheffield Half Marathon on the same day, where Longwood’s Andrew Pearson beat a field of 4,600 to win in 67min 8sec.

First home for local clubs were Mick Hogan (Eccleshill) in 1hr 31min 35sec, Morven Wallace (Pudsey Pacers, 1:37:43), Frank Beecroft (St Bede’s, 1:38:20) and Guy Good (Skyrac, 1:46:55).

Meanwhile, Dawn Hogan completed her first “half” comfortably in 2:19:04.