CELEBRATIONS were in order when Lavinia Marshall from Lifton came 26th in her age category at the London Marathon.

Lavinia managed to battle through the heat to complete the run in a time of 4:54:10.

She said: “I was very pleased with my run but it was just so hot. In better conditions I think I would have run faster but I think I did quite well for my age category — I believe there were about 100 of us so I was pleased to come in 26th.”

The heat did cause some problems but Lavinia found her own solution: “There was a lot more water on the ground this year. I have never run a marathon before where I was tipping water over my head to cool down at every mile after seven miles, due to the heat. Many others were doing the same thing, which is unusual.

“The crowd, family and friends were fantastic and helped to motivate me to get to the finish line.”

Lavinia said although the conditions were hot she was surprised that she somehow managed to find the strength to speed up towards the end.

“I did manage to quicken up a touch in the last two miles, which really surprised me — I didn’t think I would have enough strength but it was definitely hard going!”

Speaking about the overall feel of the day, she said: “There was an absolutely brilliant atmosphere — well, there always is. You get support from the beginning right the way through to the end. It was very well organised as always and a very lovely day out for spectators.”

Lavina is a trustee of the Lifton Community Centre. This was her ninth marathon supporting the centre and she said she is delighted with how much she has raised this time.

She said: “I have cleared £1,000 but I don’t know the full total yet as there is still money coming in, but it is already way above what I anticipated.

“I am a trustee and have been one of those people who has wanted to build a centre for the community forever so every marathon and even the one or two half marathons I have run have been to raise money to build the centre.”

Lavinia says she will continue to support the community centre by running marathons for as long as she can.

Lavinia has raised £1,022 so far for Lifton Community Centre (charity number 1146871). Anyone wanting to sponsor Lavinia can still do so on www.virginmoneygiving/laviniamarshall1