GWENT runners enjoyed the thrills and spills of this year's London Marathon, not letting what happened in Boston's equivalent overshadow the event.

A huge police presence reassured the 36,000 runners and spectators, after three people were killed and more than 170 others injured near the finish of Monday's race in the US.

The explosions which caused death and catastrophic injuries were marked with a 30-second silence and many of the runners wore black ribbons on their vests.

Gwent entrants took pride in raising thousands for charities and while the race went to plan for most, Chepstow's Chris Foster had an unfortunate accident which forced him to walk from near the half way point.

He said: "A woman crashed into me at the 12 mile point. Someone in the crowd called her and without looking she ran straight into me. There was nothing I could do."

Mr Foster, 42 and his jarred knee finished the race is five hours 16 minutes, a disappointment as before the injury he was on course to beat his best time of four hours 25 minutes.

However, the £700 he has raised for Kenya's Triangle Project will pay teachers at its ten classroom school in Timboni for seven and a half months..

Jeremy Masters from Monmouth ran the 26.2 miles for Bobath Children’s Therapy Centre Wales, as the charity was life-changing for his 3-year-old twin daughters Bethan and Ellie.

His children benefited from therapy after they did not meet their developmental milestones within four months.

Completing his first London Marathon in three hours 28 minutes, he said: "The atmosphere was fantastic."

Shaw Jones, 28, from Garndiffaith, said runners were more determined than ever to complete the race, with what happened in Boston fresh in the mind.

Recording a time of three hours 52 minutes and £2,000 in the bank for St Anne's Hospice, Mr Jones was happy to have ran in memory of dad Keith "Beefy" Jones, a local rugby legend who died in January.

He said: "I was very pleased. A big, big thank you to everyone who has supported me."

Among the other Gwent residents due to take part were Mike Jones and wife Angela for the Poppy Appeal, pensioner Robert Anderson for Macmillan, Mike Bobbett, for Children with Cancer and Martyn and Clare Wheeler, of Rogerstone for CLIC Sargent.