Ref: 12906/2IT was a case of the agony and the ecstasy for Wiltshire runners in this year's Flora London Marathon, which took place in miserable conditions last Sunday.

Record times were not expected as the rain fell and the wind blew across the Thames but for some participants the 26 miles turned out to be sheer purgatory.

Dominic Berry, a 21-year-old astrophysics student from Devizes, managed to finish the course in just under six hours after a nagging knee injury was aggravated when he slipped on a bottle at the halfway stage.

He said: "I stopped for treatment at the 18-mile stage and the St John Ambulance people said I shouldn't go any further.

"I sat there for about 20 minutes but decided to carry on. I'm glad I did. I saw a lot of people suffering but struggling on and I managed to come across the finish line in five hours and 50 minutes.

"I'm not really disappointed. It was my first major race and I was really going well for the first 13 miles. I think I'll stick with half marathons in future. And I've made about £150 for my charity, the Worldwide Fund for Nature."

Mr Berry jogged alongside Easterton-based Major Charles Ingram who also managed to complete the distance, but in just over six hours.

It had been a gruelling week for the Major after his participation in the Channel Four TV show, The Games, was dogged by niggling injuries.

Mr Berry said: "He was very nice. He had his knee bandaged and he was not running too well."

It was a first marathon for Kennet District Council officer Kelvin Pearce, who made good time despite a difficult start. He said: "I was on course to do three hours 40 minutes but I got cramp in both legs three miles into the race. I soon walked it off and got to the finish line in just under four hours."

Mr Pearce was raising money for the international charity Water for Kids and dressed in a Victorian style bathing suit and straw boater.

Devizes mother-of-four Yvonne King kept to conventional running gear for her first London Marathon, which she completed in four hours, three minutes.

She said: "I thought I would have done it quicker but it was so crowded all the way round.

"I just couldn't get up to my own pace. It was very frustrating. My legs started to ache at about 16 miles, which has never happened to me before."

Mrs King is raising money for Canon's House children's home in Devizes where her 15-year-old daughter Katie receives respite care. She hopes to raise over £1,000 for play equipment.

Another Devizes runner, firefighter Richard Lake, did the course in four hours and eight minutes. He was not running for any particular cause but has received donations which he is

giving to the National Fire Services Benevolent Fund.

It was another splendid performance from Swindon-based wheelchair athlete Louise Hunt. Louise, a 12-year-old pupil at Commonweal School, won the under-13 wheelchair marathon for the fourth time in five years. She completed the four-miles in just over 16 minutes.

Chippenham harrier and mother of three Diana Tabley, from Park Lane, said her seven months of gruelling training paid off when she beat next year's qualifying time of three hours and 29 minutes by 16 minutes.

The 30-year-old fitness instructor at Chippenham's Olympiad said: "My children were waiting at the 24-mile mark and they were cheering me on, which really inspired me.

"But the whole atmosphere was amazing and I hate to admit it, but I actually felt fine all the way round because of the training I did."

Mrs Tabley said she has always been a keen runner and joined Chippenham's junior harriers. After she had her family she decided to get back into the sport.

"I am hoping to inspire the ladies I work with at the Olympiad to take up running because we are starting a running club at the centre soon," she said.

Another local runner who completed the course on Sunday was Deborah Noakes, 36, who finished in four and a half hours.

Ms Noakes, who lives in Devizes and works for Vodafone in Newbury, said: "I'm going to have to do it again because I was so disappointed with my time. I know I can do it a lot faster than that but I lost a lot of training time when I tore a ligament in January."

Ms Noakes raised over £1,000 for the animal charity the Blue Cross.

Former soldier David Wynne-Davies raised more than £3,000 for Great Ormond Street Hospital and the Army Benevolent Fund in the marathon.

Incredibly Mr Wynne-Davies, 55, succeeded in winning a place in the race when he applied as an overseas applicant while serving as defence attach to the British embassy in Prague, and his name was drawn from a ballot.

Mr Wynne-Davies, who recently retired from the Army and moved to Sutton Benger, said he set himself a target of four hours and was delighted when he completed the marathon in three hours 34 minutes.

Father and son duo, Richard and Tim Dutton, completed the race in four hours and 52 minutes and four hours and 50 minutes respectively and are set to raise £10,000 as a result.

The pair, from Draycott Cerne near Chippenham, ran the gruelling race in memory of their daughter and sister, Kate, who died from meningitis aged just 15, in 2002.

They hoped to raise £5,000 for the Meningitis Research Foundation but pledges have been pouring in and Mr Dutton said they had been overwhelmed by the support.

Meanwhile, Humphrey the Camel, powered by the legs of Simon Perry and Tim Lenderyou, ran 11-minute miles interspersed with short walks throughout the race, to finish in 4 hours 58 minutes.

"The support was absolutely fantastic, it really helped with the last four miles," said Mr Perry, 27, from Wood Hall Park, who works for Thames Water. Mr Perry and Mr Lenderyou, 28, from Greenmeadow, were part of a team aiming to raise £10,000 for WaterAid.