35,000 runners including former Tipton soldier in London Marathon
Runners and spectators from across the region joined the 33rd London Marathon and hailed it a success despite the security fears which had surrounded it.
Some 35,000 competitors started the London race while thousands more lined the streets to turn them on just six days after two bombs rocked the finish line of the Boston Marathon.
Among them was war hero Karl Hinett, from Tipton, who sustained 37 per cent burns to his hands, legs, arms and face when his Warrior tank received a direct hit by a petrol bomb in Basra, Iraq, in 2005.
The 26-year-old has dedicated his life to raising money for various charities by taking on physical challenges, and the 2013 London Marathon was his 113th marathon.
He said: "The crowds were amazing and the weather was great. And if anything, what I witnessed today, after Boston, it just truly shows that the marathon running community is unbroken." A poignant 30-second silence was held at the start of the men's elite race and mass start and many of the runners wore black ribbons in memory of the bomb victims.
Geoff Wightman, the event commentator, said to the massed runners: "Marathon running is a global sport. It unites runners and supporters on every continent. This week the world marathon family was shocked and saddened by the events at Boston."
But once the race was under way, the racers pounded the streets in perfect spring conditions, while the crowds enjoyed a celebratory and colourful day in the capital.
Under blue skies, the participants wound their way from Blackheath to The Mall as temperatures reached up to 15C (59F).
London 2012 double champion Mo Farah only ran half the course as planned, as he said he wanted to concentrate on track running this year rather than long distance.
