WORCESTER residents joined a crowd of around 38,000 people to run the London Marathon on Sunday.

The Virgin Money London Marathon saw more people than ever turn out for its 35th event on the weekend.

Fund-raisers, amateur runners and elite athletes — including former winner Paula Radcliffe — tackled the 26.2 mile course around the capital.

Andy Woodward, from St Peter's, was running the marathon for the National Association of Colitis and Crohn's Disease alongside friend, Matthew Ford.

He said: "We both completed the marathon and we did well. We finished together although we were right at the back when we started, so we had a lot of people to overtake."

Mr Woodward, aged 25, had been training hard for the marathon but due to suffering from Crohn's Disease — which can affect any part of a person’s gastrointestinal tract — he says he wasn't sure how it would go on the day, but said he is "very pleased" it turned out well.

Organisers said the number of competitors this year surpassed the previous record of 37,227 in 2012.

Many competitors were raising money for charity and hoping to beat the 2014 record amount of £53.2m.

Roseanna Bentley, of St John's, has so far raised around £800 for the Stroke Association.

She said: "It was just an incredible experience. My running time was five hours and 46 minutes, but I'm a bit annoyed because I had to queue for the toilet for about 20 minutes which pushed my official time beyond six hours. But the atmosphere was so wonderful and supportive — I got to the end and instantly wanted to run it all over again. I would definitely do it again in the future."

Stewart Glazzard, aged 50, ran the marathon in four hours and 32 minutes for the Teenage Cancer Trust, in memory of Matthew Burton, who lost his battle with cancer last year aged 21.

Sam Fletcher also ran in memory of Mr Burton, completing the marathon in five hours and 13 minutes.

BLOB: Did you take part in the London Marathon? Email your pictures to ljo@worcesternews.co.uk or call 01905 742258