LOCAL residents Jason Clancy and Kelly Shaw were just two of the many runners around the country taking on their own marathon last Sunday.

Both were due to take on the London Marathon on April 26 but the challenge had been postponed until October 4 due to Covid-19.

On her 37th birthday, Bere Alston resident Kelly completed 447 laps of a village car park.

Kelly, a runner from Bere Alston Trekkers (BATs), decided to continue with the 26.2-mile task in memory of her friend Elaine Benting and to thank everyone who had donated to her chosen charity CLIC Sargent.

Kelly, who raised almost £1,400 for the charity, said: ‘This was my third marathon and I did it in memory of my mum’s best friend Elaine. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in November 2019 and she died just before Christmas. I told her that I was going to run the London Marathon for her but then she died. I did this in her memory.’

Jason from Tavistock took the scenic route for his personal marathon — running to Gulworthy, Brentor, through Lydford and back home. He raised £800 for St Luke’s Hospice.

Jason was one of the lucky ones to have won a ballot place in the 2020 marathon.

He said: ‘I applied for a number of years, despite not being a frequent or serious runner it was something I had always wanted to do.’

Jason ran the race in aid of St Luke’s to thank the charity for the kindness it showed his father during his final days in 2012 when he passed away from Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.