Kevin's London Marathon pride

FORMER Yeovil student Kevin Jones might be aching all over today – but he is still celebrating inside having completed yesterday’s London Marathon.

Kevin, 26, a former PrestonSchool student, is thrilled to have completed the 26.2-mile challenge route around the capital.

For a relative newcomer to long-distance running and this being his first attempt at a marathon he crossed the finishing line in a respectable, if not spectacular, time of five hours and 55 minutes and overall came 31,268th - albeit just completing the epic distance is an achievement in itself.

But the ever-determined Kevin said he was disappointed not to have got round in under five hours and already has his eyes set on achieving that goal next year!

Kevin said that he would have probably managed that target yesterday, but suffered muscle injuries and the closing stages became a real battle.

‘’It was really painful and I had stop a number of times for treatment by the medical people,’’ he said. ‘’But I was determined to finish and the crowds were brilliant and I can’t thank them enough for their support.

‘’It was a fantastic experience and I would like to do it again – once I’ve recovered from this one!’’

More importantly Kevin has also raised more than £1,000 for the Candlelighters charity which has the aim of fighting children’s cancer.

‘’I would like to thank everyone who has sponsored me for this great cause,’’ he said.

‘’It really is appreciated and made me determined to complete the marathon.’’

Proud grandmother, Pauline Desmond, who travelled down to London from York to support Kevin, said: ''We are really proud of him. He did really well.''

Supporting Candlelighters was an obvious choice for Kevin to make - his grandfather, Bill Desmond, has been backing the cance charity for 30 years.

After a spell after school working at DIY mail-order company Screwfix in Yeovil, Kevin decided to head for warmer climates and moved to Tenerife in 2006 where he stayed for six years working at the popular Yates’s bar as a DJ.

Kevin's mate, Paul Salmon, writing on Facebook, said: ''I'm very proud of Kevin.

''When you've consumed ten Smirnoff Ices a night for over five years while in Tenerife, to run a marathon is quite an achievement.''

Kevin had admitted that he was up to all sorts of 'tomfoolery' while running around a bar in Tenerife.

But he can now say OFFICIALLY that he has run around 26.2-miles of London's streets and raised a shed load of cash for charity.

Anyone wanting to support Kevin can still do so at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/KevinJones13 .

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