The race, held in a closed course in Kew Gardens, doubled up as the official Tokyo Olympic selection trial, as the 39-year-old and 2012 London Olympian ran a personal best of 2:10.52 on the way to first place.
Also in the race was alumnus and Loughborough Students Athletics Club assistant men’s endurance coach, Frank Baddick. In Baddick’s debut marathon, he managed an excellent 2:15.58 for 8th place and will certainly have his eye on achieving the England Athletics 2022 Commonwealth qualifying standard of 2:14 over the next thirteen months.