Abingdon Marathon will always have personal resonance for Katy Young.

The day before the 25-year-old Bicester woman ran the race last year, her father John died of heart disease.

But she vowed to pull on her running shoes in his memory – and did the same again for yesterday’s race.

She said: “This one will always be in his memory.

“It was really difficult last year because there was a physical strain and an emotional strain but I managed to get a personal best.

“I think ultimately it gave me the strength in my running to push off.”

She said thinking of her dad gave her the courage to dust herself off when she took a bad fall after eight miles.

“When I was in the back of the ambulance after falling flat on my face, I was thinking how proud of me he would be for struggling on, so I got up and made it to the end.”

Pounding the streets for the first time was 34-year-old Abingdon man Curtis Manners.

He has raised £350 for grief support charity SeeSaw, a total which is being matched by his employer, Npower.

He said: “If I’m going to do something stupid, I might as well do it for a good cause.”

At the other end of the scale was Paul Brackett, 52, from Blackbird Leys, who finished his 100th marathon in his fastest ever time.

After completing the run in 3hrs, 17mins and 20 seconds, he said: “I feel fantastic.

“To get a personal best as well was the cherry on the icing on the cake.

He added: “You look round at everyone else, and for everyone it’s like it’s their hundredth.

“I’m only small fry really.”

He was joined by two of his brothers, Terry, 48, from Greater Leys, and Peter, 54, from Cowley.

Terry said: “It’s an amazing achievement. What he’s done is absolutely inspiring.”

Another group of runners in celebratory mode were the Eynsham Road Runners, who had 25 people taking part to mark the club’s 25th anniversary. For five of these runners, it was their first attempt at the distance.

Kevin Dawson, 34, from North Leigh, who came up with the idea, said: “It’s been very exciting.

“We didn’t think we would manage to get 25 runners, but we have done.”

One of the runners who had come furthest to take part was 58-year-old Jacques Thebault, who is from Abingdon’s twin town Argentan, in France.

It was his 21st time around the Abingdon course, and his 82nd marathon.

And to make things slightly more entertaining, the runner dressed up as Caesar.

He said: “The timing is no longer interesting for me, I prefer the fun.

“I’ve been running in a different fancy dress since 1997. This is a good one because it’s not too hot to run in.”