BRADFORD'S Emon Choudhury was "honoured" to pay tribute to the Queen at the Great North Run on Sunday.

Choudhury, who was invited to take part in the Newcastle half marathon, admitted that there was a sombre mood prior to the event kicking off following the Queen's passing last Thursday.

A rendition of the National Anthem was performed as the racer's geared up to start the 13-miler, and the 60,000 competitors assembled together to remember Her Majesty.

Looking back at the moment, Choudhury said: "I do think it had quite a big impact on the event (Queen's passing), particularly at the start.

"All the runners were lined up to begin the race and they played the National Anthem, while they had a picture of the Queen on the big screen. To have 60,000 people singing the National Anthem together was amazing; it certainly brought a tear to my eye.

"The atmosphere was quite subdued at the beginning of the event, but it put the first part of the race into perspective-which was that we were doing this for the Queen."

Choudhury added: "To be a part of something of that magnitude in celebrating the Queen's life, it was surreal and I felt blessed to be there."

In a previous interview with the T&A, Choudhury had spoke of his desire to complete the famous Great North Run and his wish came true when he was offered a place in this year's race after his recent running achievements- which included winning BBC'S Race Across the World and completing a marathon whilst fasting.

Unfortunately for the Bradford racer, he wasn't content with his display in Newcastle.

He said: "I wasn't particularly pleased with my performance because I know I can do a half marathon much faster. I got a time of two hours and nine minutes but I've done it in under two hours in training before, so on that front it wasn't my best display.

"I've got to say though, it was far hillier than what I was expecting and there was a genuine two mile climb in one area of the race, so I shouldn't be too hard on myself. At the end of the day, I competed in another famous race and I got to join thousands in remembering the Queen's life."

The challenges keep on coming for Choudhury as he prepares to take on his first London Marathon in two week's time, but the challenge is something that the Bradford man thrives off.

He said: "I'm really enjoying pushing himself with these challenging events. It's all about pushing the boundaries because I've seen what I'm capable of.

"I'm always thinking about the next one and I'm always questioning whether I can go that one step further because that's what it's all about. It's also a fantastic money spinner for me because I can raise a lot of money for my chosen charities when I compete in these races, which is absolutely amazing."

Choudhury added: "The Great North Run was a great example of this because of the amount of coverage and the amount of people that take part in the race.

"What was also nice about the weekend was that my daughter and wife were able to come and support me for the first time too, and they're fully on board with my targets and future challenges."