SALTAIRE Striders led the way in the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday.

Will Kerr put a two-month virus behind him and a series of earlier disappointments at the distance. This time he paced himself right to a personal best by seven minutes in 2hr 41min 52sec.

Hannah Oldroyd was two minutes off her best, set in 2014, but she still ranks in the top 40 in the UK and was 23rd of the non-elite ladies in London. She was second from Yorkshire, behind Rotherham rival Rosie Edwards.

Marcin Soszka was three minutes down on his recent Rotterdam Marathon time in 2:44:55, while clubmates Martin Fillingham (2:58:15) and Stuart Dunbar (2:58:18) also broke three hours.

Dunbar, an over-50s late-developer, started running competitively just four years ago and his time was eight minutes better than his only other marathon in 2014.

The craziest performance of the week was by Richard Stone (Saltaire), who ran the hilly Boston Marathon on Monday in 3:35:09 and then London in 3:27:12.

Chris Williams (Queensbury) has yet to translate his 5K-10K road times to the marathon, finishing in 2:42:52, but it was still five minutes better than his first London attempt last year.

Skyrac's Dave Stoneman ran 2:45:35, with Nuno and Rebecca Cesar de Sa in the 3hr 10min bracket.

Andrew Britton (Idle) ran 2:56:34 in his first marathon, while Emma Stoney (Baildon Runners) paced herself beautifully to finish in 3:19:34 – an 11-second personal best on last year.

Barbara Robinson, from Skipton AC, was fourth in the women's over-65s category in 3:52:34, while Stoney's team-mate Denise Johnson was 70th in the over-55s in 3:57:28.

Ilkley's Alex Hyde was the last Harrier in 4:46:13, a minute quicker than his Paris time three weeks ago.

It was insufficient recovery time but he was carried home by the atmosphere, saying: "I thought Paris was good but London trumped that many times over. The noise from the crowds throughout was awesome."

The light flurry of snow at the start soon changed to cool and dry throughout, perfect for the runners.

* Ilkley Harriers start their Zero to 5K six-week course for beginner runners next Tuesday. They should meet at Ilkley Lawn Tennis & Squash Club's bar.