LONDON Marathon runner Colin Harvey shocked his girlfriend with a marriage proposal metres from the finish line.

He presented a ring to Tanya Moody, who hugged him from her position in the crowd before saying the magic word ‘yes’.

Colin said: “It was a bit nerve-wracking but the thought of doing it helped me to get through the marathon. As soon as I saw them I jumped over the barrier and she said, ‘what are you doing?’ She couldn’t believe it and she started crying.

“It all started as a joke a few years ago. I said I would propose to Tanya when we had been together for 10 years. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to propose at the London Marathon as the day would be full of emotion for us anyway. Our families managed to keep it all a secret. Tanya had no idea about any of this.

“Everyone’s been in on it since I asked her Dad for his blessing after one of my training runs in January.

"Her mum and sister helped with the ring and my sister-in-law, who also ran the marathon, gave me the ring at the start line so Tanya wouldn’t find it."

Colin was raising money for the British Heart Foundation in memory of his older brother David, who died from cardiac arrest at the age of 23.

Following David’s death, Colin and his family were tested. That revealed that his sister Tammy had the same condition. She was then fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator at the age of 16 to help control her heart.

“It was my special day to my bit for the BHF and now it will be a special day for Tanya as well. I just kept thinking it doesn’t matter about times, I’m not there to break records – as long as I get to the finish line and propose!”

Other runners from the town participated in what was the hottest day in the event’s history. They had to contend with record highs of 25C as they made their way around the capital alongside 40,000 fellow competitors.

Gary Payne and his wife Joanne took on the 26-mile run in aid of stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands in Swindon.

Their daughter Imogen didn’t survive the pregnancy and so the two of them ran to raise money for other families who go through similar trauma. Gary said: “Imogen is always with us. The charity is a really nice close-knit family that we’re all a part of for different reasons.

“The marathon was really hard and hot – a culture shock after the recent weather. I’ve never seen so many people. Afterwards we were walking and stumbling around as if we’d been riding a big horse for hours.”

Chris Taylor, a footballer with 300 caps for Swindon Supermarine, raised money for Children With Cancer UK. He posted a time of 3hrs 21mins on the day and smashed his target by raising almost £3,000.

He said: “I’m really happy. I’m sore and very achy but I’m all right.

"I was overwhelmed by the amount of people who contacted me, including family and friends I haven’t heard from in a while. It’s really nice to get so much support.”

Ian Norris of Wootton Basset completed his fifth and final London Marathon. He said: “The conditions were brutal. It was really, really hot.

"There were runners who were unable to complete the marathon and were stretchered off. It was the hardest marathon I’ve run, both physically and mentally. What kept me going was that it was my final London Marathon and I didn’t want to let down people who have supported me and donated to Wiltshire Air Ambulance.”