New female record set at Jersey Marathon

Alice Braham had come over to the island from the UK to run the Jersey Marathon

A new female course record was set at the Jersey Marathon for the first time since 2013.

Alice Braham from London crossed the finish line in two hours and 40 minutes beating the previous record by four minutes.

Around 2,000 took part in the 26.2 mile (42k) race on Sunday which was the 20th time Jersey Marathon had been held.

The overall winner of the race was Simon Kimtai Kwarat from Kenya who completed the course in two hours and 17 minutes.

Runners started their race in St Helier before heading around the island

Ms Braham, 49, represented Great Britain as a teenager and was English National Champion at the 3,000m and in cross country.

She returned to running after having four children and is the number one ranked in the UK for her age group in the marathon distance.

Ms Braham said she was "ecstatic" after setting the course record and "the scenery and the atmosphere was fantastic".

She added: "Age is just a number definitely and I was surprised last year to find I was top five in the world in the marathon for my age group so doing it for the oldies."

Simon Kimtai Kwarat wanted to break the Jersey Marathon record

Mr Kwarat finished more than two minutes ahead of his closest rival.

He said: "It is very tough and my friends from Kenya were here supporting me too.

"Next year I will come back and I will take it to run under two hours 10 minutes."

The current overall record for the course is 2 hours and 16 minutes set by Nathan Kioko in 2023.

Rick Weston from Guernsey was seven minutes quicker than his previous Jersey Marathon time

The fastest Channel Islander to finish the marathon was Rick Weston from Guernsey and he completed the race in two hours and 31 minutes.

Mr Weston said "the wind was pretty tough... I am really pleased with that and it was definitely special being the 20th year of the Jersey Marathon".

He added: "People doing the marathon is a challenge but for some people doing the relay is a challenge. Just getting people out exercising and participating is just fantastic."

Francesca Monticelli praised volunteers and suppoters

Francesca Monticelli from Jersey was the fastest female runner from the island to cross the finish line.

She said it had been "absolutely incredible" and "all the volunteers, everyone who's come out to support has been absolutely phenomenal".

"It means everything just to have family, friends, everyone out here supporting. It's an amazing event and it just puts everybody together and brings us all together as an incredible island," Ms Monticelli added.

She finished the race with a time of three hours and 11 minutes.