Never give up, says final-place marathon runner

A runner says she has been "blown over" by the millions of reactions to her crossing the finish line in last place at the Manchester Marathon.

Lynda Elmore, of Perton near Wolverhampton, was taking part in her 24th marathon on Sunday when she fell and injured herself at nine miles.

Ms Elmore though was determined to carry on and eventually crossed the line after seven hours and 18 minutes - with Facebook footage of the moment now seen by more than four million people.

She said she had no idea the reaction was "going to go as bonkers as it has" but hoped she has inspired people to "get out there, put your trainers on and never give up".

'Do I carry on?'

Organisers of the event said a record-breaking 32,000 people signed up to take part in this year's race.

Ms Elmore, a member of Aldridge Running Club and a previous ultra marathon and a 24-hour running challenge competitor, said she had "had a bit of a tumble" when she clipped a kerb.

"You get yourself up, feel a little bit embarrassed, couple of people help you up and then you shake yourself off then you realise your hip hurts, your elbow hurts, you've jarred a bit of your shoulder and then you start getting a little bit emotional," she said.

"By then, you think to yourself, 'No, come on, you can do this'.

"I think I was getting emotional because well, you think you've still got 18 miles to go.

"It was one of those moments, 'Well, do I give up, or do I carry on?'."

After deciding to keep going, she has been heaped with praise in more than 5,000 comments on the Facebook post.

Lynda Elmore urged others to get their trainers on and "get out there and never give up'

"I'm just blown over," she continued.

"I'm truly emotional that I've inspired so many people to read and comment and share across the various sites.

"As a member of Aldridge Running Club, which is where I started running, [it] has set a preference of how I run really, which is to get out there and do what you can do and just enjoy what you do.

"I'm very grateful, I'm very emotional... If I feel it's given some encouragement and some joy to people out there, then that gives me pleasure."

Her partner Rob said he was watching the live link and tracking running club members and said it was wonderful to see her.

"She is truly amazing," he added.

Thanking everyone for the attention she has received, Ms Elmore said: "If there's just one thing I can say is, get out there, put your trainers on and never give up and just be strong and believe in yourselves and lean on others if you need to."