PE teacher beats diabetes marathon world record

Nathan Kilcourse knocked two minutes off the existing record in York

A teacher has broken a world record by completing the fastest marathon by a male with type 1 diabetes.

Nathan Kilcourse, from Nottingham, shaved two minutes off the record when he completed the Yorkshire Marathon in York in a time of 2hr 28m 05s. His achievement is now awaiting official verification by Guinness World Records.

The 35-year-old, who works as a PE teacher at Endeavour Academy's upper school in Daybrook, Nottinghamshire, said he could not have done it without the support of his pupils.

His feat has raised nearly £2,000 for the Diabetes UK charity but he admitted he had to "really dig deep" to get to finish line.

Type 1 diabetes is a disorder in which the pancreas is unable to produce insulin. It is characterised by uncontrolled high blood glucose levels but can be controlled by injecting insulin.

Mr Kilcourse said it was a "big shock" when he was diagnosed with the condition aged 19.

He took on the challenge - despite not having run a marathon for 10 years - to show that having diabetes did not mean limiting life choices.

'So tough'

Speaking after completing the marathon on Sunday, he told the BBC: "It feels amazing, I managed to take about two minutes off the record... it wasn't as easy as that sounds, I had a really tough last couple of miles of the race."

Mr Kilcourse said the day was "really tough" and in the morning he had high blood sugar levels which he put down to the "stress and anxiety" of pre-race preparations.

"At the very start of the race, I couldn't really make any adjustments to that so I just had to get into it and go," he said.

"My usual race strategy, I'd have three or four [energy] gels, I had none on the day which I think is why those last few miles were so tough."

Mr Kilcourse praised the support of his students at his school and said he "can't wait" to get back to work after half-term finishes by which time he hopes verification will be complete.

The previous world record was set by Daniel Clarke at the London Marathon on 27 April.