Cancer survivor 'thrilled' after running London Marathon on crutches

Adam Lever said he felt "ecstatic" after completing the marathon

A man who ran the London Marathon on crutches has thanked friends and family for helping raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Adam Lever, from Beeston, Nottinghamshire, completed the famous course on Sunday, 12 years after being diagnosed with cancer.

The 30-year-old covered the 26.2-mile (42.1km) run in five hours, 42 minutes and 55 seconds.

He has raised more than £13,000 for the Bone Cancer Research Trust.

Mr Lever has raised more than £13,000 for the Bone Cancer Research Trust

Mr Lever, a sports disability support officer at the University of Nottingham, had to learn to walk again after undergoing an operation to remove a tumour in his leg.

He said he was recovering well after finishing the gruelling run.

"I'm a bit sore, particularly in my upper body and shoulders and my feet, but my legs are feeling quite fresh," he said.

"I feel pretty ecstatic really - it was a mammoth challenge yesterday, but there's a lot of relief to finish it, and I'm still on cloud nine."

'Feeling good'

Mr Lever had set a target of completing the marathon in less than six hours, a feat he said he was "thrilled" to achieve.

His time also beat the current world record for a marathon on crutches by more than 40 minutes, though he said he would need to make an application to Guinness World Records to make it official.

"In my training my target was to go under six hours, and I was feeling good yesterday so I'm really happy to do it," he said.

"Once I started I sort of knew I was on for a good time, so I'm really thrilled.

"We learned about the record quite late on... I suppose it's an unofficial record at the moment, but we'll put in an application for it, which would be excellent for awareness for the charity."

Mr Lever said he was very sporty before cancer hit

Mr Lever said he would wait and see how he recovers before deciding if he will take on any further marathons or fundraising events.

Having already raised well over his original target of £10,000, he paid tribute to friends and family for their "incredible" efforts in helping him train and hosting a variety of events to bring in donations.

"We've blown it out of the park," he said. "If all weekends could be like this it would be great."

Mr Lever achieved his target to finish the marathon on crutches in under six hours