NYC Marathon: Mocked runner completes bucket list event

A woman who was mocked as she finished last in the London Marathon has described the "incredible" moment she completed her bucket list event.

Kerrie Aldridge finished Sunday's New York City Marathon in seven hours and 29 minutes - a personal best time.

In 2019, the Cardiff runner said stewards "sniggered" during her "brutal" nine-hour run in London.

London Marathon apologised at the time and made changes following an investigation.

Kerrie said she felt event organisers had "listened to the experiences of those at the back".

Kerrie Aldridge says the atmosphere in NYC was "amazing" on marathon day

Speaking to BBC Radio Wales' Breakfast, she added that in the 2019 race, clean-up trucks had come on to the course early and she was forced to finish without mile-markers or aid stations.

"It was probably one of the hardest days of my life and I was the official last finisher at the time," she said.

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But Kerrie continued running, with coaching from a personal trainer, and secured a spot in the 52nd annual New York event, which took place on Sunday.

"It was my bucket list. It was something I really wanted to do, so I made it happen and it was the most incredible day," she said.

Kerrie Aldridge says she worked hard with a personal trainer to prepare for the New York Marathon

She described the "amazing" atmosphere of the starting area, stood among 50,000 fellow participants, and the "goose bumps" she felt as the American national anthem was played at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, followed by Frank Sinatra's New York, New York.

"Then I was off and I was running… I absolutely loved it from start to finish.

"New York knows how to party."

Kerrie said she was delighted that all her hard work paid off and she ran her fastest marathon to date.

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