Welcome to summer: Rose of the Shires brings the sunshine to county

On Saturday, Jose Santos knocked more than ten minutes off the previous best time for the marathon event as he claimed victory in three hours, 50 minutes and 37 seconds.

The result was a morale booster for Jose who is set to take part in this year’s Boston Marathon.

On a day when temperatures peaked at around 17°C, but running conditions were otherwise perfect, Andrew Platt took first place in the Rose of the Shires Ultra, completing the 54-mile circular route in 8:17:11.

The Rose of the Shires Ultra starts and finishes at Brixworth Country Park, passing through the beautiful Northamptonshire countryside, including two stunning country parks, Salcey Forest, the Grand Union Canal and 21 pretty villages and towns.

Maryann Devally took first place in the women’s category for the ultra marathon, finishing in 10:28:24; while Nikki Javan won the women’s marathon in 4:11:54 – just over a minute outside of the course record pace.

Run director Simon Hollis said: "It was fantastic to see so many runners taking on these endurance distances.

"It's been a long winter but the Northamptonshire sun came out to celebrate the return of ultra running to the county, and brought some great performances with it.

"We look forward to seeing many more runners push themselves to the limit and achieve incredible things at our Shires & Spires running festival in May."

To find out more about the events Go Beyond hold, including this year's Amazing Northampton Run half-marathon, visit www.gobeyondchallenge.com/