DAN Thomas soared to the top of the Swindon Harriers marathon rankings for 2023 with a big personal best in Germany on Sunday.

The 28-year-old opted for the Hamburg event and carved almost four minutes off his PB with a time of 2hrs 32mins 53secs to finish 58th overall and first Brit.

“I knew I was in good shape, and it was a case of getting to 19 or 20 miles and then seeing if the wheels came off – but they didn’t!” said Thomas.

“I’m really pleased with that time. Next time I’ll be looking for a sub 2hrs 30mins.”

Thomas is currently living in Germany but is returning to Swindon shortly.

Elsewhere, Ethan Pierce lined up for his marathon debut in London and completed the 26.2 miles in a very creditable time of 2:35.13.

“My legs are absolutely ruined, I was not expecting it to be that hard!” said Pierce, who is coached by Bryan Clinton.

“But it was well worth it. The crowds were amazing, it was deafening out there on the streets – my ears were aching by the finish. It was just mental!”

Second Harrier across the line and celebrating a massive personal best by 13 minutes was Michael Passmore in 2:45.23.

In contrast, Gary O’Brien’s 2:51.56 shaved a single second off his PB set on the same course two years ago.

Darren Davidse, who ran 3:11.18 in Copenhagen last year, has just moved into the M50 age group and ran a solid 3:33.29.

And full credit to super vets Bernard Merron and Michael Affleck. Merron clocked 3:45.27 to finish 56th in the over 65s age group while Affleck was 22nd in the over 75s category.

Meanwhile, teenager Ella Spencer, who is coached by John Dill, helped the South West U15 girls’ squad win the team silver medals at the London Mini Marathon.

Ella finished 18th overall in the race and was the SW’s fourth and final scorer. Fletcher Hart finished 46th in the U17 men’s race.

Emma Hines was third overall and first veteran over 45 (39:52) in the Corsham St George’s Day 10k, which attracted almost 1200 finishers. Jade Bennett (46:37) and Kira Clinton (59:06) both made their 10k debuts.