Leg-break Olympian toasts London Marathon finish

Olympic athlete Rose Harvey has described crossing the finish line at the London Marathon as "really, really special" - all the more so because she broke her leg in the last one she ran.

Harvey was running the marathon for Team GB at the Paris Olympics when she suffered a stress fracture of the femur - but still managed to finish the race.

She completed her first marathon since then in ninth place, and with her second fastest time ever - 2:25:01.

"It makes me really excited for the rest of this year," said Harvey, from Evesham, Worcestershire.

One of 56,640 runners to cross the finish line in London on Sunday - a new world record - Harvey completed the race just a couple of minutes off her personal best.

She was the second British woman - and the ninth woman overall - to finish, with winner Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa setting a new world record for a women-only field.

"Paris was not my ideal race at all," said Harvey.

"But the one thing that I think all elite athletes are very good at is using setbacks as opportunities to come back stronger.

"London was a great stepping stone in the right direction and it makes me very excited for what's to come."

Harvey said she was happy with her time - especially given how warm it was, with temperatures hitting around 22C (72F).

"You train through winter, and then when you get an unseasonably warm day it's hard for everyone," she said.

"I have so much admiration for the people still out there four, five hours later," she added.

"And then the fancy dress people as well – I cannot imagine how hot some of those suits must have been."

But even Harvey admits she struggled at times.

"I went through dips where I thought: 'Oh my god, I've got so long to go,' and it felt really hard," she said.

"And then you come up the other side. Everyone goes through that same roller coaster, whatever you're going for, we're all pushing our bodies. And that's the fun of it."

Harvey will enjoy a week of "not much running at all", before easing herself back into training.

"It's really important to just take some time to decompress," she explained. "A lot goes into the months leading up to it, and all the training and the stress of the race week.

"So it's really important to take some time out and also catch up with all my friends, who I haven't seen much of over the last few months."

Other runners included a group of sisters from Hagley, who ran a virtual course in memory of their mother Stephanie Perks, who died of cancer last September.

Emma Chetwynd Jarvis, from Malvern, completed the race dressed as a dog, to raise money for the sight loss charity Guide Dogs.

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