Richard Dare went to work in jeans yesterday.

You couldn’t blame the normally suave owner of James of Montpellier menswear shop in Cheltenham for not wanting to wear a suit after running more than 13 miles the previous day dressed to the nines.

Visitors to The Local Answer website last week will know that Richard took part in the Cheltenham Half Marathon on Sunday dressed in suit, waistcoat and tie to raise money for Maggie’s in Cheltenham.

And while he raised £1,200 for a very good cause he just missed out on setting a new world record for running a half marathon in a suit.

That stood at one hour, 18 minutes, 10 seconds and was set by Australian Michael Tozer and Richard, who was allowed to wear running shoes as part of the challenge, had hoped to knock a couple of minutes off that time.

In the event, he finished in the highly respectable time of one hour, 19 minutes, 58 seconds which was good enough to take him across the line at Cheltenham Racecourse in 19th place.

“The first half of the race I was ahead of schedule,” Richard said. “But the rain hammered down after about five miles and that made the suit really heavy. It was really difficult on the hilly part up to the racecourse and I slowed over the last three or four miles.”

So, what happened to the suit?

“It’s ruined,” laughed Richard, “I’ve thrown it in the bin. I never want to see it again!”

So, would Richard, a good standard distance runner and a member of Cheltenham Harriers, consider another attempt on Tozer’s record?

“Immediately after the race I thought I’d never do that again,” said the dad-of-three. “But I think I might. If it’s a flat course and there’s no rain then I think I can definitely beat the record.”

The Gloucester Half in August next year is one possibility should Richard try again but even though he missed out on the record on Sunday he was full of praise for the Cheltenham Half itself.

“There was a great atmosphere and the people of Cheltenham really turned out in their numbers to support the event,” said Richard. “The rain didn’t deter the spectators and it was fantastic to run through the town centre, Montpellier and on London Road.”

Richard was just as pleased to see Cheltenham Harriers runners claim a one-two in the race.

Ben Price crossed the line first in a time of one hour, 10 minutes, 33 seconds – 19 seconds ahead of clubmate Oliver Mott.

“They’re good runners,” added Richard.