The aches and pains have long since gone and now there is a feeling only of pride for four workers from Quedgeley as they reflect on their first ever London Marathon.

Pride that they completed the 26.2-mile challenge presented by the most iconic distance race in the world and pride also that they raised more than £12,000 for their two chosen charities – The Spring Centre in Quedgeley and Maggie’s Cancer Support in Cheltenham.

And the story doesn’t end there because the four runners – Simon Trippett, Victoria Anderson, Wendy Worger and Steve Jones – who were all competing in their first ever marathon, have discovered a love of all things running.

So much so that they have all put in for the ballot for next year’s London spectacular.

“Yes, we’d like to do another,” said Wendy, “now that we know what to expect! We’ve not been put off!

“We’re all still running and three of us are still racing. Simon’s doing the Great North Run at the beginning of September and Simon, Steve and I are doing the Cheltenham Half at the end of September.”

Steve and Wendy also competed in the Swansea Half in late June, so they have been keeping pretty busy.

When they spoke to The Local Answer in March, the quartet, who all work at The Property Centre’s head office just outside Gloucester, explained how they had been preparing for the London Marathon since the previous October/November.

Having trained through one of the coldest winters and the Beast from the East, the heatwave on race day itself – 22nd April – came as a surprise, but all four certainly rose to the challenge to complete the gruelling course.

“None of us had expected it to be so warm on the day and we had to adjust our running plans to suit the weather,” said Steve.

“We were glad of all the water stations for sure, not to mention the energy gels and salt sticks – anything to help us conquer the distance which ended up being more than 26.2 miles!”

With over 60,000 people taking part in the marathon, the four had to weave quite a bit over the distance to navigate around the sheer volume of other runners.

All four ran just under 29 miles and were glad to finally reach the finish line in The Mall.

“It was an amazing day,” said Simon. “Running across Tower Bridge was such a great feeling and while the heat made the run much harder, it also encouraged people to come out and show their support.

“There were crowds around the entire route, all cheering, wishing us well and creating a real carnival atmosphere, which was fantastic and kept us all focussed when the going got tough.”

And all the effort proved worthwhile, not least because of the amount of money they raised for their two chosen charities.

“We’re so appreciative of The Property Centre’s support,” said Jayne Fisher, centre manager at The Spring Centre, and Sally Hayes, centre head at Maggie’s.

“To have run the hottest ever London Marathon on record is an achievement in itself, but to have raised so much money for our two local causes is nothing short of remarkable.”