Ref. 29942-39TRUE grit and determination saw Swindon's London Marathon competitors battle through wind and rain to the finishing line on Sunday. The brave amateur athletes raised thousands of pounds for charities, beating tough, personal challenges along the way.

LAURA Roberts had to hang on to her costume for almost the entire race but she still managed to sprint for the finish as she turned into The Mall.

The 20-year-old dental student, who made her own asthma inhaler costume, said: "I absolutely loved it. There were crowds all the way round so you feel bad if you start thinking about stopping.

"The costume was OK, but I had to hold on to it to stop it banging my knees."

Laura, of Lawn, whose mother Carolyn has asthma, managed to bring in about £1,500 for the Asthma Research Cam-paign and finished in a respectable time of about 5hrs 45mins.

Teacher Glenn Sedgwick didn't have a recalcitrant costume to contend with but he did have to overcome a knee injury to complete the gruelling course.

Glenn, who is on the staff at More-don Junior School, took up running to raise cash for Sense, a charity that helps deaf and blind people.

"It was a fantastic day out," he said.

"The atmosphere was unbelievable and so many people watched the race despite the rain. I am certainly not one of those people who say that this was their first and last marathon.

"I am planning to run again within the next four years."

Glenn, 33, who is deaf and has a cochlear implant, did part of his training by holding lunchtime jogging clubs for pupils at the school, as well as running around the town and working out at the gym. The youngsters also helped out with fundraising and diet telling him off if they saw him in the fish and chip shop or buying pizzas at the supermarket.

"I finished in five hours and five minutes I'm very disappointed not to beat five hours, but extremely pleased to have lasted the course. My left knee started playing up at 19 miles and I had to walk most of the last few miles."

So far, he has managed to raise £1,312 for Sense and more money is yet to come in.

Meanwhile, Humphrey the Camel, powered by the legs of Simon Perry and Tim Lender-you, braved wind and rain to smash the world record it set three years ago for the fastest competitors in a camel costume.

The pair ran 11-minute miles interspersed with a short walk throughout the race, to finish in 4hrs 58mins 22 minutes under the record.

"The support was absolutely fantastic, it really helped with the last four miles," said Simon, who was back behind his desk at Thames Water yesterday.

"We had a lot of interest all the way round."

He told how the weight of the furry costume increased in the rain as the two men inside sweated their way round the 26 mile course.

"We saw the odd rhino or Womble. They are one-man costumes and it was easier for them. There was a centipede too. They were doing quite well, but they had lots of legs."

Simon, 27, from Wood Hall Park and Tim, 28, from Greenmeadow, were part of a team aiming to raise £10,000 for WaterAid, which helps people in poor countries improve sanitation and water supplies.