After running the London Marathon on Sunday, Gemma Brown was back at work for a commercial property company in Frankfurt, Germany, first thing on Monday morning.

Miss Brown, 29, took part in the race as a tribute to the late Arthur Carrington, from Alton Priors, who was like a surrogate grandad to her and her family in Marlborough Her parents, Trevor and Sally Brown, who live on The Green, Marlborough, were in London with two of their three sons and Miss Brown’s boyfriend to cheer her on.

Miss Brown finished her fifth marathon in three hours and 17 minutes. She said: “This was two minutes slower than my fastest previous time.”

She said she originally started running for fun and then entered a 10K race.

“I did quite well in that and then I did a half marathon and then my first marathon,” she said.

The former South Wilts Grammar School student, who was brought up in Alton Priors, said Mr Carrington, who farmed in the village and had fields around their home, used to dote on her and her three brothers, taking them to see the Saints play at Southampton.

Mr Carrington, 70, who died a month ago, was looked after in Prospect Hospice for the last few weeks of his life.

Miss Brown said: “About two weeks before he died, I told him I was running in the mara-thon and asked him if I could raise money for a charity of his choice and he suggested Help the Hospices.”

She said she hoped to have raised about £700 for the charity that works with more than 200 hospices, ensuring their end-of-life care was available for those who needed it.