Thames Valley Harriers athlete finished in 2:36.26

An ill-stricken Tracy Barlow says it was a struggle to complete her 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon run on Sunday.

The 33-year-old, who represents Thames Valley Harriers, was hoping to book her place in Great Britain’s World Championship squad for Doha, Qatar this autumn.

However, the strong headwind during the 26.2-mile course saw Barlow, who also fell sick in the second half of the race, saw the long-distance specialist clock a below par two hours, 36 minutes and 26 seconds for the 20th place finish.

She was the fifth British female home behind 10th-placed Charlotte Purdue, who guaranteed her trip to the Middle East by clocking 2:25.20.

Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei defeated fellow compatriot and last year’s winner Vivian Cheruiyot by almost two minutes for a 2:18.20 victory.

“It was just really tough out there and really windy,” Barlow admitted afterwards. “From about a mile or two onwards you felt you felt you had a headwind and it was quite gusty.

“I didn’t feel great early on and then I sort of settled in to it, but after about halfway I started to feel quite sick.

“I felt I wanted to be sick, but obviously I just struggled with that because my stomach was just turning and I struggled to take any more energy on.

“I felt OK before the start of the race because it’s always difficult and you try not to think about it too much.

“I wasn’t really looking forward to the wind, but I hoped that I’d be able to stick with the group a bit more, but I faded away.”