JO NORTHEY of Lifton ran the 10th Tresco Marathon in a personal best time.

Jo was one of 99 runners to take part in the marathon on Sunday, held to raise funds for research into cystic fibrosis, a hereditary disease which affects the lungs and pancreas.

Tresco, one of the Isles of Scilly, provides a very special alternative to the famous London Marathon. The 26.2 mile course is made up of seven and a half laps, run in a figure of eight, around a three and a half mile circuit and is one of the world's smallest and most unique marathons.

Even though she admitted that the "hills got me a bit", Jo completed the marathon in 4:36:09, knocking 17 minutes off her previous year's time. She commented: "I was very happy with that."

Jo said Sunday provided perfect running conditions for her fourth marathon attempt. After "horrendous weather on Saturday", Sunday was "a little bit windy but the sun was out and it stayed dry," said Jo.

Even though a lot of focus on Sunday was directed at the London Marathon, Jo said she would highly recommend people to take part in Tresco.

She said: "It's so personal. You finish the race and then have a free buffet in the community hall and there's a presentation and everyone's called up to get their medal. It's lovely. There's no other marathon like it."

"What they do as well is give out lists of the runners so as you're running around people are looking at your number and then calling you by name. It was great. That's what I loved about it last year — it's so personal. You get to know everybody. It's a great, great event."

Over the past decade, the Tresco Marathon has raised more than £500,000 to beat the life-threatening condition which affects 8,500 children and young people in the UK.