KILKHAMPTON’S Rollo McGrath completed his first ever London Marathon on Sunday, April 28.

The former Bude rugby player was running for Talan’s Trust in memory of Talan Penny who died of a rare form of childhood cancer — rhabdomyosarcoma — back in May 2017.

Explaining why he chose to run for the charity, Rollo said: “Talan was a really good friend of my daughter Chloe, they were part of the surf life saving club together and went to school together. We knew him as a family friend as well as his mum and dad, so it was the charity to run for.

“Running for Talan’s Trust has been an ongoing thing for a couple of years. I ran the Bath Half Marathon a couple of months ago and I’ve also done a charity raffle and a quiz at the New Inn in Kilkhampton, which was packed out. Including the marathon, I’ve raised £1,552 for the trust.”

Rollo ended up running the marathon in five hours and 17 minutes, leaving him frustrated, although he admits a lack of preparation didn’t aid his cause.

He said: “I did a few long runs but I work full-time. You always think you’ve trained enough but I didn’t. If I did it again I’d train more seriously.

“I was really disappointed with my time but ultimately it’s about raising money for Talan’s Trust. I did the first half in about two hours and seven and then the rest in over three hours which shows how badly prepared I was. I really flagged in the last five miles.”

Despite his frustrations, Rollo admitted the event itself was one to remember.

He said: “The race itself is fantastic and it’s so well organised. The crowd provide amazing support, you can’t hear yourself think. It’s just awesome.

“People from Bude and my family were shouting from the sidelines, and people from the crowd shout your name and spur you on.”

Rollo was allocated a place in the most remarkable of circumstances.

He said: “Bude RATS only get given one place and ten people applied and I got drawn out of the ballot. You can only go in the ballot if you’ve applied through the website and didn’t get in, so to have a one in ten chance of getting the club place and get it was just brilliant.

“I’d like to thank Sarah Penny and the Talan’s Trust committee for the support they’ve given me during the training and the jumper, everybody in Bude RATS, and thank everyone in Bude and Kilkhampton for their support.”