Kingston's Keefe triumphs in London Marathon

Kingston Technology's UK and Ireland regional director Ann Keefe completes 2010 marathon despite injury setback

Medal winner: Ann Keefe celebrates finishing the 2010 London Marathon

A painful tendon injury did not stop Kingston Technology's Ann Keefe completing the London Marathon in a little more than five hours last week.

Training had started well in January despite the snow, and Keefe said she followed a strict training plan, changed her diet and was running more than 40 miles a week.

But then disaster struck.

"I tore my achilles tendon and had to have physiotherapy and was told not to run for at least three weeks. In the end I couldn't run for almost five weeks and didn't do any more training before the marathon," she said: "During that time off, I lost my motivation and resumed my old eating and drinking habits, and pretty much gave up the idea of running the race at all."

But a last-minute change of heart caused her to change her mind, earning a respectable finish time of five hours, five minutes and one second.

"Running around past Buckingham Palace to all the cheers of the massive crowds just felt fantastic and I actually almost sprinted up the mall to the finish line," she said.

Keefe has so far raised more than £1,200 for Kingston's chosen charity Vision and is still accepting donations.