RUNNER Steve Edwards became the first person in history to run 500 official marathons in under three hours and 20 minutes.

The 56-year-old reached from the North Cotswolds completed the Hull marathon on Sunday, September 23 to claim the accolade.

Running in what was his 841st competitive marathon race, Steve finished in a time of three hours, 18 minutes and a second to also claim second place in his V55 age category.

Commenting after the race, Edwards said: "After battling with an ongoing hamstring issue since the the end of last year, words cannot describe how pleased I am to become the first person to achieve this landmark world record which I thought was going to elude me.

"The last three miles were tortuous, but I really wanted this and I am so glad I was able to achieve it at Hull which is a really great event.

"I also got to meet and chat to Jo Pavey, one of my all time athletic heroes who presented my medal at the finish.

"I'd like to say a big sincere thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years not only my sponsors, Mannatech, Sub Sports, Cirencester Sports Massage, Fisiocrem and Team Nutrition for their continued help and belief in me but also to my fellow club members at North Cotswold Tri & Run and the many other runners who I know and meet on the marathon running circuit, they definitely help inspire me to keep going."

It's been a fantastic week for Edwards who also picked up award the the Pride of Cotswolds ceremony last Thursday.

"This has been the perfect end to what has been a fantastic week with winning the Sporting Hero category at the 'Pride of Cotswolds' awards," he added. "To that end, it is of course my wife Teresa that deserves the biggest thank you for being there at every race and supporting me through the good and the not so good times.

"She is the better half of team Edwards and the biggest secret to my success."

Looking forward, Edwards hopes to extend his marathon total to 850 before the end of the year and then hopes to push on towards 900 next year.

His ultimate ambition is to set a new world record for running 1000 official marathons averaging under 3hrs 20min, his current average for all 841 marathons is three hours, 18 minutes and 35 seconds.