IT was a moving day for West Dorset runners at Sunday’s London Marathon with some personal triumphs, some sorrows and an overwhelming sense of achievement.

They raised thousands for their chosen charities – even Sarah Bullen from Shipton Gorge who was forced to pull out half way after she fell foul of discarded battle bottle and tore a ligament in her knee.

Even so she ran and limped five more miles before St John Ambulance staff ordered her to stop.

Sarah, who still managed to raise around £1500 for Sense, a charity helping deaf blind children, said: “I had to pull out half way through. I’d done about eight miles when I passed a drink station.

“There were some kiddies playing with the bottles and squirting each other and then one threw a bottle across the floor and tried to avoid it but caught the edge with my food and my knee popped, I pulled one of the tendons but carried on for five more miles because I wanted to get to Tower Bridge.

“I was absolutely gutted. It was unfortunate and something that was out of my control.”

But she’s already got her application ready for next year and plans to do a half marathon later in the year.

Her friend Ally Franklin did her first marathon in four hours 41 minutes and raised around £2,500 for Help and Care.

Ally, who runs her own fitness studio and teaches at Bridport Leisure Centre, said there was no part of her body that didn’t hurt by the end.

She said she had to ring her dad for motivation around the 22 mile mark.

“I could have done it quicker because I rushed to get to the end of Tower Bridge because that’s where my husband was and he had to go at 1.30pm and probably went too fast in the beginning.

“I was really struggling, every muscle in my legs were dying and that’s with training.

“It was gruelling and hot and we’d been training in cold and snow.

“It was mentally draining too. At 23 miles I called my dad and said ‘you need to give me some motivation. I need you to tell me I can do this.

“It was very emotional. When I crossed the finish line I was really close to tears. I am really glad I did it. Would I do another one? I might in a couple of years.”

Sylvester Emms ran his race in five hours 39 minutes and raised around £1300 for the Rainbow Centre for Children.

He said he had a low dip between 17 and 22 miles but the crowds helped lift him.

He said: “The crowds made a big difference and give you that lift and when you see friends and family dotted around. Training on your own is lonely and very boring whereas it did fly by really.

“But it was actually easier than I thought it would be. The first 14/15 miles seemed to fly by.

“My knees were aching the next morning but I felt pretty good.”

Nevertheless he has no intention of doing it again.

“It was always a one-off challenge. I like to set myself a challenge every now and again but I’ll chose something different next time. I wouldn’t do another marathon – it’s a hammering on the joints.”

He said the Boston Marathon bombing didn’t really enter his mind.

“I don’t see any point in worrying. If something is going to happen it could happen anywhere.

“Most people wore black arm bands and there was a 30 second silence before. It was nice they showed respect for other people.”

Bridport mum Janet Letherby, 51, set herself the challenge of doing her run in under six hours.

She said: “That’s a long time running. I did it in five hours in 53 minutes and I was well pleased with that. The crowds all the way were just amazing.

“People were having parties outside their houses and when you went pas a pub as the day was going one people were more and more drunk and being more enthusiastic cheering you on.

“The most I’d ever done was 16 miles so I knew I hadn’t done enough training but come about 20 miles just about everyone around me was walking and that is not good because you feel like it is OK. I thought I must keep going.

“The last few miles were very hard. Your muscles are absolute agony, your knees are hurting but it was worth it to do it although I think I’ll only do it that once. Though it’ll be a breeze doing the Race for Life now!”

Janet, who coaches the endurance group at Dorchester Athletics Club, chose the RNLI as her charity and expects to raise more than £1000.

Janet’s friend Susan Tweed, a member of the Bridport Runners, agreed to do the run as she is 50 this year and stormed round in four hours 28 minutes.

She said: “The crowds were great and it was really good to do. It was really hot and really crowded, even when you are running you can’t really run, unless you are in the front.

“By the time you reach 20 miles you just want to go home! The drinks stations were pretty chaotic with all the bottles on the floor and it was quite difficult to negotiate your way through.”

She might do another marathon one day and quite fancies the scenery in Scotland.

Jeremy Smith from Beaminster’s Symonds and Sampson ran his race in five hours and 28 minutes and hopes to come back again and better his time.

He said it had been an amazing, if very draining, experience in the heat.

He said: “It was good fun, the atmosphere was absolutely spectacular, off the scale and the support was brilliant. When you have 600,000 people cheering you on, three or four deep it is pretty amazing.

“When you take that final turn the last hundred yards it is like a wall of noise.

“I’ll try and do it next year in a better time.

“One of the best things was the 30 second silence before we started, that was properly powerful.”

He has so far raised around £1000 for the Poole Hospital charity for the children’s ward and he will be running a 10k race in Poole in June. He ran the Yeovil half marathon earlier this year for the same charity.