'Hopefully I'll get my legs back at some point!' - George Downing swaps speed for stamina as he completes the London Marathon

Flat jockey George Downing overcame some trouble in running as he joined a record turnout of more than 50,000 people in Sunday's London Marathon.

Downing is used to riding speedy types at Eve Johnson Houghton's Oxfordshire stable, but he had to dig deep into his stamina reserves over the gruelling 26.2-mile trip on a dry and bright day.

The 31-year-old, who has partnered 173 winners in Britain, was raising money for Bowel Cancer UK after his father Paul was diagnosed with the disease in 2016, and he crossed the line in a time of 4hr 10.10min, with an overall finishing position of 23,317.

He said: "It went really well. I didn't quite get the time I wanted, but I picked up some little strains about 20 miles in, which hampered me a bit late on.

"It was a great experience and I'm delighted to raise so much money for Bowel Cancer UK, which is a charity close to us all. It was great to have Dad here today – he was chasing me around London and it felt like he was going quicker than I was half the time. It was probably a harder battle."

Downing so nearly pulled off the perfect pre-race prep at Bath on Friday evening, but was beaten a nose in the mile maiden on God Bless America in his father's silks.

After pounding the capital's streets, he was understandably a bit stiff but hopes to be back in the saddle in the next few days.  

"I'll have a nice meal tonight and hopefully I'll get my legs back at some point because at the moment it's quite hard to walk," he said. 

"I'll go steady for the next 24 to 48 hours and hopefully be back riding in the middle of the week. It's been a fantastic experience and I'm grateful for all the support to get past the fundraising target, with more than £3,000 raised."  

Former jockey Wayne Burton, who sustained a complete spinal cord injury from a fall at Exeter in 2008, completed the course to raise funds for Spinal Research in 6hr 38.26min.

Richard Dunwoody's niece Lily Pearce ran the marathon for Motor Neurone Disease in a time of 5hr 17.54min, one week after the former three-time champion jockey took on the Zaragoza Marathon for the same charity.

Read these next. . .

Jockey George Downing set for London Marathon as he bids to raise funds for Bowel Cancer UK 

Rachael Blackmore charity fund raises £250,000 for injured jockeys after Betfair donate for every winner she's ridden 

Festival-winning rider Steve Jobar set to raise more than £100,000 for Motor Neurone Disease in Newbury fundraiser 

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