A woman who crossed the finish line at the Richmond Park marathon last weekend completed an even more mammoth task than her fellow competitors – it was her 100th marathon.

Kathryn Hall completed the Richmond Park marathon in four hours 38 minutes, despite suffering from a persistent achilles injury.

The 48-year-old, from St Albans, first ran the London marathon in 2001, but then had a hiatus until 2008 due to injury.

She said: “I started trail running and I found a little bit easier because of the different terrain and softer ground, so I started trail running marathon distances, and sometimes even longer.”

Ms Hall, whose brother lives in Twickenham, had completed the Richmond course before and wanted the race on Sunday, May 5, to be her 100th.

She would sometimes run a marathon a week and also completed the quadzilla – four marathons in four days.

She said: “I wasn’t aiming to get into the 100 club but as times goes by you start seeing the same faces and then it just evolves.

“My totals are nothing compared to some runners, but I could comfortably run a marathon a week. It’s a bit of an obsession really and it’s enjoyable as well.

“If you get very badly injured you start to miss it and you feel your fitness disappearing – it is like a drug really, and something I cannot imagine not doing. I have asked a lot of my body and have got to step back now.”

But Ms Hall will continue to run marathons - her next being the Edinburgh course before completing the Berlin race in September.

The Richmond Park marathon, in its third year, also saw a wedding proposal at the finish line.

Christian Burt said: “This was the first time I ran a marathon. While I tripped and cramped up at mile 23 - which made it rather difficult running and walking the rest - I still had a great day, especially after my partner agreed to marry me at the finish line.”