Southampton Running Club's webmaster, Alan Tulip, defied jet lag to finish ninth in the Raleigh Marathon in North Carolina out of a field of 1,000 runners.

His time of 2 hours 42 minutes would have been a personal best had the course not been accidentally shortened by a little over a mile.

This was caused by a policeman misdirecting the runners - and, even though organisers tried to extend the route, the course was 25 miles.

That denied Tulip a sub 2:50 time which was his target - a respectable time for a vet-45 man.

The performance came just eight weeks after he finished 17th in the Abingdon Marathon with a time of 2hrs 55mins.

The weekend also saw a major milestone for SRC ultra distance stalwart Malcolm Knight, who finished his 100th marathon at Luton with a 3hr 26min return before dashing on up to Leamington Spa to compete in a brass band competition.

It has been a good year for SRC members over the marathon, with Jamie Jones making his debut at London in 2hrs 32mins and subsequently going on to win the Robin Hood Marathon in 2hrs 36mins.

Another debutant, Roger Merritt, finished a narrow second in the tough Isle of Wight Marathon in 2hrs 38mins during the warmth of May.

SRC's ultra squad are now planning a trip to Dublin for their marathon in October next year.