Alderson fits the bill to win a medal

The race is actually more than double the marathon distance and the 87km route starts at the City Hall in Durban and climbs almost 4,000ft before finishing at the Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg.

With entry limited to 25,000 runners this year 321 British athletes qualified and Alderson was 37th British athlete home and 1,823rd overall in 8:34:12.

That earned him a Bill Rowan finishers medal. They are named after the first ever winner in 1921 and awarded to those finishing in less than the inaugural winning time of 8:59.

n In the Sutton Beast 10k Peterborough AC duo Steve Hall and Richard Coles finished ninth and 32nd with 39:57 and 44:04 respectively.