Six months of gruelling training and preparation paid off for Deal Tri athlete Nikki Smith after she broke the four-hour mark at the recent Barcelona Marathon – only her fourth attempt at the distance.

Nikki, from Deal, admitted she was “thrilled and shocked” to complete the course in 3hrs36min34sec.

She finished 51st in the w35 category and 3,192 overall out of a field of almost 9,000. Her previous best marathon was at Monaco last year, where she just missed a sub four-hour time by 34 seconds. Nikki, who ran 35 miles a week in preparation, has already competed in two London Marathons and said: “When I saw I’d beaten my previous best by almost 24 minutes I was thrilled and shocked. My family and friends are overjoyed for me.”

She added: “We had ideal conditions for marathon running. Barcelona is a fast, flat course, it wasn’t too warm and there was light drizzle. The weather was perfect.”