Marathon runner trusted the app... and did 49 miles

RUNNING or even walking a marathon is tough enough, especially in the wind and rain.

But Jodey Hopcroft (below) ended up covering nearly twice the official 26.2-mile distance because of a glitch on the official app she was using to record her progress.

She ended up spending more than 14 hours fighting through appalling weather and struggling with blisters to cover an extraordinary 49 miles.

Miss Hopcroft, 38, was signed up to take part in the London Marathon but when that was cancelled organisers arranged a ‘virtual’ event with amateurs choosing their own route.

It was the fifth year that Miss Hopcroft had taken part. She ran it in five and a half hours last year but walked this time because she had not trained for it, assuming it would not take place.

She marked a route out near her home on the Norfolk coast but didn’t realise poor GPS reception on her phone would mean her progress was only intermittently recorded. She had to keep going because she would not qualify for a certificate and medal if the app didn’t record her covering the full distance. She was also desperate not to let down sponsors who had pledged more than £2,000 to multiple sclerosis charity MS-UK. ‘ The rain was pouring down so hard that there were deep puddles which I couldn’t avoid, so I got really bad blisters,’ she said yesterday. ‘ There were a couple of times I did have a bit of a cry. I was just in agony.’ Miss Hopcroft, set off at 4.45am on October 4. Motivational texts and messages from her family and friends helped cheer her on until she clocked the full distance at 7pm. She collapsed into ‘hysterical laughter’ when she looked at a map and realised how far she had gone. A spokesman for the Virgin Money London Marathon said: ‘ We salute Jodey’s strength, stamina and good humour.’