There was only one Paula Radcliffe yesterday but more than 32,300 people, most with only a fraction of her athletic brilliance, also completed the 23rd London Marathon.
By 5pm, some people were looking barely human while others were crying, hobbling, or both, but 491 of the 32,746 starters were still missing in action.
Alastair Campbell, 45, managed to complete his first marathon in under four hours at three hours 53 minutes, although he had initially said that he would settle for getting to the finish "before dark".
Tony Blair's director of communications said hearing two songs - Billy Joel's Uptown Girl and Jennifer Lopez's Jenny from the Block - and thinking about some of the Prime Minister's speeches had helped him to survive.
Asked if the crowd had shouted any abuse at him, Mr Campbell, whose son Rory, 15, ran the mini-marathon, said: "You'll probably think this is my equivalent of the Iraqi information minister, but every single comment was positive."
Mr Campbell's nipples, which have caused him much trouble as they do for many marathon runners, also coped, helped by a vast amount of Vaseline applied before and during the run.
He hopes to raise at least £300,000 for the Leukaemia Research Fund after his best friend, John Merritt, 35, a journalist, and his nine-year-old daughter, Ellie, died of the disease.
Ann Redgrave, 43, had to run her second marathon without her husband, Sir Steve, the Olympic rower, after he broke his collarbone skiing.
She was accompanied by Steve Edwards, 21, from the Royal Welch Fusiliers, who helped her to finish in just over five hours.
For Pat Seabrook, 63, John Borland, 73, and Sheila Smith, 61, three friends who met at the Finch Coasters running club, yesterday's marathon helped to boost their combined total to 443.
Mrs Smith ran despite falling down the stairs on Thursday and badly injuring her ankle. It was Mrs Seabrook's 14th London marathon and her 256th marathon overall.
The three hold various records that most people of their age would not be considering, including a 12-hour running world record and the oldest finisher of the London to Brighton race.
Annette Curtis, 40, completed her first - and last - marathon, raising more than £1,000 for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths. She chose the charity after her grandson, Alex-James, died last year from cot death. "It was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, and I will never do it again," she said.
Paul Sussman, 36, a writer from south London, felt the same after finishing his first marathon in just under five hours. "Never again," said Mr Sussman, whose 26 miles of "murder" was improved by Kathy Burke, the actress, screaming "Go, Pabs" along the course after he wrote his nickname on his T-shirt.
He had initially expected to easily beat his wife Alicky, 30, who works for the BBC, before discovering that she was not quite as unfit as he or her friends had predicted.
Paula Craig found it difficult to believe that she had come third in the women's wheelchair race, insisting to the official who broke the news that he must be wrong.
The 39-year-old police officer from Oxhey, Herts, was paralysed from the waist down after an accident while training for a triathlon competition in 2001. After 21 weeks in hospital, Miss Craig was back in the gym in less than a month and is a regular marathon and triathlon competitor.
Jane Tomlinson, 38, a mother of three from Rothwell, Leeds, ran despite suffering from terminal cancer and having just completed the John O'Groats to Land's End route by bicycle. She has raised more than £200,000 for charity. "I'm taking part because I want to, not to say 'Look what I can achieve'," she said.
Julia Kimbell, 40, from Peterborough, Cambs, became the first blind and deaf woman to complete the London Marathon, finishing in under nine hours. She was accompanied by two guides and the team raised £500 for Deafblind UK.
The youngest female runner, Stacy Aguis, was celebrating her 18th birthday and first marathon. The oldest was Abraham Weintraub, 93.
Tom Isaacs, 34, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, finished yesterday's marathon just two days after completing a 4,500 mile trek around the British coastline. He has raised £270,000 for the Parkinson's Disease Society.
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