A Santon man has raised about £3,000 for a children’s charity by completing the hottest London Marathon to date.

Chris Monaghan managed to finish the 26.2-mile course on Sunday in the 24C heat.

His efforts have been in aid of the Teapot Trust, a charity based in Edinburgh, which provides art therapy for children in hospitals who have been suffering from chronic illness for more than seven years.

’My body was feeling it afterwards,’ the dad of two said. ’I finished with a time of six hours and 34 minutes. Unfortunately I didn’t get my target time of five hours.’

Chris started training for his first ever marathon in November, using his two previous experiences of completing the Parish Walk to help prepare for the endurance event.

However, the 43-year-old, who works for Menzies Aviation as ramp agent at the airport, did not personally enter himself into the marathon.

He said: ’I went to a charity ball where there was an auction to raise money for the Teapot Trust. My wife’s boss put me up for auction to take part in the marathon.

’I decided to go for it, as I thought it could be this year’s challenge.’

About his performance on Sunday, he said: ’At 15km my legs were really feeling it. I could see people dropping at the roadside because of the heat. I thought "I don’t want to be one of those people" and so did some race walking for a bit.

’At one point I was running with a bear, a drag queen and a rhino. I thought "if those guys can do it wearing that, then I can do it".

’There was a lot of inspiration that we [runners] took from other people.

’The Parish [Walk} is a big thing, but the London Marathon took it to another level. From the first 100 yards to the last 100 feet, the sides were lined with people cheering and motivating you.’

Towards the end of the race, he spotted his wife, Clare, and sons Thomas, aged 11, and Jack, aged six, cheering him on while waving Manx flags.

’Thomas and Jack had gobsmacked expressions on their faces saying "is that dad?" when I passed the finish line. When we got home, my eldest said "I’m just going to go out for a little run". So I’d inspired him a little bit to go out and do something.

’I spent most of the day afterwards sleeping because I was proper exhausted and my legs were still a bit heavy.

’I’ve got to be honest, I don’t think I’m a marathon runner. After the marathon I thought "no", but I might do a half marathon. We’ll have to wait and see.’

His advice for those looking to take part in the Parish Walk is: ’Find a pace that you’re comfortable with and stick with that. You’re not going to finish quickly, but you should finish.

’Training is key, so walk as much as you can as it gets your legs used to doing that. That’s the same way I did the marathon.

’As soon as you realise you’re dehydrated it’s too late. Keep yourself topped up with water and jelly babies.’

Donations for Chris’s efforts towards the Teapot Trust can still be made by searching: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=ChrisMonaghan3&pageUrl=1.