A ROMANCE-fuelled runner chose the finish line of the London Marathon to propose to his partner.
At the gruelling end of the hottest London Marathon on record, runner Lucy Williams was shocked to see her boyfriend Gary Mitchell drop down on one knee.
And this wasn’t due to fatigue or an injury he had been fighting but to produce a ring he had been carrying for the complete 26 miles.
The emotional proposal in front of all Lucy’s friends and family was also captured on video.
Garry’s participation was jeopardised after sustaining a knee injury during his participation for the marathon.
But he says he endured the pain and discomfort for the whole race to deliver his proposal in a symbolic gesture.
Lucy, who lives in Solihull, said: “I had no idea it was going to happen. Gary had an injury beforehand and I kept telling him to defer but he was convinced he was going to do the marathon no matter what – and now I know why.
“All my family knew already and he’d picked the ring from the Jewellery Quarter in Birmingham in January.
“When we finished he was so jumpy and adamant we had to meet up with our family and friends right away.
“He was limping so when he dropped down on one knee I thought he was about to collapse – and then he proposed.
“It was very emotional, we were both crying.”
Garry, an events manager at Jaguar Land Rover, added: “I carried the ring around for the whole race constantly thinking I would drop it or lose it.
“The idea of carrying it around was a symbolic gesture of relationships. There will be times you’re loving it and certainly times where you would rather be somewhere else but with perseverance and commitment anything can be achieved.”
Lucy decided to run and raise money for the RSPCA and had dogs in the family ever since they found their first dog Patch, a collie cross, who was in need of a home.
Lucy, who passed the finish line in 4 hours and 47 minutes, added: “It was an amazing experience and I raised a lot of money for a really good cause.”
Nicky Ifould, head of events at the RSPCA said: “A huge congratulations goes to Lucy and Gary after their heartwarming proposal after crossing the finish line. The atmosphere on Sunday was incredible and we would like to thank all of our 20 runners for putting themselves to the test and raising so much money for the RSPCA.”
