PAUL Ruffy from Benfleet Running club put in a 3:06:07 performance at the Brighton Marathon, setting the bar high for the rest of the red and whites.

Running her first marathon, Shelley Hall crossed the line in 3:44:20, narrowly beating her teammate Ciaran Byrne who also ran 3:44:20.

Tom Byrne managed a sub four-hour time of 3:47:30.

Also running for Benfleet RC were Nehal Patel who ran in a time of 4:23:39, Jamie Barney in 4:37:16, Debbie Robertson in 4:53:00, Natalie Kitchen in 4:55:15 and Tracey Fagg in 5:30:09.

In the Braintree Five miles, Sarah Pennington finished 37th overall in a season’s best time of 33:55.2 to finish as the fourth lady.