Nigel Armstrong completed the gruelling Comrades Marathon in South Africa yesterday in 8:06.16.

The Manx Harriers athlete finished the 56 mile race in 815th position.

The event, described as the ultimate human race, started at sea level in the centre of Durban, and finished in Pietermaritzburg at an altitude of 650 m.

As well as it being twice the length of a regular marathon competitors have to tackle five major hills, popularly known as the "Big Five", along the way.

Following the race Nigel posted a thank you note on manxathletics.com's forum and delivered this memorable quote, "It's said that if you want to know what you'll look like in 10 years - look at yourself in a mirror after a marathon. If you want to know what you'll look like in an open casket - do the same after an up Comrades. That was hard."

The "up" refers to the fact the race can be contested in both directions.

It was won by Russian Leonid Shvetsov, who smashed Vladimir Kotov's eight-year-old ''up'' run record by 47 seconds, coming home in 5:24:46.

He beat second-placed Jaroslav Janicki by an incredible 13:41, one of the largest victory margins in recent Comrades history.