Decker (left) completed the race next to England team-mate Holly Rush

Suffolk's Helen Decker had to overcome a broken night's sleep before securing an eighth-place marathon finish at the Commonwealth Games.

The 31-year-old crossed the finish line in a time of two hours, 49 minutes and 24 seconds.

Decker told BBC Sport: "I had two-and-a half hours sleep last night, so the preparation hasn't been the greatest.

"But I think that was a good run, I wanted anything under 2:50, I knew in these conditions that would be good."

She added: "I knew it was going to be hard today, I had already told myself that, it was just a case of getting round and doing myself proud."

I've done three marathons in less than three months, two of which have been in pretty horrendous conditions Helen Decker

The hot and humid conditions made the going tough in Delhi.

But the Ipswich JAFFA athlete was able to draw on her experience of finishing 21st at July's European Championships in Barcelona, which had followed a personal best time of 2:36:56 at the London Marathon in April.

"In these conditions it's on a par with Barcelona, maybe even better because the humidity's even higher," she said,

"I'll have a really big rest, I've obviously done three marathons in less than six months, two of which have been in pretty horrendous conditions.

"I want to feel nice and fresh come January to crack on with marathon training for London, I want to nail that and get my time down."

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version