Otley Athletic Club's Chris Carver, despite battling a shoulder injury, helped England to team glory in a 24-hour race which was part of the second Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra Running Championships in Llandudno, Wales.

There were 43 runners representing New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Scotland, the Isle Of Man, Wales and India, as well as England, and Carver came sixth.

Conditions were far from ideal, with strong winds blowing almost the whole time, most athletes finishing with at least five miles less than they were expecting.

Carver had problems after ten hours, the wind causing tension in his shoulders, and he collapsed into the arms of a helper who gave him a 20-minute massage before he continued at a slower pace.

He needed two more massage sessions (after 16 and 22 hours) but finished strongly to clock 137 miles and help England win gold ahead of Wales and New Zealand.

Carver said: “Without doubt that was the hardest race I have run but the support from the staff and other runners, not just from England but from around the world, made it a fantastic event to be involved with.

“Although I am disappointed to only have run 137 miles, the team gold medal is something to be proud of. A fantastic effort by everyone.”

The men's race was won by John Pares of Wales, who completed over 151 miles. Second was David Kennedy (Australia) with over 147 miles and third was Pat Robbins (Wales), who ran over 143 miles.

All this is made even more remarkable by the fact that in the 1990s Chris was diagnosed with testicular cancer, which required an operation only to find, three months later, that the disease had spread to his lungs.

He then underwent six months of chemotherapy, followed by an operation to remove part of his right lung.