The streets of London were overrun - quite literally - by fitness enthuiasts from around the world competing in the 2015 Virgin Money London Marathon yesterday. A record-breaking 38,000 of them, to be precise.

While every single one of them deserves our applause, here are 8 stories that deserve a special call out.

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1. Farewell, Paula

Having won the marathon three times - in April 2003, setting a world record of two hours, 15 minutes and 25 seconds that still stands today - Paula Radcliffe opted to start her last London Marathon with the mass runners, rather than the elites.

'I didn't care about the time the whole way round,' she said of her unofficial finish time of two hours, 36 minutes and 55 seconds. 'I wanted to try and thank as many people as possible.'

The groundswell of support for her from the crowds was phenomenal. See Ellie Goulding's video tribute, via Nike, here.

2. Enter A New Reigning Champion

Ethiopian runner Tigist Tufa triumphed in the women's category, beating the favourite names. Remember hers.

3. What Ho, Prince Harry

Not yet on new uncle duties, Prince Harry was in attendance to hand out medals to the elite athletes on the finish line. Not a bad goal to run towards.

4. In Fitness And In Health

Runners Paul and Laura Elliott had the event do double-duty - as a wedding. They ran the first half seperately before meeting at the halfway point for a quick ceremony witnessed by family and friends, then finished the course together. They wore specially crafted outfits handmade by the bride and her mum - a fusion of traditional wedding attire and running kit.

Well, they do say that marriage is a marathon, not a sprint.

5. Stars Earn Their Stripes

Henry Holland completed the course in a personal best time of 3 hrs 29 mins, making him (unofficially) the fastest man in fashion. Fellow star names to make it over the finish line included Christy Turlington-Burns and Jenson Button.

6. The Team Beckham Takeover

An unexpected addition to the starting line-up was Romeo Beckham, who took part in the junior leg of the event. The Beckham clan was out en masse to support him - mumma Victoria in some seriously impressive Louboutin heels.

7. And In The Super-Human Category...

The real-life stories are always among the most inspiring to come out of race day. This year, two in particular caught our eye: that of Rob Young, who notched up his 367th marathon in a year (yep - he sometimes runs more than one a day), and Paul Freedman, officially the oldest competitor at 90.

8. How The Numbers Stack Up

Not only is the 2015 race a record-breaker in terms of competitor numbers, it's on track to smash its fundraising target, too. That's a staggering £53.2m plus - £2.4m of which has already been raised for headline charity Cancer Research UK.

That, if nothing else, deserves a standing ovation.