Residences Administration Assistant Carly Tuckwell is celebrating after successfully completing the first public event in the history of the Olympic Games.

Carly took part in the Marathon Pour Tous (Marathon For All) on 10 August, which saw members of the public complete the 26.2-mile Olympic marathon course.

Carly was one of 20,024 runners taking part in the marathon, which took participants from Hôtel de Ville in the centre of Paris to the Palace of Versailles and back, finishing at the iconic Esplanade des Invalides.

With the race starting at 9pm, runners got to experience Paris by night, passing iconic landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and running along the River Seine.

But while some of the participants had plenty of time to prepare for the historic event, Carly had much less time to get ready.

She explains: “You couldn’t buy a place in the Marathon Pour Tous – you had to win one. You did so by completing certain challenges, like completing four 10km runs in a month. Once you had done the challenges, you were entered into a draw, but I was never successful.

“I only found out two months ago I’d been allocated a place. I felt it wasn’t long enough to prepare, even though I’m a runner and usually run a few 10kms a week. But then I thought this is never going to happen again and it would be silly not to go.”

Carly landed in Paris a few days before the marathon and spent the time leading up to it immersing herself in the Olympic atmosphere, watching Katarina Johnson-Thompson compete in the long jump and javelin semi-finals before lacing up her trainers to take part in the festivities herself.

She continues: “I started the marathon at 10pm. It was amazing to run past the Eiffel Tower while it twinkled in the night. When I got out to the Palace of Versailles there was lots of celebration with DJs playing to boost morale.

“I have never seen crowds like it, everyone was cheering and giving out high-fives to runners. At the end of the marathon it was quite emotional as it was packed with supporters encouraging us to keep going.

“My partner Paul came to Paris with me and I spotted him cheering me on near the start and again at 3am just before I crossed the finish line.”

The day after the race, Carly enjoyed a relaxing cruise down the Seine and settled in to watch the women’s Olympic marathon.

“It was so surreal watching it and thinking ‘I did that last night.’”