RUNNER Julia Hartley sacrificed the chance to beat a personal race record to help a fellow athlete when he collapsed during a half-marathon.

Big-hearted Julia, 32, a member of Accrington Road Runners, is preparing for the London Marathon and was competing with 4,000 others in a 13-mile race in Wilmslow, Cheshire, in which she aimed to beat her previous record of 1 hour 37 minutes and 47 seconds.

Julia, who lives in Read and works at the Halifax in Whalley, had been on-course for success but selflessly cast aside her golden opportunity to help a stricken fellow runner who was in difficulty.

Mum-of-two Julia, who has been with the Accrington club for five years, said: "I was just coming round the final bend at Wilmslow when I saw a man on his hands and knees.

"I stopped to ask if he was OK and he was a bit delirious. I told him to stand up, to get some air into his lungs.

"Somebody else came to help me. We tried to walk with him to the finishing line but he was dragging his feet. So Red Cross ambulancemen took him away."

The runner, John Williams, who is in his 40s, subsequently recovered from exhaustion.

Julia said: "I jokingly asked him if he'd drunk too much the night before, and he smirked at me. I would have definitely beat my record at Wilmslow but it was more important to help him."

In two weeks' time, Julia competes in the 26-mile London Marathon. She has run it three times and her current best time for covering 26 miles is 3 hours and 31 minutes.

She added: "Hopefully, I'll beat that. But you never know for sure what might happen. I could last only 20 miles.