In reply to Deri Jones:
Good photos, glad you made it to see them.
It's a very emotional event, obviously for all the competitors and their personal battles but also for the marshals. We all tend to bond with certain runners who are friends and acquaintances or from other countries (like the Japanese honeymooners) and encourage them on, there are also a few tears as we say goodbye to each other when we finally pack up - another 2 years till we meet again - though we said "never again, too old for this" I know when 2019 comes around I won't be able to resist joining the team if able!
Anything can happen however fit you are, two friends were doing fine to finish well, one pulled a muscle and was out, the other had a stress fracture and hospital visit, but I expect to see them both there in 2019 to slay the dragon.
After the finish Jim Mann came round and individually thanked every marshal he could find, which epitomises the race and atmosphere.