This is the moment of Britain's oldest runners crossed the finish line of a muddy 15-mile race - with a fellow jogger holding his hand.<br /><br />Albert Miles, 86, was being convinced to pull out of the popular race by a paramedic with just three miles to go.<br /><br />This was until a fellow runner agreed to complete the last leg with him.<br /><br />Albert, from Rayleigh, Essex, had slipped and slid down the muddy course, falling in nine inches of mud multiple times and grazing his nose, legs and arm. <br /><br />He was in a sorry state but was determined not to give up on his fifteenth Benfleet race in Essex which was to be his "swan song".<br /><br />Albert has completed 20 marathons across the UK and US, 22 Great North Runs and 65 half marathons, but he said this muddy track was by far his hardest challenge.<br /><br />The retired Ford worker said: "Old age crept up on me. It was the hardest run I've ever done.<br /><br />"At 10 miles I was getting tired, there were a few short sharp hills. I tripped up on a curb, I don't know why but down I went.<br /><br />"I really struggled towards the end, I hate hills.<br /><br />"I had three miles to go but the fall really knocked the wind out of me. My nose and elbow were bleeding, some medics gave me a tissue to stuff up my nose.<br /><br />"They tried to persuade me to finish there and then- 'you've done 12 miles, why bother with the rest?'<br /><br />"I'd started so I wanted to finish- I may never do this race again!<br /><br />"And we made it! The last bit was hard hard work, going through the mud a second time. <br /><br />"David Davidson who was with me pulled me out of the mud three times- my legs wouldn't work.<br /><br />"I'd still have been stuck there now if it wasn't for him."<br /><br />Emotional footage shows Albert being helped over the finish line by the hand of a fellow jogger, whilst two others walk alongside him before he is presented with his trophy.<br /><br />Since the race on Jan 15 he has completed his 209th Parkrun event and is aiming to hit his 250th in 2024.<br /><br />He currently holds the record for an over 80-year-old at the Basildon and Hadleigh Parkruns in Essex.<br /><br />Albert first joined the Castle Point Joggers running club in 1992 and said they have been so supportive over the last three decades.<br /><br />Adam Poulton, a runner at Castle Point Joggers and a friend of Albert’s, added: “I first met Bert not long after I joined the club in 2014, he was 76 then and I was bowled over by him.<br /><br />“Albert is a real inspiration to our club, and at now 86, he is our oldest Castle Point Joggers member, but he just keeps going.<br /><br />“You never hear him moan, his determination and commitment to running is unbelievable.<br /><br />“He is a wonderful man, a real gentleman, and it is a privilege to have him as a member of our club.”<br /><br />On why he keeps running, Albert, who lives at home with his wife Patricia, 88, said: "I don't know why I do it, I just enjoy it so I carry on. <br /><br />"My wife thinks I'm an idiot, after the very first marathon she said, 'no more!'<br /><br />"I've got no ideas of packing it in, that's for sure."
