By Hannah Blackwell

Natasha Cockram has thanked those who have helped her to rise to become a world elite level marathon runner.

The Welsh Commonwealth Games star smashed the Welsh record for the distance and became the sixth fastest British woman of all time at the Valencia Marathon in Spain on Sunday.

Cockram sliced almost four minutes off her previous personal best when she finished in 2:26:14 – inside the qualifying time for next year’s World Athletics Championships in Budapest.

Her previous best time for the marathon was 2:30:03.

Cockram tweeted: “Thank you to everyone who has helped on this journey.”

The Gwent athlete, who set her previous PB at last year’s Olympic Trials in Kew Gardens, is now in the bracket of top-ranked global marathon runners after rapid improvement over the last couple of seasons.

Last year, Cockram won the Los Angeles Marathon – just five weeks after running the London Marathon.

The Micky Morris Racing Team athlete became just the third non-African athlete to win the race in its past 12 editions when she crossed the line in 2:33.16.

Cockram finished 12^th for Team Wales at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham earlier this year when she finished in 2:40:18 – a full 14 minutes slower than her time in Valencia.