An ultramarathon athlete hoping to complete a 100-mile run along the Thames fell desperately short of his target after succumbing to injury.

Justin Bateman, from Fulham, was just five miles away from the finishing line when his left knee gave up on him, forcing him to abandon the Thames Path 100 after an excruciating 22 hours and 95 miles.

The race, from Richmond to Oxford, took place earlier this month and was the 42-year-old’s seventh ultramarathon.

He said he felt in a good position as he left the final aid stop, having topped-up on water and food: “A few miles before, I started to get soreness at the back of my left knee, but it wasn’t bothering me too much and at that stage pretty much everything hurts. I didn’t think it was an issue.”

But has he made his way through muddy and uneven fields near Oxford, he knew something was wrong. He said: “My leg stopped acting in the normal way. It wasn’t bending and I had this weird feeling like something had gone out of position. It wasn’t that painful, but mechanically it couldn’t function.”

It was then that he made his difficult decision: “I could have pushed myself on for five more miles but I didn’t want to do that and not be able to walk for six months. I really wanted to get to the finish but I thought it was better to be sensible.

“I’m a running coach and I need to be able to run. It was a hard decision but it made sense to me. I think it was the right decision.”

Despite the disappointment, Mr Bateman is slowly recovering form what he said was a muscle strain and is determined to get a 100-mile race under his belt.

He said: “I’ve definitely going to give 100 miles another go. It might be in this race or a different race.

“I’ve got plenty more to achieve yet.”

Mr Bateman was raising money for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, after his grandmother died of the illness 30 years ago and has so far collected over £450.