Mahamed Mahamed and Patrick Dever went second and third on the UK all-time rankings, but they were shocked to finish almost seven minutes behind the winner.

British men excelled on the roads of London on Sunday with Mahamed Mahamed and Patrick Dever going No.2 and No.3 on the UK all-time rankings. Yet they were left stunned by the news that the two-hour marathon had fallen, leaving them nearly seven minutes behind the world’s best.

Mahamed ran 2:06:14 with Dever four seconds behind. Mo Farah’s national record of 2:05:11 from Chicago in 2018 appears vulnerable in the near future but Eamonn Martin’s reluctant reign as the “last British man to win London” looks like surviving for several years yet.

“I’m absolutely proud to share the same course with them (Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha) on the same day,” said Mahamed. "I could never have imagined two men running inside two hours this weekend. Well done to them.”

Dever added: “It’s pretty mental… insane. I was honoured to line up with some of those guys today.

“To be in the same race is special. People are getting close to it all the time and with the talent assembled here, it’s no surprise in a way.”

Dever was affected by a cheating athlete at the New York City Marathon in November when he finished fourth but was upgraded to third after Albert Korir failed a drugs test. Sawe goes to great lengths to invite testing on himself, but there are still cynics who remain dubious.

Dever says: “All you can do is rely on the testers to stay ahead of people who want to take short-cuts. It’s not an issue that’s going away, though, as people are always going to do it.”

Mahamed had to deal with training through Ramadan in the run-up to the race but was delighted to over-take Alex Yes and Emile Cairess to go No.2 on the UK rankings.

Yee was among the pacemakers on Sunday while Cairess had to withdraw from racing on the eve of the event due to an injury-hit build-up.

“To be top Brit here is amazing,” he said. “We’re all pushing each other with a lot of pressure and I felt good. Conditions were perfect and I ran a PB, so I couldn’t be happier.”

Dever struggled with hamstring cramps in the latter stages but was pleased to go No.3 on the UK all-time lists.

“It feels pretty cool,” he said. “In the half marathon I’m second and the 10,000m I’m second (on all-time UK rankings) so I’m glad I’m putting together a good body of work across a range of distances.”

How did London compare to Dever’s debut in New York? "I felt nobody really did anything for about 16 miles in New York so I relaxed,” he said, "but here I was into pace straight away and locked into a rhythm.

“When there are guys six minutes down the road, it’s not quite demoralising but it’s pretty insane.”

Mahamed and Dever finished a few strides behind Peter Lynch, who ran a big Irish record of 2:06:08.

Lynch trains with the same Puma group in the United States as Dever and said: “I knew from the NYC Half (where he ran 59:52) a few weeks ago that the potential was there.

"My ears are still ringing from the noise on the course. I was just trying to feed off that energy, especially in the final stages. This is only my fourth marathon so I’m excited to push on and see what I can do.”

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On the sub-two-hour performances, he added: “I knew today would be fast with a possible world record but to hear someone finishing third and running two-flat is pretty crazy.”

Not far behind, Weynay Ghebresilasie was the next Brit home in a near-three-minute PB of 2:06:59 with Jack Rowe, who is also part of Dever’s and Lynch's training group, clocking 2:07:47.

READ MORE: Sabastian Sawe runs 1:59:30

Ghebresilasie ran in the 3000m steeplechase and was flag-bearer for Eritrea as a teenager in the 2012 Olympics but applied for asylum after the Games and spent spells living in Sunderland and Birmingham before settling in Scotland, where he was welcomed by Shettleston Harriers.

Elsewhere among the British men, Tewelde Menges ran 2:10:48, Alfie Manthorpe 2:11:31, Jake Smith 2:12:19, Andrew Fyfe 2:12:36, Chris Perry 2:13:41, Alex Milne 2:13:51 and Dan Nash 2:14:09 – the latter two just 10 weeks after running well in the Seville Marathon.