Michael Shelley, the pride of Southport, was already savouring the sweet taste of a breakthrough success – as the first non-African winner of the Commonwealth men’s marathon title for 20 years – when the ninth-placed finisher was crossing the line “spewing my guts up”, as Scotland’s Derek Hawkins put it later.

It was the kind of thing that the 10th man home, the remarkable Steve Way, from Poole, used to do routinely on a Sunday morning after an extended Saturday night out on the Stella and cigarettes. Not that Shelley noticed the unseemly sight.

He was too busy celebrating his landmark victory in the green-and-gold vest of Australia. The 30-year-old happens to hail from Southport in Queensland, rather than the seaside resort on Merseyside that is home to Fran Halsall, a winner in the swimming pool for England at Tollcross on Saturday night. Shelley’s hometown is right in the middle of the Gold Coast, where he will get the chance to defend his Commonwealth crown in 2018.

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It was fitting that the last winner of the 26.2-mile event from outside Africa was on hand to embrace warmly the man with the Midas touch. “To have Monners here shouting for me around the course makes this mean even more to me,” said Shelley, after pulling clear of Kenya’s Stephen Chemlany two miles from the finish to win by 43 seconds in 2hr 11min 15sec, a lifetime best.

Shape Created with Sketch. Commonwealth Games 2014 - In pictures Show all 61 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Commonwealth Games 2014 - In pictures 1/61 Day 11 (L-R) Peter Barker and Alison Waters of England (silver) David Palmer and Rachael Grinham of Australia (gold) after the mixed doubles squash final GETTY IMAGES 2/61 Day 11 Geraint Thomas, of Wales, celebrates winning road race gold GETTY IMAGES 3/61 Day 11 Husband-and-wife team, Gabby and Chris Adcocks celebrate their gold triumph in the badminton GETTY IMAGES 4/61 Day 11 Jamaica defeated England 52-48 in the bronze medal netball match GETTY IMAGES 5/61 Day 10 Usain Bolt and his Jamaica team-mates celebrate their 4x100m victory Getty 6/61 Day 10 Nicola Adams kisses her Commonwealth Games gold medal Getty Images 7/61 Day 10 Street fighters (from left to right) England’s Alex Dowsett, Manxman Peter Kennaugh and veteran Scot David Millar will do battle around Glasgow’s roads Getty Images 8/61 Day 10 Australia players raise their arms in delight as another goal puts the match beyond England and a place in the final is secured PA 9/61 Day 10 Max Whitlock reached new heights at the Commonwealth Games and now turns his attentions to Nanning in October AFP/Getty 10/61 Day 10 Nicola Adams celebrates winning gold after beating Michaela Walsh of Northern Ireland Getty Images 11/61 Day 10 Amantle Montsho (R) of Botswana failed a drugs test after the women's 400m final Getty Images 12/61 Day 10 Helen Housby of England is dejected after New Zealand defeated England in the netball semi final Getty Images 13/61 Day Nine Christine Ohuruogu leads the field for England’s women in the 4x400m heats Getty Images 14/61 Day Nine Jamaica’s Usain Bolt takes the baton in the 4x100m men's heats PA 15/61 Day Nine Usain Bolt of Jamaica smiles and shakes hands with a competitor after Jamaica won their first heat in the men's 4x100m relay Reuters 16/61 Day Nine Scotland’s Lynsey Sharp celebrates after winning a silver medal in the 800m at Hampden Park Getty Images 17/61 Day Nine England goalkeeper Maddie Hinch is mobbed after her shoot-out heroics in England's semi-final win Getty Images 18/61 Day Nine Belfast’s Michael Conlan fights on despite suffering a nasty cut to his face against Wales’ Sean McGoldrick in their bantamweight semi-final in Glasgow PA 19/61 Day Nine Claudia Fragapane on her way to an impressive gymnastics gold in the floor yesterday PA 20/61 Day Eight England's Emma Pooley won silver in the women's time trial Getty Images 21/61 Day Seven Claudia Fragapane of England poses on the podium with Ruby Harrold and Hannah Whelan of England after winning the Women's All-Around Final Getty Images 22/61 Day Seven England’s Nicola Adams (left) dominates Erandi de Silva, of Sri Lanka, to guarantee herself a bronze medal at the very least Reuters 23/61 Day Seven Dai Greene failed to make the 400m hurdles final after a troubled build-up Getty Images 24/61 Day Seven England’s Alex Danson (right) opened the scoring in England's victory over Scotland in the hockey Getty Images 25/61 Day Seven England’s Greg Rutherford leaps into the air as he captures the gold medal in the long jump competition inside Hampden Park PA 26/61 Day Seven England’s Jess Taylor clinched the bronze medal in the women's javelin Getty Images 27/61 Day Seven Max Whitlock competes on the pommel horse on his way to gold PA 28/61 Day Six Three of England’s 4x100m relay medley quartet, Chris-Walker Hebborn, Adam Barrett and Adam Peaty, celebrate their success Getty Images 29/61 Day Six Wales’ Georgia Davies wins gold in the 50m backstroke Getty Images 30/61 Day Six The women’s England squad – Hannah Whelan, Ruby Harold, Rebecca Downie, Kelly Simm and Claudia Fragapane – celebrate with their gold medals PA 31/61 Day Six Louis Smith won gold in the parallel bars Getty Images 32/61 Day Five Nicola Adams lands a left jab on Nigeria's Oluwatoyin Oladeji AP 33/61 Day Five Kemar Bailey-Cole shades Adam Gemili in the 100m final as the Englishman secures a famous silver medal Getty 34/61 Day Five Blessing Okagbare takes the women’s 100m, holding off Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown PA 35/61 Day Five Sophie Hitchon shows her bronze for the hammer Getty 36/61 Day Five Paul Foster (left) and Alex Marshall with their gold medals after the men’s lawn bowls pairs final at Kelvingrove Getty 37/61 Day Five Nick Matthew, below centre, goes all out to beat James Willstrop for gold Getty 38/61 Day Five Sophie Taylor, right, embraces Australia’s Lorna Tonks on the podium after the Englishwoman won a surprise gold in the 100m breaststroke PA 39/61 Day Five Jazz Carlin looks simply delighted after her win in the 800m freestyle final Reuters 40/61 Day Four Cecil Afrika, of South Africa, goes over for a try during the Rugby Sevens tournament as they defeated New Zealand in the final Getty 41/61 Day Four 13-year-old Erraid Davies has been told she should target the Paralympics in Rio after winning the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games GETTY IMAGES 42/61 Day Four In one of the more lighthearted moments of the Games, a young marathon fan faceplanted in front of millions of viewers when he tried to keep up with Kenyan runners at the Commonwealth Games marathon. BBC 43/61 Day Foiur Laura Trott could not say her Olympic gold medals in London meant any more than this one cleaved from Glasgow. Just 48 hours earlier she was under the care of an emergency doctor, floored by a kidney infection. Getty 44/61 Day Four Michael Shelley of Australia celebrates as he crosses the line to win the Men's Marathon GETTY IMAGES 45/61 Day Three Usain Bolt confirms he will run in both the heats and the finals of the men's relay at the Commonwealth Games Getty Images 46/61 Day Three Tim Mikkleson of New Zealand falls on the loose ball in the Rugby Sevens match between New Zealand and Scotland Getty Images 47/61 Day Three Francesca Jones of Wales reacts after an enquiry was rejected resulting in her winning gold in the Gymnastics Rythmic Ribbon Final Getty Images 48/61 Day Three Alistair Brownlee approaches the finishing line to win the mixed triathlon for England Getty Images 49/61 Day Three Joanna Harten bursts into tears after England go down 49-48 in the netball Getty Images 50/61 Day Three Silver medallist Francesca Jones (L) of Wales embraces bronze medallist Laura Halford (R) Getty Images 51/61 Day Two Daniel Wallace celebrates winning gold in the men's 400m individual medley Getty Images 52/61 Day Two England's bronze medalist Daniel Rivers during the final of the 10m Air Rifle Men PA 53/61 Day Two Scotland players celebrates a goal during the Womens Hockey match between Scotland and Malaysia at Glasgow National Hockey Centre Getty Images 54/61 Day Two Silver medalists Jason Niblett and Kieran Modra of Australia on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Mens 1000m Time Trial B2 Tandem finalat Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome Getty Images 55/61 Day Two Amber Hill of England competes in the skeet qualification at Barry Buddon Shooting Centre GETTY IMAGES 56/61 Day Two Joanna Rowsell of England celebrates winning gold after the Women's 3000 metres Individual Pursuit final at Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome GETTY IMAGES 57/61 Day One Steven Burke, Ed Clancy, Andy Tennant and Bradley Wiggins of England compete in Mens 4000 metres Team Pursuit qualification Getty Images 58/61 Day One Jodie Stimpson crosses the finishing line to win gold in the women's triathlon PA 59/61 Day One Jodie Stimpson of England during the triathlon Getty Images 60/61 Day One England's Jason Kenny finished 11th in the men's sprint qualifying Getty Images 61/61 Day One Hannah Miley of England competes in the Women's 400m Individual Medley heat during the 2014 Commonwealth Games Getty Images 1/61 Day 11 (L-R) Peter Barker and Alison Waters of England (silver) David Palmer and Rachael Grinham of Australia (gold) after the mixed doubles squash final GETTY IMAGES 2/61 Day 11 Geraint Thomas, of Wales, celebrates winning road race gold GETTY IMAGES 3/61 Day 11 Husband-and-wife team, Gabby and Chris Adcocks celebrate their gold triumph in the badminton GETTY IMAGES 4/61 Day 11 Jamaica defeated England 52-48 in the bronze medal netball match GETTY IMAGES 5/61 Day 10 Usain Bolt and his Jamaica team-mates celebrate their 4x100m victory Getty 6/61 Day 10 Nicola Adams kisses her Commonwealth Games gold medal Getty Images 7/61 Day 10 Street fighters (from left to right) England’s Alex Dowsett, Manxman Peter Kennaugh and veteran Scot David Millar will do battle around Glasgow’s roads Getty Images 8/61 Day 10 Australia players raise their arms in delight as another goal puts the match beyond England and a place in the final is secured PA 9/61 Day 10 Max Whitlock reached new heights at the Commonwealth Games and now turns his attentions to Nanning in October AFP/Getty 10/61 Day 10 Nicola Adams celebrates winning gold after beating Michaela Walsh of Northern Ireland Getty Images 11/61 Day 10 Amantle Montsho (R) of Botswana failed a drugs test after the women's 400m final Getty Images 12/61 Day 10 Helen Housby of England is dejected after New Zealand defeated England in the netball semi final Getty Images 13/61 Day Nine Christine Ohuruogu leads the field for England’s women in the 4x400m heats Getty Images 14/61 Day Nine Jamaica’s Usain Bolt takes the baton in the 4x100m men's heats PA 15/61 Day Nine Usain Bolt of Jamaica smiles and shakes hands with a competitor after Jamaica won their first heat in the men's 4x100m relay Reuters 16/61 Day Nine Scotland’s Lynsey Sharp celebrates after winning a silver medal in the 800m at Hampden Park Getty Images 17/61 Day Nine England goalkeeper Maddie Hinch is mobbed after her shoot-out heroics in England's semi-final win Getty Images 18/61 Day Nine Belfast’s Michael Conlan fights on despite suffering a nasty cut to his face against Wales’ Sean McGoldrick in their bantamweight semi-final in Glasgow PA 19/61 Day Nine Claudia Fragapane on her way to an impressive gymnastics gold in the floor yesterday PA 20/61 Day Eight England's Emma Pooley won silver in the women's time trial Getty Images 21/61 Day Seven Claudia Fragapane of England poses on the podium with Ruby Harrold and Hannah Whelan of England after winning the Women's All-Around Final Getty Images 22/61 Day Seven England’s Nicola Adams (left) dominates Erandi de Silva, of Sri Lanka, to guarantee herself a bronze medal at the very least Reuters 23/61 Day Seven Dai Greene failed to make the 400m hurdles final after a troubled build-up Getty Images 24/61 Day Seven England’s Alex Danson (right) opened the scoring in England's victory over Scotland in the hockey Getty Images 25/61 Day Seven England’s Greg Rutherford leaps into the air as he captures the gold medal in the long jump competition inside Hampden Park PA 26/61 Day Seven England’s Jess Taylor clinched the bronze medal in the women's javelin Getty Images 27/61 Day Seven Max Whitlock competes on the pommel horse on his way to gold PA 28/61 Day Six Three of England’s 4x100m relay medley quartet, Chris-Walker Hebborn, Adam Barrett and Adam Peaty, celebrate their success Getty Images 29/61 Day Six Wales’ Georgia Davies wins gold in the 50m backstroke Getty Images 30/61 Day Six The women’s England squad – Hannah Whelan, Ruby Harold, Rebecca Downie, Kelly Simm and Claudia Fragapane – celebrate with their gold medals PA 31/61 Day Six Louis Smith won gold in the parallel bars Getty Images 32/61 Day Five Nicola Adams lands a left jab on Nigeria's Oluwatoyin Oladeji AP 33/61 Day Five Kemar Bailey-Cole shades Adam Gemili in the 100m final as the Englishman secures a famous silver medal Getty 34/61 Day Five Blessing Okagbare takes the women’s 100m, holding off Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown PA 35/61 Day Five Sophie Hitchon shows her bronze for the hammer Getty 36/61 Day Five Paul Foster (left) and Alex Marshall with their gold medals after the men’s lawn bowls pairs final at Kelvingrove Getty 37/61 Day Five Nick Matthew, below centre, goes all out to beat James Willstrop for gold Getty 38/61 Day Five Sophie Taylor, right, embraces Australia’s Lorna Tonks on the podium after the Englishwoman won a surprise gold in the 100m breaststroke PA 39/61 Day Five Jazz Carlin looks simply delighted after her win in the 800m freestyle final Reuters 40/61 Day Four Cecil Afrika, of South Africa, goes over for a try during the Rugby Sevens tournament as they defeated New Zealand in the final Getty 41/61 Day Four 13-year-old Erraid Davies has been told she should target the Paralympics in Rio after winning the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games GETTY IMAGES 42/61 Day Four In one of the more lighthearted moments of the Games, a young marathon fan faceplanted in front of millions of viewers when he tried to keep up with Kenyan runners at the Commonwealth Games marathon. BBC 43/61 Day Foiur Laura Trott could not say her Olympic gold medals in London meant any more than this one cleaved from Glasgow. Just 48 hours earlier she was under the care of an emergency doctor, floored by a kidney infection. Getty 44/61 Day Four Michael Shelley of Australia celebrates as he crosses the line to win the Men's Marathon GETTY IMAGES 45/61 Day Three Usain Bolt confirms he will run in both the heats and the finals of the men's relay at the Commonwealth Games Getty Images 46/61 Day Three Tim Mikkleson of New Zealand falls on the loose ball in the Rugby Sevens match between New Zealand and Scotland Getty Images 47/61 Day Three Francesca Jones of Wales reacts after an enquiry was rejected resulting in her winning gold in the Gymnastics Rythmic Ribbon Final Getty Images 48/61 Day Three Alistair Brownlee approaches the finishing line to win the mixed triathlon for England Getty Images 49/61 Day Three Joanna Harten bursts into tears after England go down 49-48 in the netball Getty Images 50/61 Day Three Silver medallist Francesca Jones (L) of Wales embraces bronze medallist Laura Halford (R) Getty Images 51/61 Day Two Daniel Wallace celebrates winning gold in the men's 400m individual medley Getty Images 52/61 Day Two England's bronze medalist Daniel Rivers during the final of the 10m Air Rifle Men PA 53/61 Day Two Scotland players celebrates a goal during the Womens Hockey match between Scotland and Malaysia at Glasgow National Hockey Centre Getty Images 54/61 Day Two Silver medalists Jason Niblett and Kieran Modra of Australia on the podium during the medal ceremony for the Mens 1000m Time Trial B2 Tandem finalat Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome Getty Images 55/61 Day Two Amber Hill of England competes in the skeet qualification at Barry Buddon Shooting Centre GETTY IMAGES 56/61 Day Two Joanna Rowsell of England celebrates winning gold after the Women's 3000 metres Individual Pursuit final at Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome GETTY IMAGES 57/61 Day One Steven Burke, Ed Clancy, Andy Tennant and Bradley Wiggins of England compete in Mens 4000 metres Team Pursuit qualification Getty Images 58/61 Day One Jodie Stimpson crosses the finishing line to win gold in the women's triathlon PA 59/61 Day One Jodie Stimpson of England during the triathlon Getty Images 60/61 Day One England's Jason Kenny finished 11th in the men's sprint qualifying Getty Images 61/61 Day One Hannah Miley of England competes in the Women's 400m Individual Medley heat during the 2014 Commonwealth Games Getty Images

The man referred to as Monners is Steve Moneghetti, the Aussie marathon legend who won bronze in Edinburgh in 1986 and silver in Auckland in 1990 before striking gold in Victoria in 1994.

“I think the way Michael dominated the Africans was fantastic,” said Moneghetti, who is Chef de Mission of the Australian team in Glasgow. “To run a personal best on a championship course takes some doing.”

The plucky Hawkins was 11 seconds shy of his best but was first Briton, clocking 2:14:15. Next behind the Scot, in 10th place, was Way, who was a 17-and-a-half-stone, 40-inch-waist smoker before taking up running seven years ago.

The 42-year-old Dorset man finished in 2:15:16, a personal best and a British Over-40s record. “Best day ever,” he said. “I do need to go and have a drink, though – and I’m not talking water. I’ll be having a pint or two around Glasgow this evening.”

The women’s race produced a one-two for Kenya, Flomena Cheyech Daniel taking gold ahead of Caroline Kilel in 2:26:45, with Australian Jess Trengrove snatching bronze. Scotland’s Susan Partridge won the battle of the Brits, finishing sixth in 2:32:18, one place ahead of England’s Louise Damen.