The Nottinghamshire flyer, who is trained by two-time Olympic marathon runner Liz Yelling, slashed nearly three minutes off the previous world record he set in Wokingham last month and in an event open to both able bodied and disabled athletes, Whitehead finished the race - which featured over 14,500 participants - in an impressive 45th place.

Whitehead told insideworldparasport: "Coming into the Reading Half Marathon, I felt in great condition as Liz and I have just returned from Lanzarote where we got some fantastic warm-weather training under our belts and got me into great condition.

"Coming into the race, I felt that if I got off to a fast start and got into a rhythm quickly, I could put my world record of 1 hour 17 minutes and 45 seconds under threat but I am pretty surprised with how fast I ran as I absolutely smashed that time.

"I was talking to Liz and my girlfriend shortly before the race about how I was hoping to break the 1 hour 15 minute barrier in the half marathon by the end of the year so to do that in March is obviously unbelievable.

"To come 45th out of 14,500 participants who are mostly able bodied is something I’m particularly proud of and Liz said she is delighted with how I ran.

"With the form I am in at the moment, I think I have to sit down with Liz and re-evaluate the times I planned to run this year as I am well ahead of my own expectations at this stage."

As well as holding the leg amputee half marathon world record, Whitehead is also the leg amputee marathon world record holder and the only leg amputee ever to have run under the three-hour mark over 26.2 miles.

His long term goal is to compete at in the Paralympics at London 2012 but because there is no marathon event for leg amputees at the Paralympics at present, the 33-year-old must qualify for the Games in the T46 disability category which is for arm amputees.

Whitehead’s current best time in the marathon is 2 hours 50min 38sec while 2:35 is the A standard qualifying time for the T46 marathon event at the 2011 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in Christchurch and likely to be the A-standard qualifying time for the London 2012 Paralympics.

It is a tough task for Whitehead to break the 2 hour 35 minute mark but following his impressive showing yesterday, the time appears within his grasp.

Whitehead said: "At the rate I am improving, I think I can get to the 2 hour 35 minute mark in the marathon.

"If you look the time I ran yesterday of just below one hour and 15 minutes, it suggests that I can run the 26 mile distance in two-and-a-half hours if I run at a good pace.

"I am feeling fit and I always look after myself so with hard work in training, I definitely think 2 hours and 35 minutes in the marathon is a realistic target for me to get to by the end of the year."

To find out more about Whitehead here click here.

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