A marathon runner stopped one and a half miles before reaching the finishing line - to propose to his girlfriend. Romantic Ben Parsons, 34, of Brighton, East Sussex, stunned girlfriend Anna Jefferson, 36, by getting down on one knee after running 24 and a half miles. She was watching her boyfriend run in the Brighton marathon with their children Nancy, three, and Thomas, 11 months. Ben Parson, 34, paused in the middle of the Brighton marathon and proposed to his surprised girlfriend, Anna Jefferson, 36 . Anna feared her boyfriend was struggling when he started to slow down on Hove seafront, because she was unaware of his proposal plan. Ben then got down on one knee and popped the question and Anna said yes, before Ben ran onward towards the finishing line, still managing to get a personal best timing and completing his sixth Brighton Marathon in 3hrs 36min. Ben, a media law lecturer at the University of Brighton, carried the ring in his bum bag and waited to spot Anna in the crowd on Sunday. He said: 'I wanted to do something romantic to surprise Anna and the marathon has such a feelgood, loved-up atmosphere anyway so I knew it would be the perfect time. Ben Parson had already run 24.5 miles of the 26.2-mile Brighton marathon when he stopped to propose to girlfriend and mother of his two children, Anna Parsons . At the time, Anna had been stood in the crowds with children Nancy, three, and Thomas, 11 months . 'Judging by the look on her face, she was certainly surprised. 'Once Anna had said 'yes' and we'd had a big sweaty hug I had to get on the move again so my legs wouldn't seize up. 'As I ran off I got a big cheer from the crowd. It felt like the climax of a minor British rom-com. 'I had an extra spring in my step for the last mile and a half.' 'As I ran off I got a big cheer from the crowd. It felt like the climax of a minor British rom-com': After Anna said yes, Ben carried on with the marathon . He said that the pressure of the proposal spurred him on and brought the finishing line a bit closer. But he joked: 'If I hadn't seen her in the crowd maybe I would have just carried on to the end and taken the ring back to Argos.' Anna, who works for Arts Council England, and has been dating Ben since they met at City College Brighton in 2002, said she never expected the proposal. She said: 'There had been a guy just before him who had got a cramp and had to stop for his friends to massage his leg. Newly-engaged: The happy couple are stood after the surprise proposal with their two children . 'Then Ben started slowing down and I thought 'oh god he's going to collapse or something'. 'I had no idea what he was planning. 'In hindsight he had suggested before that I wear something nice so we could go out for something to eat afterwards. I should really have twigged when he asked me to take his brogues in the bottom of the pram. 'Who wears brogues after running a marathon?'
Ben Parsons, 34, from Brighton, proposed to girlfriend Anna Jefferson, 36 .
Parsons had already run 24.5 miles of the 26.2 mile marathon .
Parson still managed to beat his personal best and finished in 3hrs 36mins .