Celebrations as couple get engaged at Maidenhead Half Marathon

The half marathon was an extra special occasion for one couple after Cookham resident Billy Mallett popped the question to his long-term partner during her run.

Bethany Andrews, 32, had no idea when she kicked off her run what her partner of eight years had planned.

Around 10 kilometres from the finish line, the operations manager made her way through the Cookham stretch to cheers from family and friends.

Billy, 33, approached her with a placard reading,‘Bethany, do you concur?’ before getting down on one knee.

Nearby runners also expressed their delight in a video taken of the proposal by his dad, TV presenter Timmy Mallett.

“I didn’t tell anybody what I had planned,” Billy, a gardener, said.

“We had some ‘Go Bethany Go’ banners and we had some friends and family also partaking, so we did some banners for them.

“Then I did a secret one that said, ‘Bethany, do you concur?’ – which is my way of asking.

“It’s our cute talk we have when we quote films. It’s from the Catch Me If You Can film.”

He added: “It was such a wonderful surprise for everyone as well.

“It was a really special moment.”

Bethany, who was running the half marathon for the first time, was ‘shocked’ when Billy popped the question.

She added: “I didn’t expect it at all.

“I ran round that corner and he was walking towards me with that sign and I was like, ‘That’s a weird thing to put on a sign’.

“And then I thought, ‘Why are you walking towards me? You’re in the way now’.

“I was just really confused.

“[Then] he got down on the one knee, and it was just lovely because I didn’t expect half of the family and friends to be there that were.”

She said 12 to 13 family and friends were present and it was ‘lovely’ to have their young son Jack there also, and their dog.