Domico Watson, the son of top former middle-distance runners Donna Raynor and Mike Watson, achieved a feat that neither of his parents managed during their decorated athletics careers.

The 26-year-old competed in the TCS New York City Marathon, his first attempt at the 26.2-mile distance, and achieved his goal of breaking the 3hr 30min barrier by posting a time of 3:28:23.

Not bad for someone who was not overly keen on running growing up.

Watson, who works in London, placed in the top 5,000 in a field of more than 52,000 participants, despite running with a slight groin strain, which he picked up two weeks before the race. With a father who competed at the Seoul Olympic Games in 1988, and a mother who won a silver medal in the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Puerto Rico in 1989, it is understandable that Watson initially shied away from the sport.

However, he managed to outdo both of parents by finishing the largest marathon in the world.

“Of course, one of Domico’s goals was to do something that his parents had never accomplished in running, which was completing a 26.2-mile marathon,” Raynor, the Bermuda National Athletics Association president, said.

“He accomplished that in style! For us, his parents, this is fantastic as he was a child who hated running because of the pressure he had having both parents who were runners.

“I was able to watch him at miles eight, 16 and the finish line. He looked great and was able to finish with a sprint.”

Watson said he “loved every ounce of pain, anguish and joy” during the gruelling race.

“The atmosphere was amazing and the race allowed me to find a new level of focus and strength,” he wrote on Facebook.

“Mile 22 was the spot when I realised I was running a marathon. One long hill opposite Central Park when I wasn’t sure if I was running or in a trance of trees, crowd and cramping legs.

“But what you don’t do in a marathon is stop running and this I did not. [I] went to those arms, an old [Bermuda] flyers [Track Club] lesson: take the pain and suck it up!”