BRIAN Fogarty completed the greatest year of his sporting life by finishing 233rd from an entry of 50,740 runners at last weekend’s New York marathon.

The Blackburn Harrier, the cousin of world Superbike champion Carl Fogarty, was also placed 67th in his age category, firing a time of 2 hours 48 minutes 32 seconds.

That was just outside his personal best of 2 hours 45 minutes, set at the Amsterdam marathon, but nevertheless a splendid effort after months of top class competition for the 29-year-old.

Last month, Fogarty produced a remarkable performance at the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii, shaving a stunning 12 minutes off his personal best to finish in 260th place.

The globe-trotting endurance star returned home to finish fifth at the Accrington 10k a fortnight ago – before clocking up the air miles again to record a top 250 time in the 43rd running of one of the world’s greatest races.

“I’ve had a really special year and I can’t believe what has happened in terms of my development and where I was at the start of 2013,” said Fogarty.

“The atmosphere at the New York Marathon was electric and it was another amazing experience coming just a month after Hawaii.”

Fogarty, who could not swim two years ago, has come from nowhere in the sport this year.

He shocked a powerful field in freezing conditions at the Keswick Mountain Festival, winning the race by a minute and a half.

Fogarty followed that up in July, claiming a silver medal at the Day in the Lakes Triathlon.

But the big breakthrough came when he qualified for the World Ironman Championships in Hawaii after finishing 15th overall to qualify for the Pacific Island race.

“To qualify for Hawaii was beyond my wildest dreams, and it really changed my life in terms of what I might be able to achieve in endurance sport,” he said.

“I said I’d be happy if I came back from Hawaii with a personal best and I managed it.

“I really think there is a lot of improvement left in me and hopefully I can build on what I’ve achieved this year in 2014.”