Wales legend Aaron Ramsey pulled on his running shoes once again at the weekend - this time with a surprise appearance at the Stockholm marathon.

The former Arsenal midfielder quietly turned up and took on the 26.2-mile challenge on Saturday by recording a superb sub-three-hour personal best time.

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The 35-year-old completed the race in an impressive time of two hours 59 minutes and 20 seconds - below the gold standard three-hour mark for teh event.

Ramsey, who retired from professional football earlier this year, took to social media after the race, posing with his medal after crossing the finishing line.

He wrote on Instagram: “PB 2:59:20 what a great event.”

"Thank you @stockholm_42195 and @adidasrunning for looking after me."

Fellow Welshman Gethin Jones, who recently completed a Couch to 5K as a guide runner, was among those to show their appreciation.

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"Haha, he did it!" he wrote.

Former Wales rugby star Alex Cuthbert added: "Shift mate."

Former Real Madrid star Keylor Navas, who briefly played with Ramsey at Mexican side Pumas UNAM, simply said: "woww top".

Ramsey appears to have caught the bug for marathon running since choosing to hang up his boots.

Just days after calling time on his career, the former Euro 2016 hero ran alongside thousands of others in the London Marathon, clocking up a time of 3:00:30.

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Ramsey ran that race on behalf of It's Never You, a charity founded by friends Ceri and Frances Menai-Davis, whose six-year-old son Hugh died from rhabdomyosarcoma, a rare cancer.

Speaking to BBC Sport ahead of the event in London, Ramsey said: "Training's been difficult, when the rain's coming down and it's wet and windy, and it can be quite a lonely place sometimes. But actually, I've enjoyed it in a weird way, being in the trenches a little bit.

"As a charity, [It's Never You] is really close to my heart," the former Arsenal and Cardiff City midfielder added. "I know Ceri and Fran and their family. I knew Hugh very well. My eldest boy, Sonny, is a similar age and they used to play with each other.

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"I can't imagine what they went through and what they are going through, but they've been an absolute inspiration to me, my family and many others."