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Our men’s race will shortly get under way…
David, 90-years-old, is our oldest competitor, and he’s been running these races since 1982; what a man. Lana, meanwhile, is 18 and one day – so our youngest racer – and she was convinced to be here by her parents, who’ve done six marathons between them.
Mo Farah looks nicely relaxed, and what a symbol he’s been and still is. The pace today will, presumably, be too hot for him, but he’s earned the right to a love-accumulating saunter and then some.
The Eastenders contingent.
Eliud Kipchoge is happy to be in London celebrating with the community. London feels like home, he says – he holds the course record –and he’s looking forward to the race.
My days, Marcel Hug is some athlete. He’s already broken the field and is away on his own while, behind him, Daniel Romanchuk is more concerned with what’s behind than what’s in front. In co-comms, Tanni Grey-Thompson explains that when it rains, you get grit washed into the road, which can lead to punctures, but hopefully everyone will be alright.
George is running for St Nicholas Hospice Care in Bury Sy Edmonds, while Georgie is running for British Liver Trust in memory of her mum who died in the summer – she wants to highlight the symptoms as she was ill without realising it. And finally, there’s Paul Evans trying to break the record for fastest marathon dressing as a knight – it’s St George’s Day, he’s in boots – and he’s raising money for Ambitious About Autism.
Gabby Logan is chatting to Hugh Brasher, the race organiser, about Extinction Rebellion, whose issue he accepts is important. He’s been talking to them for months, likewise Just Stop Oil, and he’s sure it’ll be amazing day. He makes it clear that he believes climate change is an important issue – one about which we should be talking – and he says this is the first time finishers can plant trees instead of getting a t-shirt and those who’ve travelled from abroad have paid a carbon offset tax. He’s also really excited about the women’s race – aren’t we all!
There’s a bit of rain in the air now as we cut back to the women’s race, and Hassan is in the leading group but a bit off to the side – apparently following the blue line which gives the route. There are, I think 14 of them in total.
Back to the men’s, Hug is putting it on now, followed by Platt – those two may be working together to try and break up the field – with Suzuki and Romanchuk behind them.
In the men’s wheelchair race, a group of six have broken away, led of course by Hug – and David Weir is also in that group. In the women’s, meanwhile, Scaroni leads.
Brigid Kosgei pulls out of the race
Ach, what a shame that is – but credit to her for turning up and giving it a go. In front of her, meanwhile, they’re running at roughly world-record pace, the plan to punish the second half of the race.
Brigid Kosgei, the world record holder, appears to be limping a bit, which doesn’t seem ideal. I imagine she’ll settle into things, but on the other hand winning in those circumstances seems a bit of a stretch.
Ian Beale!
They’re on the line and Genzaebe Dibaba of Ethiopia waves to the crowd, then Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands and all the rest, including Yalemzerf Yehualaw, last year’s winner. AND WE’RE OFF!
BBC are calling the women’s race the greatest marathon field ever put together; Steve Cram widens that to distance race. And we can see our racers warming up; we’re almost ready to go.
The rain, says Andrew Cotter, is forecast for around 10am, and makes things much trickier for our wheelchair racers. But hopefully it holds off – showers look possible but not imminent in north London, for what that’s worth.
The biggest challenge to competing in Boston then here, we’re told, is getting the chairs over, as the stress isn’t on weight-bearing muscles. It’s more similar, to cycling than running, and in the meantime, Tomoki Suzuki of Japan leads.
Marcel Hug is a huge favourite to win the men’s race – he destroyed the field in Boston last week, in a record time – but the women’s is more open.
The wheelchair race is away
There’s a horn, a big cheer, and away we go!
Our wheelchair racers are primed…
Goodness me, we’re talking to Major Sally Orange, who’s run seven marathons on seven continents, the fastest marathon dressed as a piece of fruit, and is today running dressed as a cracker because she’s crackers about mental health. I cannot stress this enough, but if you’ve got something bothering you, talk to someone. My email address is at the top of this page, should anyone want a non-judgmental, non-partisan ear.
Ah, here’s Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen) – for those of us who grew up in the 80s, a legend of this race in particular – she won it four times – and distance-running in general. We see footage of her in 1985, breaking the record, and somehow the tone of it puts me in mind of this.
It’s absolutely mad, is this.
We’re now watching a thing about Couch to 5k, which I heartily recommend – it’s changed the life of a few people I know. If you’re looking for a shove to get you out there, download it.
We’re doing alright so far…
Paula Radcliffe thinks we might get a record in the women’s race. She thinks the course is faster than people think it is, but the kind of time we get depends on how tactically people run.
It’s a shame there’s no Eilish McColgan, who’s had to withdraw injured. Here 10,000m win at the Commonwealth Games was one of my performances of 2022 and I was looking forward to seeing her over the longer distance. Next year…
I’m a mess already. Go on everyone!
Marcus Mumford, meanwhile, is running for Grenfell Foundation, while Adele Roberts who’s with them, is trying to break the world record for running with a stoma, which helped her recover from bowel cancer surgery. how candidly she speaks about this, on telly now but also in general, is great. Greg James tells her she the most remarkable person he’s ever met; ahhhhh.
We’re now hearing from Scott Mitchell, the late Barbara Windsor’s husband, who’s leading an Eastenders contingent raising money for dementia research – one in three of us will have to deal with that in our lives. What a nice man.
On which point:
It may surprise some that when it comes to general participants of running events in the UK, diversity levels among them is woefully low https://t.co/aU6QjgQsyj
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 23, 2023Jeanette Kwakye is speaking to a group who’ve been training during Ramadan; I can’t even, what an effort. We’re hearing from a woman who says the lack of sleep was more of an issue than the lack of food, and knowing when her body felt strong … and she’s also a teacher! Goodness me. And now we’re hearing from someone she’s with who’s just run Boston, but he says he’s still go the good vibes of Eid.
I said temperate, but actually it’s looks, at least, pretty alright at Blackheath. We’re currently seeing a bunch of Bake-Off contestants running for Great Ormond Street and specifically a new cancer centre. Good luck people.
Preamble
Morning all! Anyone fancy a quick 26.2 miles? No? How about a swift 42.1 km? Also no? Snap.
I can’t lie, I do have an I ran the London Marathon 2006 running top, which I borrowed from a friend to do three peaks – thanks Chris – and failed to return – also thanks Chris. But otherwise, the notion of putting my body and brain through the slog of a run like this could not be less appealing. Just focus on the next step? Not for me, Kenenisa.
However, luckily for us, 45,000 or so heroes feel differently. Doing last year’s race, I seemed to spend half the time tending to my uncommonly sweaty eyeballs as ordinary people related their extraordinary tales, and I’m certain today will be the same, an inspiring triumph of the human spirit. If you’re there or know people who are, feel free to send in your photos, anecdotes and charity links.
Otherwise, though the elite men’s race doesn’t feature Eliud Kipchoge, who’ll be starting us off, it will include Kenenisa Bekele, the second-fastest man in history, and given he’s 40, we’re mandated to enjoy him while we still can; Kelvin Kiptum, who ran the fastest marathon debut ever in Valencia last year; Sir Mo Farah, competing for the final time; Tamirat Tola, the world champion; and Gabriel Geay, who came second in last week’s Boston event.
As for the women, we’ve got Brigid Kosgei, the world record holder; Yalemzerf Yehualaw, the 10km world record holder; Peres Jepchirchir, the Olympic champion; Genzebe Dibaba, the world 1500m record holder; and Tigist Assefa, the 2022 Berlin champion. Look out for a fast time in that one, especially given the, er, temperate conditions.
And, in the wheelchair races, Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner, defending champs and world record holders return – their events will be started by Gordon Perry, winner of the first such contest 40 years ago. This is going to be affirming!
Elite wheelchair races: 9.15am BST
Elite women’s race: 9.25am BST
Elite men’s race and mass Start: 10am BST
English (US)