Race report
Righto! That, my friends, is us. Thanks for your company and comments, and enjoy the rest of the weekend. Peace out.
Deborah from Belfast has just told us that “London is the friendliest place”. Runners’ buzz is for real!
My goodness we’re spoiling you today.
We learn that previously, there’s been no simple test to diagnose pancreatic cancer, but that’s not going to be the case for too much longer. Breathing into a bag that’s sent away for testing will soon be de rigueur, and in three to five years, GPs will have access to this test courtesy of Imperial College, London.
Things to look out for are: backache, tummy ache, changer in poo, tiredness, yellowness on the skin or around the eyes.
Here’s Sean Ingle’s race report.
This year, Pancreatic Cancer UK is the official race charity. Of the common cancers, it’s the biggest killer – almost 800 people a month, mainly because it’s caught too late. The idea is to fund what they’re calling “the ultimate test” so that other families don’t have to go through what those we’re meeting now are dealing with.
Also going on:
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Oh my days, Alex Rice is running 230 miles down the canal tow-paths, from Macclesfield to the start line. He’s raising money for Coffee for Craig, a homeless charity, and quite rightly notes that the aim is to eradicate the situation entirely. In 2025, that should absolutely be possible.
This is the page for Elsie’s Story, the charity set up by Dave and family. Feel free to support here.
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Ahh, we’re back with our mates Dave and Sergio, whose daughters were murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport last year. I can’t begin to imagine what they and their families are going through; I’m once again in bits, not just because of what happened but because of their emotional strength and integrity.
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And here’s Assefa! Through an interpreter, she says that after coming second last year, to win here is very special and she’s very happy – the smile plastered across her coupon gives that one away. Last year, she had problems with the cold – her hamstrings tightened towards the end – but this year, the warm weather made it better for her.
Finally, Sawe says he hopes the marathon will be important to him and easy for him. Us too, old mate.
Ah, here’s Sawe. He’s “so happy” in his first attempt at a major marathon. He was well prepared and that’s why it became “easy” for him to win. Easy!
I’m going to grab a drink, but I’ll be back in a few minutes to meet some of our regular heroes.
Yee hit the deck as soon as he finished, a ball of exhaustion. He’ll be excited with his performance, I think, and I’m intrigued to see what he does next.
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Alex Yee, the Olympic triathlon champion, finishes in, I think, 13th place, his time about 2:11:06 – pretty good for his first marathon. But the highest-placed Briton is Mahamed Mahamed, ninth in 2:08:52.
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I’d love some interviews, but thus far, nothing doing.
A little bit of reading for you…
No, the verdict goes not to Mutiso of Kenya, who must make do with fourth, but to Nageeye of the Netherlands! I’d like to see that photo, because as it happened, it looked Mutiso all the way.
After 26 miles, Mutiso, last year’s winner, and Nageeye, cannot be separated! They sprint for the line – how is this even possible?! – and I think Mutiso sneaks it, but what a moment that is! They embrace and look back to normal immediately! Insane.
Kiplimo of Uganda, the half-marathon world-record destroyer, comes second and doesn’t he enjoy the moment. Imagine how good he’s going to be after a few more races; this too is a line in the sand!
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya wins the men's race
He wins in 2:02:26, a brilliant performance, tactically perfect, and that is line in the sand.
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It’s impossible to grasp what these runners put in to doing this, but you can see the depth of it etched into their faces. Here comes Sawe to finish!
Sawe must be in agony, but is that a grin playing across his face? He knows he’s done it, and he’s embracing the moment of his life so far, having devastated one of the strongest fields ever assembled. What a joy this must be.
Sawe has destroyed the field, and kicking at drinks was such a strong move. Second is Kiplimo, 46s behind, and this is a really good effort form him on his marathon debut – I can’t wait to see how he develops – but at 29, Sawe has plenty of improving to do too.
Eilish McColgan finishes eighth in 2:24:25, which is a new Scottish record – the previous mark was Steph Twell’s 2:26:40, and also breaks her family record – mum Liz’s best time is 2:26:52.
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Sawe still leads the men’s race while, over in Sheffield, Shaun Murphy leads Judd Trump 2-1 in their last-16 match at the Crucible. I’ll be bringing you both days of the final next Sunday and Monday and I can’t wait, but let’s not wish our lives away when there’s an indecent amount of sporting joy awaiting us between now and then.
The 1-2-3 pose for photos at Assefa’s behest, and that’s lovely to see – they’ve hurt each other something fierce, but it’s in the past and they’re all martea again now, until the next time.
Hassan looks a little disappointed; she didn’t run her best race today and might reflect that had she sat off in the early stages perhaps she’d have had enough to come back towards the end. But Assefa ran a very special race, and it would’ve taken something appalling to challenge her, even for a freak of nature like the Olympic champ.
Joyciline Jepkosgei is bushed. Her legs are made of wood and barely belong to her, things she can’t feel moving, just about; she looks behind to see what’s going on behind, but she’s safe, just. She finishes second and here comes Hassan to take third.
Tigst Assefa of Ethiopia wins the women's race in a women's-only world record time
A wondrous piece of work! The course record survives; her time is 2.15:50.
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Assefa grooves on, the crowd cheering her home and she takes the final bend – THE RECORD IS GOING TO BE HERS!
385 yards to go! Come on Tigst!
The time we’re looking for is 2:16:16; that’s the women’s only world record – Ruth Chepng’etich ran 2:09:56 in last year’s Chicago Marathon, but that was a mixed race. 800m to go and Assefa, an Olympic silver medallist at that distance, will know she can devastate that. What moments!
Again, I’d love to know what’s in Assefa’s mind now. The race is one, but how much pain is she in? Is she enjoying the moment? Taking it stride by stride? Singing American Pie to herself? She’ll be finished the race before the man there said the music wouldn’t play.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya is punishing himself and the rest of the field; he’s run a 4.18 mile – and the one before was 4.40, 4.46 before that. If he settles back in to where he was before the break, it’ll still take something major to catch him.
And have a look! Assefa has gone from 5.26 and 5.28 to 5.03! With two miles to go, this is over, and she still looks perfectly chill.
ASSEFA GOES! She’s looked the stronger runner from the start, really, and this feels a definitive break. The whole race, she’s looked comfy and in control; now she’s heading for the line, the course record and the women’s-only world record.
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Now under way:
AND HERE IT COMES! Sawe makes a move at drinks as the others refuel, and Kipchoge is tailing off the back! Oh and as I type the lead is now very significant, but with roughly 10km to go, does he have the legs to see it out?
Comms reckon there’s never been a group this big so deep into the men’s race, but surely someone is going to make a move? Kiplimo, if he wants to win rather than acclimatise, surely won’t want to leave it to a sprint at the end given his half-marathon pedigree? If he’s going to do it, he’ll have to do it soon…
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I should say, Assefa has the greater pedigree – she won silver in Paris, has run the second-fastest time in history, and taken the Berlin marathon twice. For Jepkosgei, though, this is the chance of a lifetime.
Back with the men at 25km, Kiplagat is now five seconds off the leading nine, all of whom look strong. Is someone going to make a move?
Jepkosgei and Assefa are slowing, gathering for the final push. They’re hurting now, and if you’re forcing me to back one, I’m going Assefa, but really I’m making it up; as I type, she grabs what feels like her first drink. Weak.
I wonder what Kiplimo’s plan is. We’ve no idea how he’ll go over the full distance, but I’d assumed he’d have a plan to deploy his speed and break the others before they had the opportunity to outlast him. For now, though, it’s Sawe leading from Kipchoge, who’s moving very nicely indeed.
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Our leading women are at 20 miles now; will one of the two make a break for it, or are they confident enough in their kicks to leave it until the end? Surely not…
I’d love to know what on Jepkosgei and Assefa’s minds as they drop four seconds off word-record pace. The mark remains within reach and they’re helping each other out, swapping leadership, but each will be planning how to outfox the other.
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The man have now run out of pacemakers too, Kiplagat leading from Kipchoge with Mengesha, Sawe, Petros, Munyao, Tola, Esa, Kiplimo, and Nageeye all still there.
The gap from Jepkosgei and Assefa to Hassan is growing as the pace remains nails. I fancy Assefa, but I’m judging that on little more than looking at their gait and faces.
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Assefa seems to want a quicker pace than Jepkosgei, but we don’t really know whether either of them is playing games, intimating a capability of less or more than is actually the case; the world record remains under serious threat.
Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland wins the women's wheelchair race for the third time in four years
Another barely comprehensible performance, another field destroyed. She finishes in 1:34:18, no other competitor in sight, and smashes the course record by nearly for minutes. Her world record, though – 1:34:16 – survives.
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Debrunner zips around some stray men and around the final bend, the world record just about out of reach … or is it?
This men’s race is shaping up into something immense. Just as the king stay the king, the group remains the group, four seconds between the first 10 and no sense of which might break away never mind win. Meantime, perhaps earlier than expected, the final pacemaker drops out of the women’s race – now it’s a race – and Jepkosgei draws alongside Assefa, Hassan far enough behind such that were it anyone but her, we’d be certain she couldn’t win. They’re still inside WR pace, but whether they can sustain it on their own remains to be seen.
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Hug is now chilling like he’s just finished a Park Run. When will it all end?
Marcel Hug of Switzerland wins the men's wheelchair race for the fifth year in a row!
What an absolute legend – his time is 1:25:25. Tomoki Suzuki of Japan finishes second.
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Marcel Hug is close to the finish now, five in a row imminent…
The women-only world record of 2:16:16, set by Peres Jepchirchir in this race last year, is under threat. We’re down to one pacemaker now, Assefa the more graceful runner but Jepkosgei also looking strong.
Hug leads Suzuki, who takes a break on a downhill, clear in second from Schipper, with Romanchuk in fourth; Debrunner leads Scaroni by two minutes, and this is what greatness looks like.
Assefa and Jepkosgei have again dropped Hassan, or she’s dropped herself; she’s five seconds behind and the pace is hot, inside the women’s world record and the course record as we reach halfway. Both look pretty comfy.
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The men are two seconds off the world-record split at 10km; the longer this group stays together, the more tactical this race will get. I love the colour of Petros’ vest; what would we call it? I don’t yet have a photo, but I’m on it.
We’re with the elite men at 5km that I think is now 10 strong: Mengesha, Sawe, Kipplagat, Kipchoge, Petros, Munyao, Tola, Esa, Kiplimo, Nageeye. Meantime, Suzuki and Schipper pursue Hug; good luck with that, old mates.
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Hahahahaha, Hassan has already caught back up; whether she’s playing mind-games with herself, the others, or both remains unclear.
Oh! Alemu, who was working hard, has been dropped by the leading group … AND SO HAS HASSAN! She’s 20m or so behind Jepkosgei and Assefa, who are absolutely punishing it, though you can never write off so absurd an individual.
Derbrunner and Hug both have significant leads. The former is gone; Suzuki is still pursuing the latter.
Alemu looks to be working a little harder than the other three women as we near the nine-mile mark. Hassan, we’re reminded, took four months off after the Olympics – she ran the 5, the 10 and the marathon, which is frankly ridiculous behaviour – but the others, having hammered it since, might fancy she’ll be lacking a bit of pace if they can make it a (particularly) painful one.
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McColgan has dropped off from her group, who I guess were going too quickly for her comfort. It means a long, lonely time, but I guess as a distance-runner she’s well used to that.
Also going on:
The fun-runners are under way, and what a sight it is. My knees are wincing in sympathy.
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In the men’s do, Kipchoge is closest to the pacemakers, but I think the group is 13-strong, all the usual lads present.
Oh, and of course Debrunner has gone too; she leads Scaroni by seven seconds and the move looks decisive; the gap to Schar in third is a couple of minutes and Rainbow-Copper is fourth.
Hassan has caught up again now; Assefa leads but notionally so.
The machine Hug leads Suzuku by 7s, Romanchuk a further 17s away.
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Assefa leads the women’s race and doesn’t bother getting a bevvy as Alemu, Jepkosgei and Hassan swig away, Hasssan a little behind and wincing. We have, though, seen this before when she won in 2023 after hirting herself early doors.
The elite men are on the start line. Kiplimo is buzzing, and I can’t wait to see how he goes off – will he try and destroy the field by imposing a pace no one but him can hit? Here we go!
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Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Hug has pulled away, his lead about 20m. Meantime, we’re watching Alex Yee hanging with his runner-grandpa. How proud is he? “Unimaginable. I always tell people ‘is my superstar grandson Alex Yee.’” You can almost feel the love coming through the screen; great stuff.
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After 15km, Scaroni leads the women’s wheelchair race with Debrunner just behind; Schar and Rainbow-Cooper are two minutes behind now, and Debrunner’s course record is under threat.
Goodness.
“Having this to focus on, being out there running, thinking of Elsie – it’s like therapy,’ says David, then he and Sergiuo are shown a message from Keir Starmer.
Goodness me, Lottie has, thanks to Couch to 5K, lost 12 stone. The success of that app is seriously dazzling, but now we’ve got David and Sergio, whose daughters, Alice and Elsie, were murdered in Southport last year. I don’t even know, really I don’t. Go on lads, go on.
Aha! A leaderboard!
Jepkosgei
Assefa
Alemu
Hassan
Cheruiyot
Desse
The last two are half a second or so back.
Assefa is also in the group of four leading the women’s race; they’ve been going just over 15 minutes and have grabbed their first drink; the pace is swift. A little further back, McColgan is a little behind the second group.
Back to the women’s wheelchair, Debrunner, who was leading, is now back in the pack, Scaroni in front; Lucy Jones, meanwhile, is celebrating her 18th by running as the race’s youngest competitor in memory of her mum. A crowd are singing her happy birthday, which is very sweet.
Blessed are the pacemakers. In the women’s race, we’ve got a leading group of four behind two: Hassan, Alemu, and, er, I can’t quite see who else. Bear with me!
Hug has put a few metres between him and Suzuki, Romanchuk now in third. When he’s involved, no one gets owt for nowt.
At 5km, the men’s wheelchair race has Romanchuk, Hug, Schipper, Suzuki, Weir and Watanabe in the leading group; in the women’s Scaroni has a three-second lead 0ver Schar … no she doesn’t, Debrunner is now at the front! Of course she is; McFadden and Rainbow-Cooper are also in touch.
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Our elite women are on the line, Denise at the ready … and we’re away! She enjoyed that.
In the men’s wheelchair, a group led by Hug has broken away; with him are Romanchuk and others.
Email! “Whoever says a marathon live-streaming is not exciting has never played a sport in her/his life,” reckons Krishnamoorthy V. “There are countless summer weekends when I stood in awe after a day on my bike to realise that my average speed (on a BIKE) was less than that if Eliud Kipchoge. I only ran half-marathons in my life and I celebrated my 2hr 35 min as my personal best. Kiplimo runs it in 57 minutes (that is my PB for a 10km). This is athletes at their most supreme. Bring it on.”
Yup – the pace they hit then sustain is mind-boggling.
It can’t just me be who, every time they hear the name Sammi Kinghorn – 100m Olympic champ, marathoner as of today – thinks of this.
Oh, it is? Ah.
Away we go!
It’s not Denise, it’s Richard Whitehead starting this race, but the effect is similar.
The wheelchair races are massed on the start line, the gun to be fired by Denise Lewis. To do what she did, before lottery funding, is so badass it deserves its own category, and she announces, in her capacity as chair of UK Athletics, that London will be bidding to host the 2026 World Athletics Championships.
It’s going to be a jazzer of a London day. The mist is clearing now, burnt away by the sun, and though it might make things tougher for the fun-runners, conditions for the elite lot can’t be far off perfect.
Oh man. I can’t lie, fluids were taken on board last evening – mazal tov Yona! – but I’m already in absolute bits watching Isla Lough, Paula Radcliffe’s daughter, talk about her experience of cancer and talking about why she’s running today at just 18. And there are so many stories just like hers. People are incredible.
Our race preview:
Just when we thought we were getting telly that didn’t feature Romesh Ranganathan, here he is! He’ll be racing today, so too Kelly Brook. More news as I get it!
Preamble
Generally speaking, elite sport is something we watch. But today, for one day only, elite sport is something in which we can participate – if we choose! – London subsumed by serious sport and banging vibes.
We begin at 8.50am – let’s hope the intensifying mist remains at least until then – with our wheelchair races. In the women’s edition, the ludicrous Catherine Debrunner – winner last year and in 2022, when she set a world record, and also the Olympic champion – seeks a third title in four years. But Madison de Rozario, winner in 2023, along with Saisannah Scaroni and Manuela Schar will have plenty to say about that, perhaps Eden Rainbow-Cooper too.
The men’s edition, meanwhile, features the unreal Marcel Hug, aiming for a fifth victory in a row and a seventh overall. Seeking to stop him, as ever, are Daniel Romanchuk and David Weir.
The winner of last year’s women’s race, Peres Jepchirchir, has been forced to pull out, likewise Ruth Chepngetich, the world record-holder, and Emile Cairess, who came fourth in Paris. But fear not! The astounding Sifan Hassan, Olympic champion and multiple Olympic medallist in events from the 1500m upwards, who won this race in amazing circumstances in 2023, goes again. Challenging her are Tigst Assefa, the Olympic silver medallist, along with Joyciline Jepkosgei, Stella Chesang and Megertu Alemu, while GB’s Eilish McColgan makes her long-awaited marathon debut.
In the men’s event, we have a new challenge for the legendary Eliud Kipchoge. Jacob Kiplimo, recently the first person to run a half-marathon in under 57 minutes, attacks the longer distance for the first time – I cannot wait to see how that goes – but this is no head-to-head: Tamirat Tola, the Olympic champ, and Alex Mutiso, last year’s winner, will also be at it, likewise Timothy Kiplagat and Milkesa Mengesha. Oh, and if that weren’t enough, Alex Yee, Great Britain’s world and Olympic triathlon gold-medallist, attempts the distance for the first time.
And in among all of that, we have all the people and all the stories that get our eyeballs sweating, that help make this one of the great days of the sporting year. Bring it on!
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