Sunday the 24th of April saw the return of the annual Virgin London marathon to the streets of the Capital. The day began with the competitive mini marathon, in which some of the best runners round the country compete across a 5k course. The runners all did well and there were some impressive times from the boys, girls and para-athletes in all age categories. The next category was the women’s wheelchair race, which was narrowly won by Tatyana McFadden, with a time of 1 hour, 44 minutes and 14 seconds. The men’s wheelchair was even closer, with first place going to Marcel Hug, who achieved a time of 1 hour, 35 minutes and 24 seconds. The elite women was won by Jemimah Sumgong, who incredibly, recovered from a fall and quickly caught up with the leading group. Eliud Kipchoge won the men’s elite race, with an impressive time of 2 hours, 3 minutes and 5 seconds.
Despite the chilly weather, the streets were lined, as ever, with friends, family, supporters, local Londoners and tourists cheering on the runners, and there were many charities represented, including Barnardos, Clic Sargent and Mind. As a spectator myself, I particularly enjoyed the atmosphere, and the enthusiasm with which every individual runner was greeted. Alexane Bleunven, a 15 year old student at Newstead Wood, particularly enjoyed ‘seeing everyone in their dramatic costumes,’ and says that she was ‘inspired by our community coming together in this way to raise money for many worthy causes.’
