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A record number of runners finished the 39th London Marathon as organisers celebrated the most ‘extraordinary’ race in the event’s history.
A total of 42,549 competitors had crossed the line by 7pm – 2,000 more than last year – after British tennis champion Sir Andy Murray pushed the starting button on Sunday morning.
Kenyan ace Eliud Kipchoge set a course record of two hours, two minutes and 37 seconds, narrowly missing his own world record, as British Olympic hero Sir Mo Farah finished fifth, crossing the line in two hours, five minutes and 39 seconds.
Kenya’s Brigid Kosgei, 25, became the youngest female London winner, with Britain’s Charlotte Purdue 10th.
Celebrity runners included an eight-strong team of TV soap opera EastEnders cast members who ran alongside Dame Barbara Windsor’s husband, Scott Mitchell, for the event’s charity of the year, Dementia Revolution.
The Duke of Sussex, above, made a surprise appearance as he handed out medals to winners and greeted race volunteers. Harry’s attendance was initially in doubt as he awaits the birth of his first child with Meghan Markle.
Money raised for charity through the marathon since its conception in 1981 has now passed £1 billion (BD488m), with organisers this year using the hashtag #ThanksaBillion to promote the race.
Event director Hugh Brasher said: “We have had many extraordinary days in the history of the London Marathon but today was even more than that. Thanks to the incredible efforts of a record number of runners, we have now raised more than £1,000,000,000 for good causes.”
Farah, 36, said after the race that he had ‘felt good’ mid-way through the course, which started in Blackheath and ended at The Mall, but could not match ‘incredible’ Kipchoge, 34.
There were dramatic scenes at the finish line for British elite woman Hayley Carruthers, 25, who collapsed to her knees inches from the finish line, before crawling over with a new personal best of two hours, 34 minutes and three seconds
The EastEnders runners had raised £130,000 by Sunday afternoon through their run for Dame Barbara, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2014.
Others who celebrated included Eileen Noble, 84, the oldest female competitor who crossed the line in six hours, 28 minutes and seven seconds. “I don’t feel too bad now but I must keep moving, it’s getting harder every year as I get older,” she said as she pledged to run again next year.
Not everyone finished with a flourish … Lukas Bates, the poor runner who ran in a Big Ben costume, couldn’t cross the line as he was too tall to fit under the barrier. With a little help from a steward and what must have been some painful bending forwards, he finally succeeded.
Ever-present runners – those who have completed every London Marathon – included Chris Finill, who finished in two hours, 59 minutes and 46 seconds.
“No matter how many times I run this race, there’s always something new about it,” said the 60-year-old, who finished last year despite breaking his arm just three and a half miles into the course.
Another athletic sexagenarian planning to run his first London Marathon in the future is GulfWeekly editor and Saar jogger Stan Szecowka. He can’t back out now, it’s written in print!
