The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of 42.195 km, usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair divisions. More than 800 marathons are held throughout the world each year, with the vast majority of competitors being recreational athletes, as larger marathons can have tens of thousands of participants.
London Irish RFC is a professional rugby union club which competes in the Premiership, the top division of English rugby union. The club has also competed in the Anglo-Welsh Cup, the European Champions Cup and European Challenge Cup. While playing in the Championship in 2016–17 and 2018–19, it also played in the British and Irish Cup and RFU Championship Cup. The club played home games at the Madejski Stadium in Reading, Berkshire for twenty years, before moving for the 2020–21 season to the Gtech Community Stadium in Brentford, West London.
Diarmuid O'Carroll is an Irish retired professional footballer, who is currently assistant manager at St Mirren. He has worked in various roles in football such as for the Irish Football Association as Club and Community Development Officer within the Football Development Department.
Conor O'Shea is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. He was the head coach of the Italy national team from 2016 to 2019. He played as a full back and occasionally at out-half and centre for Ireland, Lansdowne and London Irish. He has also coached London Irish and Harlequins, and held management positions with the English Rugby Football Union and the English Institute of Sport.
Ryan Hall is a retired American long-distance runner who holds the U.S. record in the half marathon. With his half marathon record time (59:43), he became the first U.S. runner to break the one-hour barrier in the event. He is also the only American to run a sub-2:05 marathon. However, this time is not eligible to be a record due to the course being point-to-point and a net-downhill course. Hall won the marathon at the 2008 United States Olympic trials and placed tenth in the Olympic marathon in Beijing.
Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero is an Argentine professional football manager and former player. He is set to become the manager of Premier League club Chelsea on 1 July 2023.
Joanne Marie Pavey MBE is a British long-distance runner representing Europe, Great Britain and England in a career notable for its longevity, range and consistency. A World, European and Commonwealth medallist, Pavey won her only senior title when she claimed the 10,000 m gold medal at the 2014 European Championships in Zürich, ten months after giving birth to her second child, to become the oldest female European champion in history at the age of 40 years and 325 days.
Sir Mohamed Muktar Jama Farah is a British-Somali long-distance runner. His ten global championship gold medals make him the most successful male track distance runner ever, and he is the most successful British track athlete in modern Olympic Games history.
Roger Wilson is an Irish former rugby union player, who played at number eight for Ulster, Northampton Saints and Ireland. Since retiring in 2017, he has worked in the United States, coaching American football players in rugby tackling techniques.
Gerard O'Brien is an Irish former professional footballer who played in the League of Ireland as a defender. He is the current Director of Football of St Patrick's Athletic, who he spent 5 seasons playing with. His former clubs also include Athlone Town, Kildare County, Shamrock Rovers, Derry City, Sporting Fingal, Bohemians.
Shalane Grace Flanagan is an American long-distance runner, Olympic medalist and New York City Marathon champion. She was the first American woman to win the New York City Marathon since 1977. She holds the NACAC area records in both the 10k and 15k road races.
Seán Kevin O'Brien is an Irish retired professional rugby union player. He previously represented home province Leinster for eleven seasons. At Leinster, he helped the team win four European titles, and was named ERC European Player of the Year for the 2010–11 season, he then played three season's for English Premiership Rugby side London Irish.
James O'Brien is an Irish footballer who plays for Shelbourne. He made his debut in the Football League for Bradford City in August 2009. He has represented Ireland at all levels up to under-19.
Kosovare Asllani is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker or an attacking midfielder for Italian first division Serie A club AC Milan and the Sweden national team. Nicknamed "Kosse", Asllani possesses great speed and technique in her game.
Jessica Stenson is an Australian athlete who won the gold medal in the marathon at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. As a long-distance runner, she competes in distances from 5000 metres up to the marathon. She represented Australia at the 2012 London Olympics and 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics in the marathon.
Ciarán Ó Lionáird is an Irish runner from Cork. He competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the 1500 metres. At the 2013 European Athletics Indoor Championships in March, he came 3rd in the Men's 3000 metres. Following the COVID-19 lockdown, he announced he was coming out of retirement, and his intention to compete in the Tokyo Olympics.
Stephen O'Brien is an Irish Gaelic footballer who plays for the Kenmare Shamrocks club and at senior level for the Kerry county team since 2014.
Lizzie Lee is an Irish marathon runner. She qualified for the 2016 Olympics where she finished 57th.
Molly Seidel is an American long distance runner. Seidel represented the United States at the Great Edinburgh Cross Country in 2012, 2013, and 2018. In her first-ever marathon, Seidel placed second at the 2020 U.S. Marathon Olympic Trials. Later, she went on to win the bronze medal in her third career marathon at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. At the University of Notre Dame, Seidel was a 4-time NCAA champion, 6-time NCAA All-American, 6-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion and 2016 female ACC Athlete of the Year.
Jacob Riley is an American long-distance runner. He placed second behind Galen Rupp at the 2020 US Olympic Marathon Trials, securing a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Riley finished the race in a personal best time of 2:10:02. Riley was the first American in the 2019 Chicago marathon, in a time of 2:10:36.
Ireland 
