The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, England. It is the second largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to October for 2020, 2021, and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The largely flat course is set around the River Thames, starting in Blackheath and finishing at The Mall. Hugh Brasher is the current Race Director and Nick Bitel its Chief Executive.
Petersham is a village in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the east of the bend in the River Thames south of Richmond, which it shares with neighbouring Ham. It provides the foreground of the scenic view from Richmond Hill across Petersham Meadows, with Ham House further along the river. Other nearby places include Twickenham, Isleworth, Teddington, Mortlake, and Roehampton.
Christopher William Brasher CBE was a British track and field athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.
Richmond is a town in south-west London, 8.2 miles (13.2 km) west-southwest of Charing Cross. It stands on a meander of the River Thames, and features many parks and open spaces, including Richmond Park, and many protected conservation areas, which include much of Richmond Hill. A specific Act of Parliament protects the scenic view of the River Thames from Richmond.
Craig Mottram is a former Australian long and middle-distance runner who specialised in the 5000 meter event.
Ed Whitlock was an English-born Canadian long-distance runner, and the first person over 70 years old to run a marathon in less than three hours, with a time of 2:59:10 in 2003.
Thames Valley Harriers (TVH) is an athletics club founded in 1887. It is based at the Linford Christie Stadium, in West London, England, which is named after member and Olympic 100 metres gold medallist Linford Christie.
The men's marathon race of the 1908 Summer Olympics took place in London on 24 July 1908. Johnny Hayes won after Dorando Pietri was disqualified for having received assistance before the finish line. For the first time in an Olympic marathon, the distance was 26 mi 385 yd (42.195 km), which would become the standard distance in 1921. 75 competitors entered the race, of whom 55 from 16 nations started, with 27 from 11 nations finishing. NOCs could enter up to 12 athletes. The United States and South Africa each won their first Olympic marathon medals.
Andrew "Andi" Jones is an English athlete who specialises in road, cross country, and mountain/fell running, and has competed for England and Great Britain. In 2003, he finished fourth in the World Mountain Trophy in Alaska. Closer to home, he competes for Stockport Harriers. Although one of the UK's leading distance runners, Andi chooses to work full-time alongside his running career and was employed as head of Design and Technology at Falinge Park High School, Rochdale. In 2014, Jones emigrated to Qatar.
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.
Robin Evan Hugh Jones is a retired British long-distance runner. He was born in London, and attended Latymer Upper School in Hammersmith, where he began competing in long-distance running both for the school and for Ranelagh Harriers, and the University of Liverpool.
Swansea Harriers Athletics Club is an athletics club based at Swansea University Athletics Centre in Swansea, Wales, UK.
Belgrave Harriers, founded in October 1887, is an athletics club in Britain, with headquarters located in Wimbledon, close to Wimbledon Common. As of February 2013, they had the most successful record in the history of the British Athletics League, with 11 titles.
The Herne Hill Harriers is an amateur athletics sports club based at Tooting Bec Athletics Track in Tooting Bec, London. The club was founded in the Herne Hill district of London in 1889. The club caters to all levels and ages of track, field, road running and cross-country running. The club begins training athletes at age 11 and offers “Star Track” an opportunity for younger children to get involved at the end of July each year.
Len Hurst was renowned as a British long-distance athlete, both running and pedestrianism, although he started life as a brick-maker, and spent his last 29 years as a pub landlord.
William Arthur Adcocks is a British former long-distance runner who competed in the 1968 Summer Olympics.
The Ranelagh Club was a polo club located at Barn Elms in south west London, England. It was founded in 1878 as a split-off from the Hurlingham Club and by 1894 was the largest polo club in the world. The club had approximately 3000 members in 1913, including many prominent military figures and members of different royal families.
Serpentine Running Club is a cross-country running club based in Marylebone, London, United Kingdom. but uses a variety of places around London for training sessions. Most club sessions are based around the Seymour Leisure Centre and Hyde Park but track sessions, cycling and swimming training are located in different venues around London. It draws runners from across Greater London. The club was chosen as Athletics Weekly's club of the month in May 2013 in light of its growth to a membership of 2200 runners.
Queen's Park Harriers are a track and cross country running club based in Willesden Green in London, United Kingdom with a current focus on long distance running competitions.
