London Marathon Report
On Sunday, 26th April, I was one of 59,830 finishers of the 2026 TCS London Marathon. It was a record-breaking day in more ways than one, with the highlight being Sebastian Sawe breaking the world record and being the first man to legally run under 2 hours, followed closely by Yomif Kejelcha, who also broke the two-hour barrier.
What’s the hardest part of the London Marathon for us mere mortals, I hear you ask? Getting an entry!
I was very lucky to be offered a place to run through my involvement with the Sanctuary Runners, along with Sportsworld clubmates, Padraic and Siobhán. We had a group of over 30 runners on the day from all walks of life, and it was a privilege to run with them all in solidarity and friendship.
The three of us, along with my husband Gabriel, travelled over on the Friday morning, flying into London City airport and making the short hop over to the Excel to collect our numbers. We collected the bib first and then went in search of the merchandise as I had my eye on the official green jacket. From there, we went around the stands, collecting freebies and playing games, while also taking in a talk on the main stage, featuring Paula Radcliffe and her podcast co-host, Chris Thompson (also an Olympian). We even got to meet them, which was a highlight of the day. It wasn’t the highlight of the weekend though, as the next day at Thames Path parkrun, we got to meet Katie Taylor who was there in her capacity as Brooks Ambassador. She is really lovely and very giving of her time with fans. Here’s hoping for that Croke Park fight!
While we had a great time seeing stars and sights on Friday & Saturday, there was a race to be run and despite being very relaxed, the nerves hit me over dinner on Saturday evening. I had a good training block but a two-week trip to Argentina at a crucial time in the training really undid a lot of the good work. We had it booked already though, and it simply wasn’t possible to get out and run for hours on end when we were supposed to be spending time with family. With that in mind, I had set myself a target of sub 3:50. There was no real rationale for this target as I hadn’t completed any races in the run-up, so I had very little data to go on.
On the morning, a group of us headed off in the direction of London Bridge at 7:30am. It was a beautiful morning, and we all seemed calm enough. London Bridge station was rammed with people though, 5 to 6 deep on the platform. Somehow, we all managed to squeeze on a train. For anyone running in future, if you aren’t good with crowds, consider going to Charing Cross station where you can be first on and get a seat. We made it in one piece to Blackheath station, followed by a short walk up to the Blue wave area. I dropped my bag quickly and then waited for my start time of 10am. The wait was quite relaxed – plenty of green space to warm up or rest up, lots of portaloos and a very efficient bag drop. A few minutes before my start time, we were called into the holding pen and moved towards the start line and before we knew it, we were off. The different waves go along three different routes before merging around 5km. It was busy enough from the start which was expected and I tried to settle into a rhythm.
Everything people tell you about the London Marathon is true. The crowds are truly one of a kind. Almost the whole way round, there were huge crowds of people shouting. The major landmarks of Cutty Sark and Tower Bridge were truly incredible, and I couldn’t help but smile as I went by them. After Tower Bridge, while the crowds continued, the landmarks were few and far between. There are long stretches of road with not much to look at, although you are never far from a band, choir, or cheer station to keep you going. I ran with my name on my t-shirt and when I was feeling good, I felt like a celebrity, lapping up the cheers. When I was clearly struggling, I did really appreciate the personal words of encouragement from complete strangers. I had to dig deep at different stages, seeing the sub 3:50 getting away from me, doing the maths and willing myself to keep pushing to sub-4. At one point, I could see Big Ben in the distance and nearly cried as it still looked so far away. But, sure enough, soon I was passing it and sensing the end was near, I could start to enjoy the final run to the finish line. Birdcage Walk was like a victory parade and all of sudden, there it was, the final turn at Buckingham Palace and the finish line! I crossed the line in 3:57:21 – well off target but happy to have another sub 4 hours in the books.
After an impromptu photoshoot at the finish line, I started the second marathon of the day, trying to find a way out and back to Gabriel. Eventually, we found our way to a restaurant where several of our Sanctuary Runner friends were and enjoyed a good catch up and debrief of the day.
I didn’t get to see Siobhán and Padraic but they both had a good day out. All three of us spent many wet, cold, and windy Sunday mornings slogging around the Phoenix Park only to end up running on a warm, sunny day in London. We worked hard for those medals and can all be proud of our achievements.
If anyone is thinking of it, just go for it! Enter the ballot and you never know what might happen.
