Achi news desk-
Who was the last English winner of the London Marathon?
The last English winner was more than 30 years ago in 1993.
Eamonn Martin won first place with a time of 2 hours 10 minutes and 50 seconds.
Paula Radcliffe was the last English winner of the women’s race in 2005, winning the event three times.
The 2023 competition was won by runner Calvin Kiptum, who set a course record.
How many people run the marathon?
50,000 people will run the London Marathon this Sunday.
That’s slightly more than 48,000 last year.
Because of this, crowds are expected to be at an all-time high, so keep that in mind if you’re heading to London this weekend.
Romesh is participating this Sunday
The beloved British comedian Romesh Ranganathan is making his London Marathon debut this year.
He has been a patron of the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) since October 2023 and will be working to support the mental health charity.
Speaking ahead of the race, Romesh told Runner’s World: “Running is something that people have always recommended to me. But once I did it, I found it unbearable.
“I’d go for a run and blow off after two minutes, then start walking, run some more, start blowing off again. I’d come back and just feel completely beat.
“Then someone gave me the basic tip of just slowing down a little and getting over my breathing.
“It’s the most helpful tip I’ve ever had; I suddenly went from someone who couldn’t handle running to seeing all the benefits of it. That’s not to say it suddenly became easy, because even over the last few years I’ve had nightmares.”
Expect a cool start on Sunday
The Met Office has warned participants in the London Marathon of a chilly start to Sunday morning.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin has given his weather forecast for the 2024 London Marathon.
He said: “If you trained hard for the marathon, you probably trained in the rain and under the influence of low pressure.
“Our weather patterns change over the weekend and this high pass will bring many of us a fine day on Saturday.
“Now that high continues into Sunday and the big race, but as it starts to move a little further west, that means the southeast wind will have a bit of a northerly wind and quite a lot of clouds around.”
In the photos: photos from last year’s race
Here are some of the best photos from the 2023 London Marathon.
Which celebs are participating in Sunday’s race?
A host of celebrities are taking part in the London Marathon on Sunday.
From football club owners to soap icons, it’s set to be a star-studded race.
Here are some of the names you might see on Sunday:
- Romesh Ranganathan
- Emma Burton and Jamie Borthwick
- Chloe Meadows
- Phil Dunster
- Natalie Pinkham
- Joshua Patterson
- Izzy Christiansen
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe
