These are the Brits to watch out for at the 2025 London Marathon
The line-up of Brits at this year’s London Marathon has just been announced – and it’s a corker. In the men’s field, marathon superstar in the making Emile Cairess will lead the charge, while 10,000m Commonwealth gold medallist Eilish McColgan will make her long-awaited debut at the distance.
An interesting sub-plot comes in the form of Alex Yee, the reigning Olympic triathlon gold medallist, who’ll be running his maiden marathon. And then there’s Charlotte Purdue, whose 2:22:17 PB in Berlin places her third on the British all-time list.
Can Cairess run a British record?
In a previous interview with RW, Cairess admitted, ‘Eventually, I’d like to set all the British road records.’ Since then, he’s established himself as the leading light in British male marathon running, including finishing third at last year’s TCS London Marathon and fourth at the Paris Olympic marathon.
Cairess’s performance in London last year was only the second time a British male athlete has finished on the podium this century. The other to do so, Sir Mo Farah, also holds the British record for the distance, in a time of 2:05:11. Cairess’s PB, set in London, is 2:06:46. Can he make the British record his own? His response was characteristically humble.
‘I love racing the TCS London Marathon because it brings together the best athletes in the world,’ he said. ‘I want to be racing these guys on the big occasions and London provides that opportunity. I have three marathons of experience now and I’m still learning about the event, which makes me even more excited and positive for the future. I’m looking forward to putting in a good block of training and seeing what I can do on Sunday 27 April.’
Can McColgan have a dream debut?
Eilish McColgan’s marathon debut has been forever delayed. The 34-year-old, whose mother Liz won the London Marathon in 1996, has had an injury-plagued couple of years and was originally meant to run the 2023 race. That would have been off the back of her gold meal in the 10,000m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
There’s no questioning McColgan’s pedigree or tenacity, but it will be interesting to see if she can convert her world-class pedigree over 10K to the marathon distance.
She said: ‘I'm really looking forward to making my marathon debut in London this year. After a tough 12 months of injury, I'm excited to finally toe the line and start the next chapter of my career on the roads.
'I’ve always had such incredible support on the streets of London when racing over the 10km and half marathon events, so I can't wait to experience what the full TCS London Marathon atmosphere has in store.’
What is Yee capable of over the distance?
The wild card in the men’s draw is Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee. Despite running only forming one third of his chosen sport, Yee has serious running creds. He was the 2018 British 10,000m champion and recently clocked a 28:07 10K in Valencia. This all makes his stated intention of running a 2:07 marathon seem like an ambitious goal rather than a pipe dream.
The Londoner is sure to have lots of support on the streets of the capital and has shown he’s not one to be overawed by the occasion. Incidentally, he’s beaten Cairess at London before – in the under-15s category of the 2013 Mini London Marathon: Yee placed third, Cairess ninth.
Can Purdue come good?
As well as being one of the best marathon runners in British history, Purdue is surely also one of the unluckiest. Having qualified for the 2024 Olympics with a 2:22:17 in Berlin, she had to withdraw after injuring her ankle during her final long run. She was also controversially not selected for Team GB at the 2020 Olympics, and had to pull out of the 2023 London Marathon with food poisoning.
In short, she’s a super talented athlete who deserves a moment in the spotlight. Having won The Big Half on three occasions, she knows how to bring her best to the streets of London, and would be most people’s bet to lead the British charge this year.
The competition looks fierce, though, with 2024 Olympic champion Sifan Hassan confirmed to return to the capital, two years on from her marathon debut, along with world record holder Ruth Chepngetich, who clocked 2:09:57 at the 2024 Chicago Marathon.
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