London Marathon 2026

nickmoore01
1 day ago
3 min read

Jo, Kathleen and Dion ran the 2026 London Marathon on the same day that the 2 hour mark was beaten twice. They ran well and had an amazing time.

Here's what Jo had to say about it:

"Arrived in London a week early, thinking I’d settle in, adjust, feel ready but the jet lag never really left. Sleep came in pieces. Nights felt long. Mornings came too quickly.

And somehow, race day arrived anyway. At 1:30am, I was already awake. Lying there in the dark, wide-eyed, knowing this was it. Getting to the start line felt like its own event.

Trains packed. Tubes buzzing. Runners everywhere. A kind of organised chaos — all of us heading toward the same start, for completely different reasons.

And then, suddenly… calm. Standing at the start of the London Marathon, you could feel it in the air.

The race began, and the city came alive. It didn’t feel like a race, it felt like a street party.

Crowds everywhere — cheering, shouting, lifting you when you didn’t even realise you needed it. And around me, thousands of stories unfolding at once. People running for loved ones, for causes, for themselves and each reasons carried me too. Every cheer pushed me forward.

Just one more kilometre. Then another. Until I was doing more than I thought I could.

And then came Tower Bridge. It took my breath away. The noise, the energy, the moment actually got me realizing I was here at the London Marathon.

But the marathon had other plans. It got harder. Heavier. The race I imagined slowly slipped away and I had to let it because it stopped being about the race I wanted and became about the race I was in. Step by step, all the way to the end. And then… the finish line. I crossed it and the tears came. A full, uncontrollable cry.

Relief. Exhaustion. Everything at once.

Before I could even process it, a volunteer wrapped me in a big hug. And in that moment, nothing else mattered. Not the time or the plan. Just that I made it. At the London Marathon,

Everyone gets the same medal. But no two journeys are ever the same.

A very well organised event despite the amount of runners and spectators.

And here's Kathleen's story:

I would say it is a run that it feels like the whole city gets behind. We arrived 3 days early and already there was a marathon buzz in the air. Running around Hyde park it was easy to spot the other marathoners as well as groups of elites doing their pre race shakeouts.

Marathon mornings was organised chaos, a lot of pre race nerves around, but overall a smooth operation from the organisers. It was easy to find your starting area, drop bags, and find loos. Pre race highlight would have to be joining the warm up go round, which was an approximately 150m loop with hundreds or runners jogging around in an organised circle.

The race atmosphere itself was full party mode from the start. What the heck! couldn’t figure out if that was a race or a party. The legs clearly thought it was a party and went way too fast from the start. Effort felt ok so managed to hang in for a pb 🥳 chip time 2:54:09

Amazing atmosphere. Favourite sign “You’re running better than the straight of Hormuz”

From a female perspective the support from other women on the sideline was amazing, all the girls were out cheering on the girls. The signs were hilarious, the music on the sideline kept you energised, I forgot I was running for most of it. Crossing the finish line I was actually quite teary eyed. 10/10 best experience ever.