Scorching pace from Sir Mo as sun shines on big run
It was a day for breaking records at the 38th London Marathon, not least at all for the unseasonable heat
IT WAS always going to be a day for breaking records – but the weather was not expected to be one of them.
More than 40,000 runners pounded the streets of the capital yesterday for the hottest London Marathon on record yesterday.
Temperatures reached the dizzy heights of 23.2 degrees – beating the previous warmest of 22.7 degrees in 1996 – providing tough conditions for professionals and novices alike.
Sir Mo Farah joined Mother Nature in breaking a record of his own, finishing in third place as the fastest ever British athlete over the line in London, despite an initial 11-second discrepancy between the two official times.
The 35-year-old multiple Olympic and world gold medallist struggled with the pace, the hot conditions and mixups over water bottles, but he still beat Steve Jones’s 33-yearold record with a time – ratified more than an hour after crossing the finishing line – of two hours, six minutes and 21 seconds.
Six-time Paralympic gold medallist David Weir also broke a record – winning the race for an unprecedented eighth time.
Marathon organisers had urged runners to reconsider aiming for personal bests and even suggested ditching the traditional fancy dress costumes in light of the warm weather.
Extra water and ice stops were set up and runners cooled off in special showers along the route.
The Queen started the event from Windsor Castle at 10am by pressing the traditional red button.
Speaking after his podium finish, Sir Mo said he would spend time with his family after a strict training regime in Ethiopia during the last three months.
He said: “It slowed down after halfway, from there you pay the price, you can’t go off that fast and come away with 2.02.
“It was a hard way to run the pace because we were set for the world record pace at the beginning...
“I know I can go at least 2.04, 2.05, in an even-paced race, today it was the hardest way to run in any race. But at the end of the day you’ve got to fight like a man.”
Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya won the men’s race in a time of two hours, four minutes and 16 seconds, while compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot won the women’s race in two hours, 18 minutes and 31 seconds.
Among this year’s runners were firefighters who tackled the Grenfell Tower blaze and a police officer stabbed in the London Bridge terror attack.
Meanwhile, almost 100 runners lined up to attempt Guinness World Records – dressed variously as mythical creatures and wearing stilts and ski boots. They included James Cook from Leeds, whose nine-year-old daughter Ivy has a rare form of the skin condition ichthyosis. He aimed to don a suit of armour and complete the race in under five hours to make the record books.
Also running was army veteran Christopher Unwin, from Rotherham, who suffered life-changing injuries in a grenade attack in Afghanistan in 2010.
Carly Baraclough from Birstall ran for the Teenage Cancer Trust in tribute to her son Bradley, who died from Glioblastoma, an aggressive form of cancer within the brain stem, 2016.
Mrs Baraclough, 39, said: “The atmosphere was amazing and the support around the course was absolutely fantastic. Knowing what my son went through, I was just doing it for him. That’s what pushed me along.”
At the end of the day you’ve got to fight like a man. Sir Mo Farah, who came third in the London Marathon.