739 years young...10 men who ran all 39 London Marathons
THE last 10 runners to have done every London Marathon since its 1981 launch are still keen to keep competing – even with a combined age of 739.
Torrential downpours, stifling heat and even snow have failed to stop the Ever Presents.
Some members have climbed out of ambulances with broken bones to finish on crutches.
The Ever Presents began in 1996 to recognise the 42 who had run the first 15 races, with members guaranteed entry ever since.
Illness, injury and death have whittled them down to just 10.
Retired headteacher Mike Peace, 70, said yesterday: “It is a club you can only leave and not join. The only way of leaving is to stop running or to pass away Sadly, one or two have passed away. You end up feeling just incredibly lucky.”
Mike, of Lustleigh, Devon, recalled his mum being arrested after she ran on the course to give him a hug in 1988. He said: “My dad hid behind a tree and pretended he wasn’t with her. Fortunately the policeman let her off with a caution.”
School bursar Chris Finill, 61, from Cranleigh, Surrey, holds the record for completing the event in less than three hours 30 times in a row between 1981 and 2010.
The baby of the group, Chris ran his first marathon aged just 22.
In 2018 he tripped over after just three and a half miles and broke his arm in four places.
After stopping for five minutes to have it strapped up he battled to finish in under four hours and headed straight to hospital. He said: “If it had been any other race I would have gone home but it wasn’t any other race and I wanted to make sure I finished it.”
The Ever Presents, all men, will be joined on the starting line on April 26 by mum Louise Blizzard who has notched up more London Marathons than any other woman.
Since her first in 1994, Louise,
True grit…Mac Speake with his collection of race medals and, right, the last 10 Ever Presents who have run every London Marathon
44, only missed 2010 when she gave birth to her son Archie the following day.
The oldest member is ex-police officer Ken Jones, 86, who lives in Strabane, Northern Ireland.
Ken, who used to finish in under three hours, now walks the route in seven hours. He said: “It’s time to hang up my trainers. Having
‘Any other race I would have gone home but it wasn’t any other race’
said that, somebody will probably talk me into doing it again.”
Dr Malcolm “Mac” Speake, 78, a retired GP from Ipswich, compared it to collecting Dinky cars He said: “Well, we’ve got the set of the London Marathon. I think that’s what keeps you going.”