Records Tumble At Biggest London Marathon

26 Apr 2015 | sigadmin

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Sunday’s Virgin Money London Marathon saw more than 37,500 finish the 26.2-mile journey from Blackheath to Westminster, making the 35th edition of the race the biggest in its history by almost 1000 runners.

Of the 37,675 who crossed the finish line in The Mall, three established new world records while no fewer than six course records fell on a day of celebration for Paula Radcliffe and triumph for debutants Eliud Kipchoge and Tigist Tufa, who took the elite titles.

Kipchoge clinched the men’s crown with a sprint finish, denying reigning champion Wilson Kipsang his third London win as he clocked the third fastest time on the course of 2:04:42, while Tufa became only the second Ethiopian to win the women’s race.

While Kipsang missed his London hat-trick by five seconds, Tatyana McFadden made it three from three in the women’s wheelchair event as the American dominated the field to knock nearly four minutes from her own course record.

In the men’s wheelchair race Britain’s David Weir again missed out in his bid for a record seventh title by one second, this time losing to Joshua George, who completed a US double in the wheelchair races.

Radcliffe completed an emotional final race as a competitive athlete, receiving a standing ovation on The Mall.

In the masses, former Team Sky cyclist Chris Newton smashed his own celebrity record with a finishing time of 2:39:27, followed home by an array of well-known faces including Formula 1’s Jenson Button, who clocked a 2:52:30, model Christy Turlington Burns in 3:46:45, BBC Radio 2 DJ Chris Evans who crossed the line in 4:53:15 and Bank of England governor Mark Carney who ran 3:31:35.

Alun Cairns was again the fastest MP, in 3:38:25, while 33 fancy dress-wearing fundraisers set Guinness World Records.

In 2014, the Virgin Money London Marathon raised £53.2 million for charity, setting a new Guinness World Record for the largest annual single-day charity fundraising event worldwide for an eighth successive year.

The London Marathon Charitable Trust awarded grants totalling £4.8 million to 72 projects in 2014, bringing the total of grants allocated by The Trust to more than £56.4 million to 1000+ organisations in London, Surrey, Silverstone, Birmingham and Liverpool.