There are many “jokes” that work along the lines of “How do you know if someone is a vegan?”, though in place of “is a vegan” you can add “has read the book of the film”, or, more pertinently, “is running a marathon”. The answer in each case is some variation of “Because they’ll tell you. Again and again and again.” Or, alternatively, something more like “Oh, you’ll know.”
Anyone who is friends or partners with anyone training for a marathon this spring will absolutely know all about it. And if those people are lucky enough to have managed to bag an entry for London, one of the world’s major marathons, then their friends, colleagues, Amazon delivery driver and anyone they meet on the way to the supermarket will know that the London Marathon takes place on Sunday the 27th of April in 2025.
With most training plans usually lasting somewhere between 12 and 20 weeks, preparations are well underway and runners will be working their way up their maximum mileage. That might be 20 miles a week for someone hoping just to get around the course, or more like 150 miles a week for the elites. When it comes to the latter, the field assembling for London, in both the men’s and women’s races, is starting to look very good indeed.
In recent weeks and months we have seen a number of records broken across a range of middle- and long-distance events. Super shoes are more super than ever, training techniques and recovery have been refined to the Nth degree and various marginal gains, using anything from beetroot concentrate to bicarbonate of soda, are all driving these improvements.
Great Competition at Top Levels
The sights and sounds of the 2024 TCS London Marathon ❤️
Bring on 2025! 💪 pic.twitter.com/25oAlSHg8O
— TCS London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) December 31, 2024
Great competition at the top level is also a factor and for that reason, we could see something really special at the 2025 London Marathon. Berlin is generally considered to be one of the fastest races around, though the current men’s world record, two hours and 35 seconds, was set at Chicago. In terms of the women’s world record, London has had far more influence over the past decade or so, and so we certainly know it is a course where records can be set.
Due to the sensational mark set by Ruth Chepng’etich at Chicago last year we are unlikely to see a women’s world record on the streets of London. The Kenyan’s amazing – yet very controversial – time of 2:09:56 took a staggering one minute and 57 seconds off the previous best, so it would take something mind-blowing to beat that. But both records could be under threat, and if the men’s record is broken there is a chance we may witness the first official sub-two-hour marathon.
In reality, both records will probably survive, for now. However, there are several top, top marathon runners taking parts in both events, so we are sure to see some of the fastest runs ever and, quite possibly, new course records.
Star-Studded Women’s Field Could See Something Special
The women’s field may well be one of the best ever assembled and excitement is building as the race draws closer. This is heightened by the amazing race we saw at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where we saw, after 26 gruelling, hilly miles, a sprint finish. In the end the winning margin was just three seconds, incredible in a race of more than two hours, with the first six separated by only 67 seconds.
Sifan Hassan
Of those six, three produced personal bests, and the winner, Sifan Hassan, delivered an Olympic record. Hassan and Tigst Assefa, who finished second, will clash again, whilst they will also be joined by the world-record holder, Chepng’etich. It seems that every year the event organisers claim they have assembled the greatest field ever and whether that has been true or not in the past, it is certainly true this year.
The CEO of London Marathon Events, Hugh Brasher, said that with “Ruth, Sifan Hassan and Tigist Assefa we have the three fastest women of all time” and he also added that all had “run inside 2:14 and no marathon in history has ever had a faster line-up.”
The first four from the 2024 race will all be there, and in total there will be an incredible six women with PBs under two hours and 17 minutes. The course record was set by last year’s winner, Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir, and she will be back to defend her crow and fully expect to beat her own record mark of 2:16:16. She may well go faster than the previous course record but whether that will be enough to win the race remains to be seen!
Home Favourites Could Challenge for Podium
Whilst the men’s field is not quite at the same level, it is still very high class. In terms of the interest of the home crowd, excitement will be generated by the presence of a genuine medal contender, plus an Olympic gold medallist who could, perhaps, be a dark horse for a podium.
Alex Yee
In reality, Alex Yee, who won triathlon gold in Paris, is unlikely to trouble the leaders in the final few miles. He will be making his marathon debut at London and has targeted a time of somewhere between two hours seven and two hours 10. Even the quickest end of that range is unlikely to be enough to get close to the winner, with the slowest time since 2007 being 2:06:04.
However, the presence of Yee is certainly sure to get the home crowd going and given his proven ability to compete at the highest level (albeit in a different discipline) and obvious reserves of stamina and speed, maybe, just maybe, a top three finish is possible.
Emile Cairess
A far more likely source of a podium for the home team is the understated Bradfordian, Emile Cairess. At 27 he should be coming towards his peak years and finished third in last year’s race, and then fourth at the Paris Olympics. He set a PB of 2:06:46 in London in 2024 and will hope to better that this time around.
Alex Mutiso
Winning the race is likely to prove beyond him though. Kenya’s Alex Mutiso is back to defend the title he won in 2024, Olympic champion from Paris Tamirat Tola will be present (PB of 2:03:39), and Ugandan Jacob Kiplimo makes his debut at this distance. Kiplimo has run the second-fastest half-marathon ever, a blistering 57:31 and could be one to watch.
Sabastian Sawe
Then there are Kenyan Sabastian Sawe, who won the 2024 Valencia Marathon in 2:02:05 on his marathon debut, Berlin Marathon champ, Milkesa Mengesha (from Ethiopia), and another super-fast Kenyan, Timothy Kiplagat who boasts a PB of 2:02:55.
Both races really have the potential to deliver something truly spectacular. We may not see any world records but we certainly aren’t ruling them out.