The London Marathon in 2 minutes - A brief history

Known the world over as an endurance running event that brings colourful, inspiring and elite runners together, the London Marathon has been a fixture of the global sports calendar since March 1981.

According to Wikipedia, 20,000 runners applied to run that first race, a number which has grown to an impressive 457,861 in 2020! No wonder they had to introduce a ballot system…

Did you know, the London Marathon was inspired by the New York City Marathon, and the founders Olympic steeplechase medallists Chris Basher and John Disley wanted to ensure that London’s version took in the best of what the city had to offer? They were determined that the capital city would be showcased to every runner with the intention of raising money for various charities.

London Marathon charities

Since day one, the London Marathon has attracted fundraisers from across the globe. Some running in, frankly bizarre costumes and others proudly displaying their chosen causes on their running clothes and race numbers.

It’s thought the Marathon has raised a massive ￡1billion in all, with the 2019 event raising in excess of ￡66million - a record-breaking amount for a single day event…

Records and winners

As for record-breaking runners, Norway’s Ingrid Kristiansen won four titles in the women’s race in the mid-1980’s and is still the only woman to have achieved this.

Finish times world records have been smashed six times at the London event in all, with the latest quickest women’s time being set by Britain’s own Paula Radcliffe in a mixed race in 2003 at 2:15:25.

The fastest of all time, though was Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge who ran an outstanding time of 2:02:37 in 2019 – that is honestly mind-boggling to me!

However, the men’s wheelchair race record is faster still at 1:24:38 set by Marcel Hug in 2022 and women’s race winner Manuela Sch?r in 2021 with a time of 1:39:52.

Traffic disruption around the London Marathon

The London Marathon is the UK’s largest attended marathon event and with around 70,000 runners and all their supporters it creates an incredible spectacle, but also an incredible amount of disruption to traffic.

And that’s where The Summit Executive Chauffeurs step in! We receive priority notifications of traffic flow changes and know the streets of London as well as a London cabby… If you need to get from A to B with minimal delays, you can count on us.

Contact us without hesitation for your next journey across London on +44 (0)1865 686105 or [email protected] or click the link below to send us a message.