London Marathon 2025 debrief

In the week before the London Marathon we had several weather warnings from the race organisers telling us it was going to be hot and that we should adjust our race plans. “It will be fine” I told myself “I run well in the heat”. I had run my marathon PB at a particularly warm Edinburgh, and I had an early start wave for London, so I wasn’t too worried.

I did, however, adjust my expectations of the day. The race plan was still to set off at 3:25 pace, knowing that the first hour was going to be the coolest and the first few miles downhill. But then I’d pull back to 3:30 pace and see how long I could hold on, fully expecting to slow down. I didn’t, however, expect to slow down quite so much, quite so soon.

The day started well. I met Gill Bland (a speedy sub-3 runner and fellow kit reviewer) at the start. We hung out, compared notes and queued for the loos together, then made our way to our respective pens. I was in Wave 3 at the Blue Start, which meant running off the start the elites use, albeit a good 15 mins after the men have departed. This was my fourth London and the first time I’ve used that start.

The first few miles went to plan and I was able to run the pace I wanted with enough space around me. At mile 4, I stopped for a very quick loo stop. My pace slowed a little but was still on for 3:30. I’d been sticking to my plan of taking a gel every half an hour, but I was getting thirsty. I’d had some water at 3 miles and 6 miles, but it wasn’t enough. At the next water stop at mile 9 I stopped and chugged the whole bottle and popped a salt tab.

It became clear to me that my goal wasn’t going to happen, and that the second half of the race was going to hurt if I kept pushing for a time. I ran through several backup goals: I could aim for faster than Boston last year, or another GFA, but I didn’t have it in me to put myself through more than 13 miles of pain.

Somewhere in South London I saw a sign saying ‘Free beer’ and I stopped for a drink. A group of women handed me a can and cheered that I was the first woman to take a beer from them that morning - a victory of sorts. That beer tasted amazing and I carried on running. A mile or so later I turned onto Tower Bridge and found my friend Josie. I stopped for a hug, told her I’d just had a beer and she handed me another.

I crossed Tower Bridge and went through half way in 1:47:42 then gave up looking at my watch. On the ground were several discarded pace bands that runners had torn off, presumably also giving up on their own goal times. There were many broken dreams on the streets of London on Sunday. My race plan was now to try and enjoy the race as much as possible.

I didn’t manage to see my partner who was somewhere around mile 15.5 and 20 looking for me. I kept scanning the crowd for him in the red London Marathon finisher shirt from a few years ago that I’d told him to wear. My heart lept around mile 20 when I saw the shirt in the crowd, but it wasn’t him.

I’d also missed seeing my friend Cathy at mile 9 and 11 as she couldn’t get out of the tube to cheer. It’s something I prepare for - not seeing a face I’m hoping to - but it’s still a disappointment especially, on days when you really need a hug.

My tip when you’re having a bad day at London is to focus on the crowd and what’s going on there. Notice the signs - ‘Call me if you want to finish twice today’, ‘You’re running better than TFL’, ‘Think of the Kudos’ or my favourite ‘Therapy is still an option’. Listen to the music and focus on your surroundings. London is the best place to be when you’re having a bad race.

My second tip is to look to your right around mile 22 and see if you can find yourself a beer - the London City Hash House Harriers always have a beer stop set up and this year was no different. I stopped for my third beer of the race. Somewhere along the way someone gave me a Krispy Crème donut which I managed to eat while running.

Every time it took a gel or hit a water station I stopped to walk but tried to run as much as possible between these. I saw my friend Josie again at mile 23, miles friend Cathy at mile 25 and my partner at the finish.

It was a warm day, but there were plenty of showers that I ran through and three ice stops at which I dumped a cup of ice under my cap and down my top. I didn’t really feel that hot at any point, so it’s difficult to say how much the weather played a part.

The 3:35 pacers came past me with nobody behind them. My friend Cathy later confirmed that the other pacers she’d seen go past had very few people left running with them. I did wonder if I should have been more sensible from the start and tried to hitch a ride on a slower pace group, but then I’d have wondered ‘what if’. I have zero regrets about taking a risk that didn’t pay off.

When I ran down The Mall, I knew my son and my parents would be watching on TV via the finish line camera and I held my arms up and gave a wave. I was disappointed but it’s just running. Any day you can run a marathon is a good day.

Final finish time 3:50:37.

*I should add for clarity that while I drank beer at three points in the race, they were not three whole beers. It probably totalled less than a pint. I did eat a whole donut though.