Everything you need to know about the marathon – by a former winner

Top of the bill will probably be the London Marathon, partly because of the coverage it gets on the BBC – but more because it’s an iconic event that takes in all the sights of London, and everyone who is running looks like they’re having a blast.

It’s always worth entering your name into the ballot to get one of the coveted places. However, more than 500,000 applied for the 50,000 slots available for the 2024 race, so you do need a back-up plan. Or your favourite charity may have slots available for runners willing to raise a predetermined amount of money. 

Personally, I opt for an overseas race using World Marathons as my go-to choice for ideas and details on how to enter them. There’s everything from the Midnight Sun Marathon in Norway to events in popular tourist destinations like Malaga. Mix your holiday with a marathon for the perfect blend of inspiration, a sense of achievement and reward. And you can more than likely guarantee an entry. 

And, of course, Britain has many amazing marathons outside London, including Edinburgh, Belfast, Newport, Leeds, Manchester and Brighton to name just a few.  

Race entered, you’ll now have to start thinking about preparation. Part of what makes the marathon distance so appealing is the fact you can’t just rock up and run it without any training. Trust me, 26.2 miles is relatively easy as long as you’ve done all the work.  

“The marathon is the ultimate test for professional and amateur runners,” agrees Eamonn Martin, winner of the London Marathon in 1993, the last Briton to do so. “I love it because it is really tough, but it is achievable for so many. Really difficult but doable – as long as you do some running, though,” he warns. 

His advice is simple: kit yourself out with the right kind of cushioned shoes. “Spend the maximum you can afford,” he advises, “then mix your running with cross training to minimise the impact.” 

• Wear cushioned shoes. 
• Mix and match your training – run one day, do non-weight bearing cardio work the next. 

• Stretch more and work on general mobility. 
• Give it time. You won’t get fit in a day. This is a long journey. 
• Training for a marathon is very individual, but a long run (as slow as you wish) is a must. Make sure you build in recovery time after a longer training run, though. 
• Keep an eye on your diet. Increasing your protein is massively important for older runners. 

Martin was one of the finest runners of his generation. He won the Commonwealth Games 10,000m in 1990, and before that in 1988 he ran a British record for that same distance in Oslo. In 1993, he followed the early pace through the streets of London before launching his famous sprint finish across Westminster Bridge (where the marathon finished back then) to record a famous victory. To date, he’s the last Briton to achieve this (he’s now the British team manager for cross country).  

“I was having lunch with Dave Moorcroft (the former world record holder for 5000 metres) recently to celebrate his 70th birthday, and he said to me he wished he’d run a marathon. That was all that was missing from his career. Remember, he was the world record holder for 5000m [in 1982], so that says it all. He wished the marathon was part of his CV. 

“The marathon is the ultimate challenge. It has all that history dating back centuries, and today it’s a classic challenge that takes place in almost every big city in almost every country around the world. I know there are longer races, but the marathon is tough and hard enough.”