A strong British contingent will join the previously announced Mo Farah on the start-line of the Virgin Money London Marathon, a five-star certified road race by European Athletics Running for All, on 28 April.
Callum Hawkins will be taking part in the London Marathon for the first time since 2016 when he booked his place on the British team for the Rio Olympics with an eighth-place finish. Hawkins has raced in London since then, finishing an excellent fourth at the IAAF World Championships in 2017 in a lifetime best of 2:10:17, missing out on a bronze medal by 26 seconds.
Hawkins hasn’t finished a marathon since then - collapsing in the heat and humidity while leading the Commonwealth Games marathon in Gold Coast in April before an injury forced him to withdraw from the Fukuoka Marathon - but the 26-year-old returned to competition last weekend with a 28:55 PB for 10km.
Multiple European medallist Andy Vernon will be stepping up in distance to contest his first marathon in the British capital in April. Vernon won medals at both the 5000m and 10,000m at the 2014 European Championships and was fifth more recently over the longer distance at the 2018 European Championships in Berlin.
“It felt like the right time in my career to move up to the marathon. I feel like I am getting a little bit slower on the track It’s tough to make teams, it’s tough to do well at championships, especially over 10,000m. For that reason, I thought if I don’t do it now, I won’t ever do it,” he said.
On the women’s side, Charlotte Purdue and Lily Partridge will be contesting their first marathons since the European Championships in Berlin where they both dropped out mid-race.
We're really happy to confirm that @charliepurdue will be running the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon #LondonMarathon #EliteWeek pic.twitter.com/mZy1p8WDzp
— London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) January 15, 2019
Purdue, who was the top European finisher in the marathon at the 2017 World Championships, said: “I want to make the World Championship team for Doha and I want to run a PB at the Virgin Money London Marathon because I think I can go a lot faster than I did in 2017 and I think my World Championship performance proved that. I just haven’t had the right race yet so I’m hoping the London Marathon will be the right race for me.”
Purdue has a lifetime best of 2:29:23, making her one second faster on paper than Partridge who finished eighth on her debut at the distance in the London Marathon last April.
The European Athletics Quality Road Race standards act as an assurance for road runners throughout Europe. They distinguish between races that respect the standards and those that haven’t sought certification or assessment. They form the foundation of Running for All, a strong recognisable brand for running activities throughout Europe.
The European Athletics Quality Road Race standards act as an assurance for road runners throughout Europe. They distinguish between races that respect the standards and those that haven’t sought certification or assessment. They form the foundation of Running for All, a strong recognisable brand for running activities throughout Europe.
More information on Running for All:
Website: european-running4all.org
Twitter: @runningforall
Contact: [email protected]
More information on the European Running Business Conference:
Registration page: https://registration.mylaps.com/business-conference
Contact: [email protected]