On Sunday, April 26th, thirteen Newmarket Joggers (NJ) were among a grand total of 59,723 participants of the TCS London Marathon 2026, which will be forever remembered as the first official sub 2-hour marathon race, thanks to Kenyan Sabastian Sawe (1:59:30) and Ethiopian Yomif Kejelcha (1:59:41).
Above: Early morning view of the Thames from Lambeth Bridge, showing Houses of Parliament, Westminster Bridge and London Eye.
The bright, sunny weather was perfect for spectators, while the temperature started off nice and cool for the runners at around 10°C. Although the official temperature climbed towards 20°C during the race, direct exposure to the sun’s rays made it feel more like 30°C for participants by the end of their races, several hours later. With very little wind, there was also less cooling effect. For these reasons, many runners found the heat to be a real problem in the later stages of their races and our club runners were no exception. A ‘feels-like’ temperature in the direct sun would be a useful addition to the weather forecast.
Above, NJ supporters from left: Sophie Adams, Jo Bouttell, Suzanne Bailey & Sarah Kinston enjoying some refreshment. They went on a half marathon run/walk along the Thames Path to Battersea Power Station and back, before joining the others at All Bar One, near the London Eye, in the afternoon.
First NJ to finish was Oliver Daykin (2:49:06, 1,541st of 59,723 overall,1,051st of 16,700 in M18-39) with an excellent performance under the challenging conditions, just 6 minutes outside his PB in Chester last year. Then came Mark Hayward (3:09:31, 4,813th, 742nd of 4,823 in M40-44), who did well to limit the damage after finding it difficult to maintain his usual, relaxed rhythm in the heat of the sun. His PB remains 2:32:33 in London 2024. Jason Bevan (3:19:29, 6,907th, 3,269th in M18-39) will be very pleased with his performance in his first known marathon. He had to work hard towards the finish but was never lacking in confidence.
Above: Jason Bevan at the start at Greenwich and after the finish along the Mall.
First female NJ to finish was Carol Cienna Carter (3:26:36, 1,746th F of 26,072 overall, 34th of 1,489 in F55-59); another extraordinary result for her age group, just 6 days after setting a new PB of 3:11:44 in the Boston Marathon in Massachusetts, USA. See her photo with Richard Defries further below. She was followed by new club member Sally Hancock (3:33:22, 2,466th F, 1,648th of 14,7222 in F18-39), who put in a great performance in her first known marathon, having to dig deep towards the finish.
Next came Jon Brooker (3:35:51, 11,503rd, 189th of 1,269 in M60-64), with a great result in his age group and a halfway split of just +3m:53s, showing excellent control of pace under the challenging conditions. His PB remains 3:25:08 at Loch Ness last year.
He was followed by three female NJs, all doing well in their age groups: Helen Hilario (3:44:37, 3,722nd F, 261st of 2,339 in F50-54) showed complete control of pace, with a halfway split of just +17 seconds, an incredible result in the heat of the sun. This was a PB for her by nearly 10 minutes. Olivia Carter (3:55:47, 5,134th F, 3,115th in F18-39) must be very pleased to achieve under 4 hours in her first marathon. Her marathon place was won in the club ballot at the Christmas Party last year, which no doubt inspired her to put in all the necessary training and do very well in half marathon and 20-mile preparation races along the way. Eleanor Bithell (4:10:30, 7,110th F, 840th of 2,991 in F45-49), a veteran of quite a few marathons going back to 2018 and with a PB of 3:43:55 in Malta last year, put in another sound effort, though the heat appears to have got to her a little in the closing stages, as it did with nearly all the runners.
Above from left: Helen Hilario in The Mall with medal, Helen and Ellie Bithell with medals and race T-shirts, in Horse Guards Parade; Olivia Carter enjoying her moment.
Next came Chris Underwood (4:11:55, 24,110th, 9,032nd in M18-39), who put in a big effort and was generously running in support of Muscular Dystrophy UK. He admitted that his training had been interrupted by illness and injuries and that his sole target was to represent and finish for the charity. He is also a veteran of a good number of marathons, with a PB of 3:44:20 at Abingdon 2023. He was followed by Ian McClements (4:31:22, 30,779th, 2,588 of 4,163 in M45-49, who was well pleased to get a PB by about 50 minutes. He has been rewarded for his many miles of training, in the form of multi-lap runs organised by Phoenix Running.
Above: Ian McClements with medal.
Then came Richard Defries (5:13:03, 43,436th, 2,636 of 3,473 in M50-54) who, incredibly, managed to run the whole way round dressed in a Guide Dog Hero suit, raising funds for Guide Dogs UK. He is the husband of Carol Cienna Carter, with her own Marathon run reported above. The heat got to him quite seriously from halfway through the race and, along with some other suited charity runners, they all stopped to take off their head attachments, breathe, cool down and take it much easier from then on. Sun shining straight onto artificial dog fur must be stifling inside a dog suit. Somehow he made it to the finish in a very respectable time and raised over £2,000 for the charity.
Above: Richard Defries in Guide Dog outfit with his wife Carol Cienna Carter, both with medals.
The third charity runner was new club member Edward Rudge (6:00:40, 52,824th, 15,762 in M18-39); apologies that the charity is currently unknown. He did exceptionally well to complete the marathon, considering he is a powerful, well-built rugby player and had never even run 5km when he joined the club a month or two ago.
On the same day it was the Shakespeare Marathon in Stratford-upon-Avon. Ian Butcher (4:58:34, 1,389th of 1,693 overall, 10th of 15 in M65-69) and Jeremy Reader (4:58:34, 1,390th, 82nd of 103 in M45-49) ran together in this race, with Jeremy generously acting as pacer for Ian, returning a similar favour from Ian in the past. It was Ian’s 2nd marathon, with a PB of 4:45:34 at Manchester 2023 and he will be pleased with the result, having had a succession of injury problems over the last few years. Jeremy’s PB stands at 4:01:28 in London 2011 but he also did 4:04:50 in Rome earlier this year, so is back to his best form after 15 years.
Above: The Shakespeare Marathon event village at Stratford-upon-Avon
Above from left: The start of the Shakespeare Marathon; Ian Butcher & Jeremy Reader with medals.
The Fellsman 61-mile trail ultra, Yorkshire Dales National Park, Saturday April 25th: NJs James Smith and Jonathan Pye stayed together in this race, over a very hilly trail course. They both agreed to retire after about 16 hours and 48 miles, in the dark at around midnight and pretty much exhausted. James’s feet were covered in blisters. After 48 miles, they had already climbed over 10,000ft (about one third the height of Mount Everest) which was an achievement in itself. They did take a few wrong turnings and may be back again for another try. There is a Fellsman Dart over 30 miles, as part of the same event, which might appeal. The male winner completed in 10:57:23, 1st of 318 overall, including 74 retired. The leading female finished in 13:33:03, 3rd overall, 1st F of 74, including 10 retired.
Above left: Scenes from Fellsman race in Yorkshire Dales; top right: Jimmy Smith; bottom right: Jonathan Pye.
Many thanks for posting all the great photos.