London Marathon 2025 Race Recap

The marathon doesn't owe you anything

Peter Bromka's essay titled above summarises the marathon in 1 sentence. And London was where I understood what he meant.

Since starting this blog back in 2021, I've written a few race recaps now - mostly on half marathons but also my first full marathon earlier this year - Brighton 2025. Most of my blogs have a similar format - a recap of how training and prep went, followed by what went down on race day, and finally a picture of me with my medal 😅. However, this one is going to be a bit different. I didn't finish the 2025 London Marathon. Here's what happened and why I had to DNF.

How did you get a spot in London 2025?

The London Marathon is one of the biggest marathons in the world, and in 2025 around 57,000 people set out to try and complete this iconic course. It is one of the 7 World Majors, the others being Tokyo, Boston, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago and New York. For that reason, it is insanely popular, and has been growing in image each year. So when the charity I was raising money for during the Brighton Marathon offered me a spot in London, it was an offer I couldn't resist - despite Brighton and London being only 3 weeks apart. As mentioned in my article on the Brighton Marathon, 2 marathons in the mix meant my goals and focus had to be slightly adjusted, but I was confident that it could be done. My training block for Brighton had me in good shape to run London, so it was all about rest and recovery for those 3 weeks.

What's involved in running the London Marathon?

As I mentioned earlier, the London Marathon is an iconic route. Starting in east London near Blackheath, the route winds through Greenwich, before crossing over to the north side of the river at Tower Bridge - marking the halfway point. It then heads back east towards Canary Wharf, before coming back towards Westminster and finishing along the Mall. As someone who was born and grew up in London, it was an honour to be able to run this route 🙏.

With all marathons, a significant amount of prep is required - for me that was 3 months of focussed training. Luckily, I had already been training for Brighton, so the main aim was to get my body rested and ready to do it all again at London in 3 weeks time on the 27th of April. Overall, I'd say the process of entering and running London was very smooth. The team are great at keeping in touch with you via email with all the important dates and deadlines, and the London Marathon Expo that happens a few days before the big day was a great event. It's a hub of activity, held at the ExCel Centre, and is also where you pick up your race day bib, bag drop and finishers t-shirt.

As I live in London, logistics were far easier to manage than for Brighton - no faff of booking a hotel, organising transport or spending a whole weekend away from home. Just a tube and DLR ride away was Greenwich Park - the start point.

Race Day Recap, and what happened...

Coming into the race, I was feeling good. I had completed Brighton 3 weeks ago, and that had given me a huge mental boost that I could complete a marathon, and made me hungry to go for another. London, on paper, was shaping up to be a good one:

Flatter route than Brighton
Better crowd support 🙌
No need to stay in a hotel overnight - could sleep in my own bed the night before 🛌
It wasn't my first marathon - I got all the first time nerves out of me by this point 💪
No huge winds coming off the coast to battle 🌬️
It was my home city - meaning home advantage! 🥳

The 3 weeks between Brighton and London had also gone well - I had topped up on the exercises but not overdone it. A mixture of exercise bike, gym sessions and a few runs. Enough to keep me ticking over, but not get me injured.

It was an early start on race day, waking up at 05:30 to get ready, fuel up, stretch and head to the station to make my way to Greenwich Park. Public transport access was great, and TFL knew what they were doing on race day - it was a smooth trip to the start zone. I got there in plenty of time, dropped my bag off and headed to the start line.

At 1030, I was off. Definitely warmer than I would have liked - there was direct, sunlight ☀️, not much wind, and it was set to heat up to 25 degrees (over 10 degrees warmer than Brighton). But you quickly forgot about that, as you soaked in the atmosphere and brilliant crowd support all the way round. I was aiming for a sub-5 hour marathon, and as I crossed Tower Bridge at the halfway point my pace was solid - I was on track! My family were waiting for me at mile 14, and it was all going well.

As the second half of the race progressed, my stomach started to feel unsettled. I slowed my pace down to a jog, then a walk, but it felt like each step was requiring a lot more effort than it should. The heat and humidity of London was getting to me 🥵. I kept going until 21.5 miles, where my family were again waiting for me. I pulled over to one side to tell them how I was feeling, and in those 5 minutes of standing there my stomach decided to empty itself 😅. Feeling nauseous and dizzy 🤢, I was taken to the paramedics tent where I was monitored for over 1.5 hours. At that point, I decided to pull the plug and DNF'd my race 😢.

Reflections

In all the races and runs I've done, I tend to plan my day so it runs smoother - never have I planned for not finishing! It was a strange feeling, and while in the paramedics tent I didn't really care, but as I (slowly) made my way home it began to hit me. I'm not going to lie, it was a tough pill to swallow - I was so close to completing my challenge of 2 marathons in 3 weeks! But it wasn't meant to be on the 27th of April, and I'm glad I put my ego aside and prioritized my health.

Now having had some time to reflect, a few points come to mind as to what I need to focus on in my next marathon campaign:

Don't try anything new on race day - I took a glass of Lucozade to try and help with my sugars / dizziness, but I'm pretty sure that messed up my stomach and caused me to puke. Going forward, stick to water only and use foods/gels you've practiced with to get your sugars and salts in.
It was hot out there - unfortunately nothing you can do about this on the day. I wore my sunglasses, but maybe a cap would also help next time?
Simulate your refuelling during training runs - I didn't do any runs practicing how I would take on food and drink
16 week training block minimum - for me to get up to marathon standard. 12 weeks was a little too rushed. Rather have more training weeks in there than less.

That being said, it wasn't all doom and gloom. If I had the chance to do it all over again, would I? Hell yeah! There's a silver lining to every cloud, and I'm a glass half-full kinda guy, so here's some of the highlights:

Be present and enjoy every moment - I certainly did that, and loved it. Thank you to everyone who came out to support the runners, you're the reason the London Marathon is one of the greatest marathons in the world! 💛
Plan out race day logistics in advance and have back up plans - the day itself went very smoothly, no hiccups and well organised.
Inspired others and hit my fundraising target - despite me not quite completing the goal I set out, I supported a good cause and a whole load of people have been inspired by my actions. I've gained and I've given, that's what the sport of running is all about.

What's next?

My focus isn't on more races, but building a consistent and regular fitness schedule that aligns with my priorities and lifestyle. I've learnt that being consistent and disciplined is far more important in running than having short bursts of motivation - it's what will keep you in the game for longer.

This challenge I set myself of 2 marathons in 3 weeks has been a great journey, and made me realise what my body is capable of. It's reinforced my passion for running, and I'm excited to get back into the full swing of things soon.

So for now: head up, rest, reflect and I will come back stronger. London Marathon, we shall meet again...