This Sunday (April 27) marks the 45th edition of the London Marathon and, alongside the tens of thousands of runners taking part, millions will watch the race all around the world.
It’s also worth noting though that, just a day before the main extravaganza, the Mini London Marathon also celebrates its 40th edition.
The Mini London Marathon was created in 1986 and over the decades has borne witness to the early stages of some of the finest careers in recent British athletics history.
The list of former competitors at the Mini London Marathon reads like a who’s who and includes Mo Farah, Keely Hodgkinson, Jake Wightman, Josh Kerr, Eilish McColgan Alex Yee and Alistair Brownlee.
To mark the special occasion, organisers have pulled out all the stops, with the event set to be unforgettable this year. So, ahead of the Mini London Marathon, here are five things to watch out for.
Jamal Lewis (3012) with Alex Yee (1113) (Mark Shearman)
High quality championship fields
A year on from their dramatic tussle on The Mall, Joe Scanes and Evan Grime once again lead the under-17 men’s race. Scanes beat Grime in a photo finish at last season’s edition, with just a second separating the pair on the line.
Grime comes into this Mini London Marathon in fine form however and, on top of being the English Schools Cross Country champion, has set a myriad of junior records on the track.
Watch out for Jack Marwood though, who recorded a 1500m personal best of 3:53.36 in Trafford last week and placed fourth at February’s UK Athletics Cross Challenge.
Joseph Scanes and Evan Grime (LM Events)
The women’s under-17 field is incredibly strong and at least two or three athletes could contest the title.
Olivia Forrest is a European under-18 3000m bronze medallist, a British under-17 3000m champion and has had rich success over cross-country.
Katie Pye, who won last year’s Mini London Marathon, will be aiming to retain her title and goes into the event having won the Inter Counties. She also placed third at the English Schools Cross Country Championships.
Watch out for Isla McGowan as well, with the teenager placing second at the English Schools Cross Country Championships and Scottish Inter District Cross Country Championships.
Olivia Forrest (England Athletics/Pat Scaasi)
Ewan Withnall, Inter Counties winner, and Jake Ireland, The National champion, will be ones to watch in the under-15 boys race. Don’t count out Thomas Thake however, who triumphed in the 2023 Mini London Marathon and has now stepped up an age group.
The under-15 girls field is stacked and one name to be aware of is Kitty Scott. The teenager is fresh off her triumph at the English Schools Cross Country Championships and also claimed victory at the Inter Counties.
Jorjia March is the English Schools 800m champion and, off a training block in Portugal, will be looking to take the win. Gabrielle Pinder also won her category at the English Schools Cross Country Championships, so expect a pulsating battle in London.
It will be tough to choose a winner in the under-13 age category and just a few standout names are Eve Beddow, Mia McGoldrick, Zakariya Rush and Osian Phillips.
Jess Bailey (Mark Shearman)
Alumi welcomed back
Former Mini London Marathon Championship runners have been invited to take part in the 40th edition of the event this year.
It will be an opportunity to see how the event has grown over the years, to join fellow alumni and the organisers for something to eat in hospitality on The Mall, as well as participate in the very special ‘40th wave’ covering 2.6km.
Georgia Hunter-Bell, Jess Bailey, Ciara Mageean, Lauren Rowles, Hannah Cockroft, David Weir and Non Stanford all took part in the Mini London Marathon and will be in attendance this weekend.
Ben Cooper, Event Lead for the TCS Mini London Marathon, said: “Over the last 40 editions, some of this country’s biggest names in sport have been born – including the likes of our Olympic gold medallists Sir Mo Farah and Keely Hodgkinson – while numerous others have enjoyed a successful career in sport and activity, inspiring the next generation of young people to be active.
“The 40th wave welcomes back some of those past participants and winners, and their families, to take in what the Mini London Marathon has become and to hopefully pass the magic of the event on to their families, friends and many more. We look forward to welcoming them back.”
Hannah Cockroft (Mark Shearman)
Mass numbers rise again
Since 2022, the Mini London Marathon has been given more room to breathe, taking place the day before the 26.2-mile extravaganza.
Mass participation figures have sky-rocketed and the figure of 8257 finishers from 2023 rose to over 13,000 last year.
Such is the event’s growing popularity that numbers have had to be restricted to 40 pupils per school for this year’s edition, with the aim to give more schools across the UK an opportunity to get involved. Organisers are expecting over 18,000 finishers on Saturday.
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Not only is it free for schools to enter but title sponsor TCS donates £10 – which can contribute towards things like computer or sports equipment – for each pupil that finishes.
Aim to make more kids active across UK
London Marathon Events stresses the importance of making sure that the positive impacts of the Mini London Marathon aren’t just felt on the day itself but across the year.
Last December, Sport England stated that, for the 2023-2024 academic year, just 47.8 per cent of children met guidelines of taking part in an average of 60 minutes or more of sport/physical activity every day.
The ambition is for this to therefore be a catalyst that helps more children to be active in the long-term.
Mini Marathon winners (London Marathon)
Mini London Marathon not limited to The Mall
Born out of the pandemic, the Mini London Marathon in Schools provides kids the opportunity to get involved even if they are not in the British capital.
Participants are invited to run, jog, walk, wheel or be guided around a two-mile course within their school setting (this year’s timeframe is from April 22 to May 2). Since launching in 2020, more than one million children have finished the event, with each pupil receiving a certificate and every school receiving a trophy for being involved.
The expectation this year is that, on top of the 18,000 people running in the heart of London, more than 400,000 will take part in physical activity locally.
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