LONDON MARATHON TRAINING

Every year thousands of people take part in the Flora London Marathon and raise money for charity. Physio4Life personal trainers in London can help with preparation for the London Marathon.

personal trainer kew

"ARE YOU READY?"

The next London Marathon will be sponsored by Virgin instead of Flora and will be known as the 'Virgin London Marathon'.

Pre-Marathon Injuries

If you suffer an injury during your training for the Virgin London Marathon, it’s important to get it checked out and treated by a sports injury specialist – ignoring aches and pains can lead to more serious problems further down the line.

Speak to one of our Physiotherapists who have helped many people with running injuries leading up to their London Marathon.

The London Marathon was founded by the former Olympic champion and renowned journalist Chris Brasher and John Disley. In November 1979, shortly after completing the New York Marathon Brasher wrote an article for The Observer newspaper which began:

"To believe this story you must believe that the human race be one joyous family, working together, laughing together, achieving the impossible. Last Sunday, in one of the most trouble-stricken cities in the world, 11,532 men and women from 40 countries in the world, assisted by over a million black, white and yellow people, laughed, cheered and suffered during the greatest folk festival the world has seen."

Inspired by the people of New York coming together for this occasion, he went on to question;

"...whether London could stage such a festival?"

In 1980, Brasher and Disley made trips to America to study the organisation and finance of big city marathons such as the New York and Boston Marathons. Brasher signed a contract with Gillette for £50,000, established charitable status and outlined six main aims in the hope to mirror the scenes he witnessed in New York and establish the United Kingdom on the map as a country capable of arranging major events. The London Marathon was born.

The first London Marathon was held on 29 March 1981, more than 20,000 applied to run. 6,747 were accepted and 6,255 crossed the finish line on Constitution Hill. The Marathon's popularity has steadily grown since then. In 2008 34,497 people crossed the line, the biggest field since the race began. 711,260 people have completed the race since its inception.

The first wheelchair marathon race was held in 1983 and the event was credited with reducing the stigma surrounding disabled athletes.

The race is currently organised by former 10,000m world record holder David Bedford as Race Director and Nick Bitel as Chief Executive. Bedford and Bitel have overseen a period of great change for the race, including amendments to the course in 2005 which saw the famous cobbled section by the Tower of London replaced with a flat stretch along the Highway.

Whilst it is a serious athletic event, with large prize money attracting elite athletes, public perception of the race is dominated by club and fun runners. Only the summer British 10K race closes the centre of London similarly to the marathon. Sometimes in ludicrous fancy dress and often collecting money for charity, these make up the bulk of the 30,000+ runners and help to draw crowds of half a million on the streets.

On 19 April 2003, former boxer Michael Watson, who had been told he would never be able to walk again after a fight with Chris Eubank, made headlines by finishing the marathon in six days, becoming a national hero in England.

In 2006 Sir Steve Redgrave (winner of five consecutive Olympic Gold Medals) set a new Guinness World Record for money raised through a marathon by collecting £1.8 million in sponsorship. This broke the record set the previous year by the founder of the Oasis Trust, Steve Chalke MBE, who had collected over £1.25 million. Steve Chalke recovered the record in 2007, raising at least £1.85 million.

A small number of runners, known as the "Ever Presents", have completed each of the London Marathons since 1981. By 2008 their number had shrunk to 22. As of 2008, the oldest runners amongst them are 74 year old Kenneth Jones and Jeffrey Gordon, whilst the youngest runner is 49-year-old Chris Finill. They are all male

Your Personal Trainers Putney

Mr Daniel Wellard | Health & Fitness Instructor

Daniel is ACSM Health & Fitness Instructor Certified and holds a BSc (Hons) in Sport and Exercise Science. The main focus of Daniel’s work has centered on developing clients abilities in order to achieve the following goals – Body Fat Loss, Strength training and muscle growth, cardiovascular fitness training, improving health status (i.e. blood pressure, cholesterol), core conditioning and assisting clients training for marathons.

Flora Lennox Gordon | Personal Trainer

Flora trained at Premier International, gaining invaluable experience in gym instruction, personal training and sports massage therapy. She takes a keen interest in marathon running and swimming and has competed at an International level in eventing. Her main aim is to not only focus on her clients’ overall general health and fitness, but also on achieving their sports specific goals.

"I noticed a big improvement in my energy levels and recovery rates.”

Suki Brownsdon

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