History of the London Marathon
The London Marathon has its roots overseas, where former British Olympic steeplechase champion Chris Brasher first witnessed the unique atmosphere of a marathon as over 11,000 people ran through the streets of New York.
Inspired by the sight of so many people taking on such a huge feat he returned to the UK with the aim of setting up a similar race in the capital, with a focus on getting the public involved. Setting up a charity committee, he managed to obtain an initial sponsorship with Gillette, leading to the inaugural London Marathon in 1981.
Under 8000 people set off on the first marathon, with 6255 finishing on Constitution Hill. Since then numbers have steadily risen, with a record figure of 32,899 finishers in 2002. Now the largest marathon in the world, there have been over 500,000 runners since its inception, with the maximum of 46,500 participants being accepted each year.
2005 saw a couple of minor changes to the course. The infamous Tower of London cobbles were removed, no doubt to the gratitude of all the runners. Additionally, the section around the Isle of Dogs was navigated anti-clockwise.
| Year | Men’s winner | Men’s time | Women’s winner | Women’s time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Dick Beardsley (NOR) & Inge Simonsen (USA) | 2:11:48 | Joyce Smith (GBR) | 2:29:57 |
| 1982 | Hugh Jones (GBR) | 2:09:24 | Joyce Smith (GBR) | 2:29:43 |
| 1983 | Mike Gratton (GBR) | 2:09:43 | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 2:25:29 |
| 1984 | Charlie Spedding (GBR) | 2:09:57 | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 2:24:26 |
| 1985 | Steve Jones (GBR) | 2:08:16 | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 2:21:06 |
| 1986 | Toshihiko Seko (JPN) | 2:10:02 | Grete Waitz (NOR) | 2:24:54 |
| 1987 | Hiromi Taniguchi (JPN) | 2:09:50 | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 2:22:48 |
| 1988 | Henrik Jørgensen (DEN) | 2:10:20 | Ingrid Kristiansen (NOR) | 2:25:41 |
| 1989 | Douglas Wakiihuri (KEN) | 2:09:03 | Véronique Marot (GBR) | 2:25:56 |
| 1990 | Allister Hutton (GBR) | 2:10:10 | Wanda Panfil (POL) | 2:26:31 |
| 1991 | Yakov Tolstikov (URS) | 2:09:17 | Rosa Mota (POR) | 2:26:14 |
| 1992 | António Pinto (POR) | 2:10:02 | Katrin Dörre (GER) | 2:29:39 |
| 1993 | Eamonn Martin (GBR) | 2:10:50 | Katrin Dörre (GER) | 2:27:09 |
| 1994 | Dionicio Cerön (MEX) | 2:08:53 | Katrin Dörre (GER) | 2:32:34 |
| 1995 | Dionicio Cerön (MEX) | 2:08:30 | Malgorzata Sobanska (POL) | 2:27:43 |
| 1996 | Dionicio Cerön (MEX) | 2:10:00 | Liz McColgan (GBR) | 2:27:54 |
| 1997 | António Pinto (POR) | 2:07:55 | Joyce Chepchumba (KEN) | 2:26:51 |
| 1998 | Abel Antón (ESP) | 2:07:57 | Catherina McKiernan (IRL) | 2:26:26 |
| 1999 | Abdelkader El Mouaziz (MAR) | 2:07:57 | Joyce Chepchumba (KEN) | 2:23:22 |
| 2000 | Antonio Pinto (POR) | 2:06:36 | Tegla Laroupe (KEN) | 2:24:33 |
| 2001 | Abdelkader El Mouaziz (MAR) | 2:07:09 | Derartu Tulu (ETH) | 2:23:57 |
| 2002 | Khalid Khannouchi (USA) | 2:05:38 | Paula Radcliffe (GBR) | 2:18:56 |
| 2003 | Gezahegne Abera (ETH) | 2:07:56 | Paula Radcliffe (GBR) | 2:15:25 |
| 2004 | Evans Rutto (KEN) | 2:06:18 | Margaret Okayo (KEN) | 2:22:35 |
| 2005 | Martin Lel (KEN) | 2:07:35 | Paula Radcliffe (GBR) | 2:17:42 |
| 2006 | Felix Limo (KEN) | 2:06:39 | Deena Kasto (USA) | 2:19:36 |
