In the lead up to the 2017 London Marathon, I came across these fun 25 facts, that I thought I’d share. I have no plans to dress like a crustacean this year!
2:27:43
Fastest in a superhero costume (male)
Matt Gunby, as Wonder Woman, 2016
3:06:26
Fastest dressed as an astronaut (male)
Martin Hewlett, 2016
3:10:04
Fastest dressed as a golfer (male)
Simon Le Mare, 2012
3:15:39
Fastest in an animal costume (female)
Katie Godof, dressed a tortoise, 2016
3:17:39
Fastest dressed as a crustacean (male)
Greg Trevelyan, 2016
3:47:15
Fastest dressed as a vegetable (female)
Helen Juckes, 2012
4:21:21
Fastest in a two-person costume
Chris Coulson & Thomas Church, dressed as horse and jockey, 2016
139.4 M (457.35 FT)
Longest crochet chain made whilst running a marathon
Susie Hewer, 2014
Susie finished in a time of 5:40:47 sec and averaged 5.3 metres of crochet chain per mile
1:28:56
Fastest time to complete the marathon in a wheelchair, by Kurt Fearnley (Australia) in 2009. The fastest female finish is 1:41:14 by Tatyana McFadden of the USA in 2015
1,263
Number of portable toilets brought in for the event. A further 400 urinal bays are also deployed at the start line.
40,000
Number of Pink Lady apples given out to runners on race day.
2,934
The number of teachers and educators who ran the 2016 marathon, the biggest group by occupation. Accountants were second with 2,305, followed by managers with 1,615.
59.4 MILLION
Total amount in pounds raised at the 2016 London Marathon, a new world record for an annual single day charity fundraising event. The total raised since the event was founded in 1981 now stands at more than £830 million.
2:48:29
Fastest in an animal costume (male)
Alex Collins, dressed a tiger, 2014
3:08:34
Fastest dressed as a book character (female)
Naomi Flanagan, dressed as Tinkerbell, 2016
3:13:23
Fastest dressed as a doctor (female)
Victoria Carter, 2015
3:16:44
Fastest in a wedding dress (female)
Sarah Dudgeon, 2014
3:21:00
Fastest in highland dress (male)
Scott Boyd, 2016
4.10.44
Fastest dribbling two basketballs (male)
Jerry Knox, 2015
6:50:02
Fastest on stilts
George and Charley Phillips, 2012
2:04:29
Fastest time to complete the marathon on foot, by Wilson Kipsang (Kenya) in the 2014 men’s race. The fastest female finisher is Britain’s Paula Radcliffe who finished with a time of 2:15:25 in 2003.
375,000
The amount of bottled water in litres handed out to runners in 2016.
7,000
Total number of marshals on the course in 2016.
93
The age of the oldest ever finisher, Fauja Singh, in the 2004 marathon: he finished the course in 6 hours and 7 minutes. The oldest woman to complete the marathon is Jenny Wood-Allen who was 90 when she crossed the line in 2002 after 11 hours and 34 minutes. 310 people aged 70 and above ran the 2016 marathon.
42
The number of times a British racer has won the marathon either on foot or in a wheelchair, more than any other country. Kenya is second with 19 champions, followed by the USA with nine.
Original content posted by Running.London.