2015 London Marathon Sunday April 26,2015

 

Over 38,000 fundraisers, amateur runners and elite athletes took part in the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday, making it the biggest in the event's 35-year history.

World record holder Paula Radcliffe, 41, completed her final competitive marathon in an unofficial time of 2:36:55 and an estimated 750,000 spectators lined the streets.

Many competitors were raising money for charity and hoping to beat the 2014 record amount of £53.2m  

 

The races started at Blackheath and Greenwich Park with the finish line on The Mall.

The oldest entrant was Paul Freedman, 90, from Hornchurch, Essex, while the youngest was Jonny Innes from Falmouth, Cornwall, who celebrated his 18th birthday today.

Paula Radcliffe took part in the main event with the massed ranks rather than the elite field.

Her women's marathon world record of 2:15:25, set in London in 2003, is almost three minutes faster than any other woman has ever run.
After crossing the finish line, she told  "I didn't care about the time the whole way round. I was so tired.
"I wanted to try and thank as many people as possible."

British wheelchair athlete David Weir's bid for a record seventh Virgin Money London Marathon title ended in disappointment as he was pipped to the line by American Joshua George

In the men's elite race, Eliud Kipchoge won a titanic tussle with fellow Kenyan Wilson Kipsang, crossing the finish line in

Ethiopia's Tigist Tufa ended Kenya's domination of the women's race with a shock victory in a time of 2:23:22.

Organisers said 38,020 runners crossed the start line this year, compared with the previous record of 37,227 in 2012.

Prince Harry was presenting medals to the winners of the elite races and meeting volunteers and members of the St John Ambulance.

Five politicians took time off from defending their House of Commons' seats in the General Election campaign to pound the streets of London.
The four Conservatives were minister for children and families Edward Timpson, Wales Office minister Alun Cairns, Graham Evans and Richard Drax.
Labour was represented by shadow justice minister Dan Jarvis.